Palestinians fear loss of family homes as evictions loom
by Joseph Krauss, The Associated Press
Posted May 9, 2021 11:42 am EDT
Last Updated May 9, 2021 at 11:44 am EDT
JERUSALEM When Samira Dajani’s family moved into their first real home in 1956 after years as refugees, her father planted trees in the garden, naming them for each of his six children.
Today, two towering pines named for Mousa and Daoud stand watch over the entrance to the garden where they all played as children. Pink bougainvillea climbs an iron archway on a path leading past almond, orange and lemon trees to their modest stone house.
Israeli security forces detain a Palestinian man, as they crack down on a protest in solidarity with Palestinian families who face forced eviction in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem, on May 4, 2021 [AFP/Ahmad Gharabli]
Over the past few weeks, as the Israeli colonial forces escalated their brutal violence against the Palestinians of occupied East Jerusalem, many hoped for some kind of a sharp reaction from the new Biden administration.
But that did not come. Instead, we once again heard about how “deeply concerned” the US State Department is about “unilateral steps that exacerbate tensions” and that both Israeli and Palestinian officials need “to act decisively to de-escalate tensions”.
Palestinians fear loss of family homes as forced evictions loom
Dozens of Palestinian families in east Jerusalem are at risk of losing their homes to Jewish settler groups following a decades-long legal battle.
By JOSEPH KRAUSSAssociated Press
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Samira Dajani holds a photo of her family in 1956 after they moved into their home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of east Jerusalem, Sunday. The Dajanis are one of several Palestinian families facing imminent eviction in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of east Jerusalem. Maya Alleruzzo/Associated Press
JERUSALEM When Samira Dajani’s family moved into their first real home in 1956 after years as refugees, her father planted trees in the garden, naming them for each of his six children.
JERUSALEM When Samira Dajani s family moved into their first real home in 1956 after years as refugees, her father planted trees in the garden, naming them for each of his six children. Today, two towering pines named for Mousa and Daoud stand watch over the entrance to the garden where they all played as children. Pink bougainvillea climbs an iron archway on a path leading past almond, orange and lemon trees to their modest stone house. The Samira tree has no leaves, she says, pointing to the cypress that bears her name. But the roots are strong. She and her husband, empty nesters with grown children of their own, may have to leave it all behind on Aug. 1. That s when Israel is set to forcibly evict them following a decades-long legal battle waged by ideological Jewish settlers against them and their neighbours.
May 7, 2021 Share
A dramatic drop in water levels on the Euphrates River in recent weeks is adding to tensions between Turkey and Syrian Kurdish forces.
Kurdish officials in northeast Syria accuse Turkey of reducing the levels of water flowing downstream, causing an agricultural crisis and a major power shortage in the region.
“Areas under our control benefit greatly from the Euphrates water supply, so this is a blockade approach by the Turkish government to undermine our authority and harm our region,” Badran Chia Kurd, the executive deputy president of the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES), told local radio station Arta FM on Tuesday.