Israel detains 15 more Palestinians in East Jerusalem

By AbdelRaouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli forces detained 15 more Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the occupied East Jerusalem on Friday.

A police statement said the Palestinians “were detained on charges of throwing stones and assaulting police officers and civilians.”

Protests have raged in the area since an Israeli court this month ordered Palestinian families who have lived there for generations to vacate their homes for Israeli settlers.

Israeli forces have detained dozens of Palestinians in recent days and physically assaulted residents and people who have shown up to express solidarity.

Among other excessive measures, the Israeli forces have used water cannons and stun grenades against Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

A UN envoy and European powers have urged Israel to halt demolitions and evictions.

A total of 37 Palestinian families have been living in 27 homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood since 1956.

Jewish settlers have been trying to force them out on the basis of a law approved by the Israeli parliament in 1970.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee their villages and towns in historical Palestine to neighboring countries including Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria in 1948.

Residents of other parts of Palestine found themselves displaced to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including amid rising attacks by Zionist gangs to pave the way for the creation of Israel.

* Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara