OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) displaced Palestinian families from 11 homes in the east Jerusalem district of Silwan, south of the Aqsa Mosque, on Wednesday.
According to local sources, Israeli police forces and settlers wearing orange jackets stormed the Batn al‑Hawa neighborhood in Silwan and evacuated 11 inhabited homes belonging to different Jerusalemite families, displacing around 65 residents.
Settlers were seen throwing mattresses, clothing, children’s toys, and other personal belongings of Palestinian families out of these homes, whose ownership is to be transferred to Jewish families.
At the same time, the IOA seized two apartments in Silwan belonging to the Basbous family.
Israeli rights group B’Tselem said these evictions “mark the beginning of a large wave of displacement affecting around 2,200 people in Silwan who face imminent risk of forced displacement, including 90 families (700 individuals) in Batn al-Hawa.”
B’Tselem added that the evictions “clearly embody an Israeli policy aimed at engineering the demographic balance and Judaizing the neighborhood through the exploitation of discriminatory laws.”
In recent years, the IOA has evicted many Palestinian families from the area, with many more still facing the threat of displacement.
