21 Israeli peace activists arrested in East Jerusalem protest

Saturday December 12, 2009 18:20 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

Sheikh Jarrah protest earlier this year (activestills photo)

In a rowdy march Friday afternoon, dozens of Israeli peace activists marched in solidarity with Palestinian residents who have been forced from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem. 21 were arrested when they tried to reclaim a home that was stolen from the indigenous Palestinian residents by right-wing Israeli settlers.

Israeli officials claim that six Israeli police officers were lightly injured during the rush to arrest the demonstrators.

The Israeli peace activists marched to support the al-Kurd family, who had been forced from their home by right-wing Israeli settlers when an Israeli court denied the family’s claim to their own land and home.

Israeli police used pepper spray and tear gas on the demonstrators, who were engaged in a non-violent sit-in in the al-Kurd family home.

The al-Kurd family is one of dozens of Palestinian families who have lost their homes to Israeli settlers in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. The neighborhood has been specifically targeted for settlement by Israel as part of the ‘E1 Jerusalem’ plan of 2002, which lays out the areas in Jerusalem that Israel hopes to ethnically cleanse of Palestinians and claim for the state of Israel.

jerusalem | non-violent action | news report saed at imemc dot org