On Monday morning, a group of Israeli colonial settlers invaded privately-owned Palestinian land in the Silwan neighborhood and threatened the Palestinian landowners, pointing a gun in their faces.
The settlers arrived on the land with construction equipment, including a bulldozer, with the intent of razing the land to establish an illegal Israeli colony there.
When the Palestinian landowners arrived and confronted the colonizers, two of the colonizers pulled out guns. One of the colonizers waved his gun and pointed it directly at the faces of the Palestinians.
None of the colonizers were wearing facemasks – despite the rapidly growing number of COVID-19 cases in the area.
When the Israeli police arrived, they pushed the Palestinian landowners back, forcing them off of their land, and allowed the Israeli colonizers to occupy the space.
According to Khaled Abu Tayeh, a member of the Committee for the Defense of Silwan, the area in question is known as Wadi al-Rababa. This is an area that Israeli authorities have slated for a takeover, in order to illegally seize the land from the Palestinian owners, force them off, and construct Israeli settlements in their place.
All Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law.
Video by Wadi Hilweh Information Center (Silwani)
