One thousand Israeli peace activists and communists, Jews and Arabs, protest today (Friday, January 22) in East Jerusalem Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood against Jewish settlement there. Twenty people, among them members of the Communist Party of Israel, were arrested by the Israeli police and the Frontier Guard (Mishmar HaGvul).
Before the protest began, police notified demonstrators that the protest was considered illegal. They began attempting to scatter the activists while arresting some of them.
Protestors waved signs reading, "Free Sheikh Jarrah" and chanted, "Cowardly settlers, leave the homes at once." The demonstrators also criticized the arrest of 80 activists during recent protests in the neighborhood.
Former Knesset speaker Avraham Burg and Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality – Communist Party of Israek) Chairman MK Mohammad Barakeh and MK Dov Khenin also took part in the rally. "We are determined not to let these scare police tactics deter us", said Barakeh, referring to the arrests. "The protests are against the expulsion of Palestinian families whose homes are being taken over by settlers."
Hadash MK Barakeh addressed the crowd saying, "The issue isn’t about a house here and a neighborhood there, but about the intention to empty Jerusalem from its Arab citizens". "This is a crime against the Arab-Palestinian population and a crime against the peace process," Barakeh said.
Photo
Palestinian, foreign and Israeli left-wing activists participate in a demonstration in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, Friday, Jan. 22, 2010. The protest was organized by groups supporting Palestinians evicted from their homes in east Jerusalem by Israeli authorities.
(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
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