Extremist settlers occupy two Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem

Wednesday June 18, 2008 05:40 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

The Popular (Folk) Committees issued a press release on Tuesday slamming an extremist Israeli settler group for attacking and illegally occupying two Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem.

The settlers are members of an extremist group which calls itself Yeshiva Haim Ha’olam. The group claims that its members owned the two houses, which are located close to the Al Aqsa Mosque, since 1948.

Secretary-general of the Committee, Azmi Shiokhy, stated that the two homes belong to the families of Castero and Al Hasheem, and added that both families headed to the Palestinian legislator and advisor of president Mahmoud Abbas for Jerusalem Affairs, Hatim Abdul-Qader, who in turn handed their file to lawyer Mohammad Dahla and requested him to file an urgent appeal to the Israeli court.

Abdul-Qader stated that the recent attack and the ongoing Israeli violations against the Palestinians in Jerusalem are part of a systematic Israeli policy which aims at fully controlling all Arab constructions in Jerusalem in order to expel the Arabs and Palestinians from the Holy City.

Also, Al Shiokhy said that there can be no peace and stability in the region without establishing an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

He added that Israel is continuously attempting to void any talks over Jerusalem and is continuing with its settlement construction and expansion plans in order to create forced realities by annexing the Palestinian lands and isolating Jerusalem from its surrounding Palestinian area by the Annexation Wall.

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