Turkey on Wednesday condemned the forced eviction of the Salhiyeh family from their home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem.
In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the decisions that lead to the eviction and displacement of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah and other parts of the occupied territories “contravene international law and human rights.”
“Israel’s unilateral practices, which erode the demographic and legal status of Jerusalem, undermine the vision of a two-state solution and the ground for lasting peace,” it said.
Israeli forces have demolished a Palestinian house at the center of an anti-expulsion campaign in the neighborhood.
Read more: Israeli police demolish Palestinian home in Sheikh Jarrah: AFP
Israeli police went to the home of the Salhiyeh family before dawn, assaulted a number of its occupants and demolished it after the forced evacuation, Walid Tayeh, the family’s lawyer, told Anadolu Agency.
The Salhiyeh family said they had been living in the home since 1948 after they were expelled from the Ein Karen neighborhood of West Jerusalem.
UN demands Israel end displacements
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland demanded Wednesday that Israeli authorities end the displacement of Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem.
Wennesland’s call at UN Security Council briefing came after Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian’s home earlier Wednesday that is at the center of an anti-expulsion campaign in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Demolishing the Salhiyeh home in Sheikh Jarrah & displacing of Palestinians in Al-Naqab are inseparable from the 70+ yrs of eliminating native Palestinians to sustain settler-colonial rule. The Salhiyeh family, for instance, was expelled by Zionist militias once before in ‘48. pic.twitter.com/rah9I72uj5
— Mohammed El-Kurd (@m7mdkurd) January 19, 2022
Israeli police went to the home of the Salhiyeh family before dawn and assaulted several occupants, Walid Tayeh, the family’s lawyer, told Anadolu Agency.
Wennesland voiced concern about the potential evictions of more Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighborhoods, which he said would prompt violence.
“I call on Israeli authorities to end the displacement and eviction of Palestinians, in line with its obligations under international law, and to approve additional plans that would enable Palestinian communities to build legally and address their development needs,” said Wennesland.
Israeli police said it enforced a court-approved eviction order of what it called “illegal buildings built on grounds designated for a school.”
Read more: Israeli Army accidentally kills its officers in West Bank
The house has been the center of an anti-expulsion campaign since 2017 when Israeli municipal authorities allocated the land where the house sits to build a school.
The Salhiyeh family said they have been living in the home since 1948 after they were expelled from the Ein Karen neighborhood in West Jerusalem.
Anadolu with additional input by GVS News Desk