The hardline Israelis stoking violence in East Jerusalem

Far-right Israelis marched in the Old City during Ramadan chanting ‘death to Arabs’ last month.

Sheikh Jarrah, Occupied East Jerusalem – A surreal, and almost bucolic, atmosphere encompassed the occupied East Jerusalem suburb of Sheikh Jarrah on a recent morning as an Israeli settler and a Palestinian sat on armchairs under an old fig tree surrounded by picturesque stone houses, discussing the ongoing violence in the presence of an Israeli TV crew. For several weeks the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood was a pivotal point in an ongoing battle in which dozens of Palestinian families are fighting to remain in the homes they lived in for generations as they face possible forced expulsion by Israeli authorities to make way for Israeli settlers, a move illegal under international law. On an almost nightly basis, the families, and hundreds of their supporters, came out to protest, facing off with Israeli security forces, leading to the assault and arrest of dozens of Palestinians as well as the destruction of both Palestinian and settler property.