Visit by Far-Right Israeli MP Sparks Clashes in Sheikh Jarrah (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Israeli police clashed with Palestinians in the flashpoint East Jerusalem al-Quds neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah on Sunday, as a visit by a controversial far-right Jewish lawmaker inflamed tensions.
Two Palestinians have been arrested in the area of annexed East al-Quds that has emerged as a symbol of Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation of the city, according to Israeli police.
Scuffles broke out as Itamar Ben Gvir of the far-right Religious Zionism Alliance opened a parliamentary "tent office" in Sheikh Jarrah, in what he described as an effort to show support for its Jewish settlers, the Daily Sabah reported.
More than 200,000 Jewish settlers live in East al-Quds, in communities widely regarded as illegal under international law.
Efforts by settler groups to expand the Jewish presence in East al-Quds in occupied Palestine have further fueled hostilities.
Ben Gvir, a Jewish nationalist with a long history of incendiary comments about Palestinians, accused police of failing to react to alleged arson attacks on a settler home in Sheikh Jarrah.
"Jewish lives have become worthless," Ben Gvir charged in a tweet before his visit.
He told reporters in Sheikh Jarrah on Sunday that he would remain there until police "looked after the security of the (Jewish) residents."
The Palestinian Authority (PA), based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, condemned Ben Gvir's visit as a "provocative and escalating move that threatens to ignite ... violence that will be difficult to control."
Tensions that erupted in Sheikh Jarrah last year – as several Palestinian families faced eviction by settler groups – in part sparked the May conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza.
Hamas, who govern Gaza, warned there would be "consequences" over Israel's repeated "attacks" on Sheikh Jarrah.
Palestinians across East Jerusalem al-Quds accuse Israeli police of using heavy-handed tactics to quell protests. Six people were arrested in the neighborhood during demonstrations late Saturday.
Israel captured East Jerusalem al-Quds in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it, in a move not recognized by the international community.
