The West Bank field office of the United Nations Aid and Works Agency for Palestine in the Around East (UNRWA) condemns the demolition of the household and eviction of the Salhiyya relatives in the Sheikh Jarrah community of East Jerusalem. Israeli forces violently raided the residence of the Palestine refugee spouse and children at 3 am on 19 January, though associates of the Salhiyya loved ones, like an more mature woman and a young youngster, have been sleeping. In a make any difference of hrs, the Salhiyya’s household and possessions have been wrecked, erasing all traces of their nearly 40 many years of heritage in the neighborhood. Having already shed their area of residence as a result of the 1948 conflict, the Salhiyya spouse and children is now once more displaced, trying to get refuge a single much more time.
In the training course of the operations aimed at evicting the household, the Israeli forces injured quite a few spouse and children users. In addition, the Israeli forces arrested, between some others, Mahmoud Salhiyya, the head of the loved ones, who experienced threatened self-immolation two times in the past, when Israeli forces demolished his professional action and supply of livelihood following to the residence. Going to the scene this morning, UNRWA West Financial institution observed the whole destruction of the home: school luggage, clothes and household pics nevertheless partly noticeable below the rubble..
Sadly, the case of the Salhiyya family’s is not one of a kind. Tens of Palestine refugee people in unique elements of Sheikh Jarrah on your own (in excess of 200 persons, quite a few of whom are children) now confront an imminent danger of eviction by Israeli authorities. In accordance to facts collected by the United Nations Workplace for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in 2020, an estimated 218 Palestinian homes (comprising 970 Palestinians, 424 of whom are little ones) throughout East Jerusalem are at chance of displacement by the Israeli authorities.
UNRWA calls on the Israeli authorities to right away halt all evictions and demolitions in the West Financial institution, which includes East Jerusalem. Less than international humanitarian regulation, the forcible transfer of guarded folks, as effectively as the destruction of serious or personalized home belonging individually or collectively to private individuals by Israel, as the occupying power, is strictly forbidden, besides where by this kind of measures would be rendered certainly necessary by very important armed service reasons, or for the protection of the inhabitants underneath occupation.
UNRWA phone calls on the Israeli authorities to abide by worldwide guidelines and, as the occupying electric power, ensure the defense of Palestine refugees and civilians in the West Lender, together with East Jerusalem. All folks have a appropriate to harmless and protected housing and to stay in peace and dignity.
