The police arrested six people last on Friday following clashes with demonstrators in the Shimon HaTzadik (Sheikh Jarrah) neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem. The clashes broke out during a protest against the eviction of Arab families living in the neighborhood. One leftist NGO whose members clashed with police claimed that four people were injured. The police reported that one police officer was slightly injured, and officers had to use measures to disperse demonstrations because they had been attacked.
ערבים וארנכיסטים מתפרעים בשכונת שמעון הצדיק בירושלים pic.twitter.com/Vv7CLfw7Fv
— בז news (@1717Bazz) March 3, 2023
The demonstration was held ahead of a hearing on the eviction of the 11 members of the Salem family, a family of 11 people by the Jewish owner of the property. Last year, after their eviction had been approved, the family petitioned the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, which ruled in their favor and returned the case to the Enforcement and Collection Authority for further investigation and debate, scheduled for this Thursday.
If the authority decides in favor of the property owner, the eviction is expected to take place this month.
During the clashes, one of the protesters was recorded hitting and pushing a policeman to the ground. The NGO Free Jerusalem told Ynet that “the protesters encountered extreme police violence, including the use of batons, horsemen, and a stink-water cannon that was aimed directly at the protesters.”
The Salam family rented the Jewish-owned building from the Jordanian controller of enemy property in 1951. The current owner of the property, Jerusalem City Council member Jonathan Yosef, does not actually have a copy of the original verdict in his favor, which was destroyed under suspicious circumstances several years ago. He only has a notarized confirmation of the verdict.
