Israeli Police have warned they will forcefully remove activists from Sheikh Jarrah this Friday in an effort to end the weekly protests against Israeli settlers occupying Palestinian homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
This Thursday, a legal advisor for Israeli Police in Jerusalem sent a letter to the head of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. The letter stated police will forcefully disperse any protestors remaining in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood after 3:30pm, this Friday the 29th of Janurary.
The decision came despite a ruling by Israel’s Magistrate Court stating that public protests are legal as long as they do not disrupt traffic and public order. Up to this date, the Israeli police have arrested over 70 protestors.
Israeli activists said they were denied a permit for their last protest in Sheikh Jarrah because another event took place in the neighborhood the previous day.
Police requested the Jerusalem Magistrate Court issue restraining orders against 18 persons who were arrested in previous protests but the court denied the appeal.
The Israeli court censored the police twice for illegal conduct against peaceful protestors in Sheikh Jarrah.
Israeli settlers were allowed, by court order, to occupy Palestinian homes in Sheikh Jarrah. The takeover is part of a larger plan to occupy more Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem.
