Jarrah Protest Tent Destroyed By Israeli Police

Sheikh Jarrah Protest Tent Destroyed By Israeli Police Following New Evidence In Support Of Palestinian Land Ownership

22nd February 2009: Israeli forces have demolished the protest tent established in Sheikh Jarrah, Occupied East Jerusalem. The tent, built on private Palestinian property, was established in support of the evicted al-Kurd family and over 500 Palestinian residents who currently face eviction from the neighbourhood.

Israeli forces arrived at the site of the protest camp at around 9:30am and began to dismantle the tent.

Sheikh Jarrah residents suspected that Israeli police would attempt to intimidate them following further evidence brought from Turkey to a court appeal on the 19th of February. This evidence appears to confirm the al-Kurd family claims of Arab ownership of the land in question, thus undermining any claims made by the settlers who currently reside in the al-Kurd house, following the Palestinian family’s eviction.

"This a repercussion for the strong evidence we had on trial. Israeli apartheid has come in and destroyed our non-violent protest tent, which it sees as a threatening sign of our refusal to be quieted. We were able to prove that there is no legal basis for our evictions, with documents from Turkey that show Arab ownership of this land." Nasser, Sheikh Jarrah resident

The protest camp was established by the Sheikh Jarrah Neighbourhood Committee following the violent eviction of the al-Kurd family on the 9th November 2008, initially to show support for the evicted family and the 500 other Palestinians who are under threat of eviction from the neighbourhood. It has been demolished four times already by Israeli authorities despite being situated on private Palestinian property.

The camp has been used as a cultural centre for the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, regularly screening films, holding traditional Palestinian dancing performances and displaying Palestinian photo exhibitions. The latest demolition of the tent can be viewed as another effort by Israel to react against displays of Palestinian national identity within Occupied East Jerusalem. The house had become emblematic of the plight of Palestinian residents of Occupied East Jerusalem. The al-Kurd family were previously made refugees from Jaffa and West Jerusalem. They were then made refugees for the second time as they were evicted from their home of 52 years.

A previous protest tent had been active throughout the summer on the al-Kurd property, as widespread international condemnation of Israeli policy against the family and neighbourhood grew, including an official complaint from the US State Department (see below).

Abu Kamel al-Kurd was immediately rushed to hospital following the family's violent early morning eviction with high-blood pressure. He was re-admitted to hospital two weeks later where he died of a heart attack homeless.

ENDS

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