In the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem, on Tuesday, Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinian neighborhood residents, provoking a scuffle between Palestinians and Israeli settlers, according to local sources.Israeli police moved into the area, shutting down the entrances to the neighborhood and preventing all vehicular traffic from entering or leaving. The incident that sparked the scuffles involved the harassment of a Palestinian man on his way to work by a group of Israeli settlers, according to witnesses.
Silwan has been a flashpoint in recent months, as Israeli settlers have invaded the area and used force to push out Palestinian residents from their homes of generations. The settlers are acting on a municipal plan laid out by the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem which involves the destruction of the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan to replace it with Jewish-only housing developments and a biblical theme park.
Palestinian residents who have been pushed out of their homes have tried to set up tents on the street in front of their homes, but Israeli police continually dismantle the tents and use tear gas to dissuade the residents from remaining in the area.
