Israeli police locks down flashpoint Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM, Israeli occupation forces closed today all the entrances to Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem, denying entry and exit for the local Palestinian citizens.

Witnesses said the closure was an attempt by the Israeli occupation forces to block a weekly protest in support of families facing an Israeli threat of forceful eviction from their homes, an issue that has been the subject of recent tensions.

Meantime, Israeli police allowed hardcore settlers to enter or leave the neighborhood despite the shutdown which only applied to the local Palestinian citizens.

Dozens of families in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood have been facing an imminent threat of eviction by the Israeli occupation authorities, under the pretext that some of the land of the neighborhood belonged to Jews prior to the establishment of the occupying state of Israel in 1948.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency