Israel Evicts 50 Palestinians from Homes

(CBS/AP)  Israeli police evicted two Palestinian families in east Jerusalem on Sunday, then allowed Jewish settlers to move into their homes, drawing criticism from Palestinians, the United Nations and the State Department.

Police arrived before dawn and cordoned off part of the Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah before forcibly removing more than 50 people, said Chris Gunness, spokesman for the U.N. agency in charge of Palestinian refugees.

U.N. staff later saw vehicles bringing Jewish settlers to move into the homes, he said.

Israeli police cited a ruling by the country's Supreme Court that the houses belonged to Jews and that the Arab families had been living there illegally.

Gunness said the families had lived in the homes for more than 50 years.

Maher Hannoun, one of the evicted Palestinians, said "They (are) planning to take house by house, and they claim that they own all this neighborhood," reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger.

The U.S. condemned the eviction, saying settlement expansion is an obstacle to peace, Berger reports.

The status of east Jerusalem is one of the most explosive issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel took control of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it, a move not recognized by any other country. Since then, Israel has to boosted the Jewish presence there, building neighborhoods where about 180,000 Jews live. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem as the capital of their hoped-for state.

Organizations linked to the Jewish West Bank settlement movement also have bought properties inside Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem and moved Israelis in.

About 270,000 Palestinians live in east Jerusalem, or 35 percent of the city's total population of 760,000.

The international community has pressured Israel to refrain from evicting Palestinians and building new homes for Jews in east Jerusalem, saying such moves hamper peacemaking efforts.

State Department spokeswoman Megan Mattson said such actions in east Jerusalem constitute violations of Israel's obligations under U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan.

"Unilateral actions taken by either party cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations and will not be recognized by the international community," she said in a statement.

Robert Serry, the U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, called Sunday's evictions "totally unacceptable."

"These actions heighten tensions and undermine international efforts to create conditions for fruitful negotiations to achieve peace," he said in a statement.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat also condemned the move.

"While Israeli authorities have promised the American administration that home demolitions, home evictions and other provocations against Palestinian Jerusalemites would be stopped, what we've seen on the ground is completely the opposite," he said in a statement.

Khawla Hanoun, 35, who lived in one of the homes, said police ordered her and 16 family members to leave the house before dawn and forced them out at gunpoint when they refused.

"Now our future is in the streets," she said. "We will remain steadfast until we return home. By any method, we must go back home."

[lovegetpeace]

Here is a partial list of UN resolutions that Israel has not complied. Israel ignored and violated every single resolution. But the situation is far worse than would at first appear, it involves the serious distortion of the official Security Council record by the profligate use by the United States of its veto power.

Israel''s defiance goes back to its very beginnings. This collection of resolutions criticizing Israel is unmatched by the record of any other nation.

* 1955-1992:
* * Resolution 106: " . . . ''condemns'' Israel for Gaza raid".
* * Resolution 111: " . . . ''condemns'' Israel for raid on Syria that killed fifty-six people".
* * Resolution 127: " . . . ''recommends'' Israel suspends it''s ''no-man''s zone'' in Jerusalem".
* * Resolution 162: " . . . ''urges'' Israel to comply with UN decisions".
* * Resolution 171: " . . . determines flagrant violations'' by Israel in its attack on Syria".
* * Resolution 228: " . . . ''censures'' Israel for its attack on Samu in the West Bank, then under Jordanian control".
* * Resolution 237: " . . . ''urges'' Israel to allow return of new 1967 Palestinian refugees".
* * Resolution 248: " . . . ''condemns'' Israel for its massive attack on Karameh in Jordan".
* * Resolution 250: " . . . ''calls'' on Israel to refrain from holding military parade in Jerusalem".
Jerusalem as Jewish capital".

[lovegetpeace]

Folks,
I love it when Israel cannot claim the high moral ground after they do Holocaust to the Palestinians by claiming Palstinians throwing Rocks, suicide bombers and Rockets into Israel.

I admire the Palestinians restraint!

[lovegetpeace]

Hey heatherczerniak,

Please direct your B.S. to the world!

According to our US State Department, Anti-Semitics is exploding around the world:
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1334791720080314?feedType=RSSfeedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Stop wasting your time with me.

[lovegetpeace]

Hey heatherczerniak,

Israel lost all that land before Twice. I predict Israel will lose all again for a 3rd time for good this time.

[lovegetpeace]

Hey heatherczerniak,

The Macho eventually always pays his dues!

[bajajohn1]

Lucy, Israel has lots of esplaning to do.

[heatherczerniak]

East Jerusalem belongs to Israel, just like the West Bank and Gaza. Those areas have only been set aside to house the Palestinians because no Arab country will take them in. It's not Israel's responsibility to be nice to them. As for the evictees, they did refuse to pay their rent. The building they lived in has been Jewish-owned for a long time. Pay the rent or get out! Don't try to gain the sympathy of the world for something you chose to do on your own. Eventually, the truth comes out and you won't have a leg to stand on.

And for all you anti-Semites, including those of you who claim to be anti-Zionist, not anti-Jewish: Who do you think you're kidding? Israel is such a tiny country, whereas the Arab countries take up one million times the land Israel has. If an Arab diplomat came to Israel and drove through the West Bank and Gaza with a truckload of immigration visas free for the asking, what do you think the Palestinians would do? Do you think they'd stick around?

[dodinyc]

Heather, your comment is scary. This is the exact same reasoning
that the Nazi's used when sending the Jews to the ghettos. They didn't
want them and no other countries would take them. No one wants history repeating.

[Anti-Zionist_115]

*YAWN*
of course the "israeli" supporters are usually so ignorant of history.
heather
heather
heather
And if they are not ignorant, they will lie and twist the facts regarding the issues at hand. They are also notorious for their lies and slander. They also are violent ones.

Do you want to see the behavior of these zionists in America?
Everbody should go to youtube.com and search for the JDL vs. Freshjive.

These are the fools that we are fighting for.
Disgusting.

[bajajohn1]

Clearly, the Israelis are not interested in peace.

[lovegetpeace]

Hey YSoWrong,

The Newest Empires China, India and Russia hate Israel. They always vote against Israel Interest per review of all Resolutions relating to Israel at the United Nations Security Council. Keep praying that the weaker American Empire will not collapse by the year 2018 via the U.S. 4th Great Depression.

[lovegetpeace]

Hey YSoWrong,

How do these Israelis Solders do their Evil work without anyone Videoing them? We get only a boring photo.