Israeli settlers fence off a plot of land in East Jerusalem belonging to a Palestinian family, in what appears to be a prelude to seizing it outright.

The incident, involving land in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood belonging to the Salem family, happened on Friday 21 January.

Palestinian news agency WAFA said that a group of settlers, led by Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Arieh King, and under armed police protection, installed barbed wires around the land.

Supporters of the Salem family say members of the settler group assaulted members of the family, inflicting fractures on a woman’s hand.

Police previously warned the family against participating in any activities denouncing settlers’ attempts to displace them and take over their house.

On December 16, a day after settlers fenced off the land for the first time, the Salem family, comprising 11 members, received an order to “evict” them from the house they lived in for over 70 years, in favour of settler organisations, who claim they purchased the house from Jewish owners of the house before 1948.

One member of the family, Fatima Salem, spoke to APAwire about the events.

RESTRICTION SUMMARY: APAwire CLIENTS ONLY SHOTLIST: APAwire - APAwire CLIENTS ONLY, Jerusalem - 21 January 2022. Israeli settlers fenced off a plot of land in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah belonging to the Salem family.

0.1 SOUNDBITE (in Arabic) Fatima Salem.

STORYLINE

Israeli settlers fenced off a plot of land in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah belonging to the Salem family

WAFA agency said that a group of Israeli settlers led by Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Arieh King, under heavily-armed police protection, braged their way into the neighborhood, where they re-installed barbed wires around a plot of land belonging to the Salem family as a prelude to seize it.

She added that the intruders physically assaulted members of the Salem family, inflicting fractures on a woman’s hand.

Police previously warned the family against participating in any solidarity activities denouncing settlers’ attempts to forcibly displace them and takeover their house in the neighborhood, and quelled such activities during the past month.

On December 16, and a day after settlers fenced off a plot of land belonging to the family for the first time, the Salem family, comprising 11 members, received an order to “evict” them from the house they lived in for over 70 years in favor of settler organizations, who alleged they had purchased the house from Jewish owners who had owned the house before 1948.

The neighborhood has become a scene of massive protests against Israel’s settler in since the Israeli authorities decided to forcibly expel dozens of families from their houses in favor of settler groups.

Palestinians have maintained that the Israeli authorities decision to “evict” the families from their houses in favor of the settler groups is politically-motivated and comes as part of Israel’s efforts to ethnically cleanse Jerusalemite Palestinians.

Since the occupation of Jerusalem by Israel in June 1967, Israeli settlers colonial organizations, including Elad and Ateret Cohanim, have claimed ownership of Palestinian property in Jerusalem. Backed by the Israeli state, judiciary and security services, these organizations have been working on wresting control of Palestinian property and convert it into colonial outposts as part of the efforts to ensure a Jewish majority in the city, as well as on managing archaeological sites in Silwan and overseeing their excavation. This scheme involves building new colonial tourist sites, such as the “City of David”, to bolster their propaganda.

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