Jerusalem: Jewish settlers moved into a
house in the Al-Tur district of occupied east Jerusalem Wednesday,
just hours after Israeli officials razed another Palestinian
home in the same neighbourhood.
Scores of police were at the scene as a single
bulldozer razed the small house near the Mount of Olives, in
an operation that was completed shortly before the owner
turned up with a court order to halt the demolition.
Abed Zablah showed a Jerusalem court order issued
early today but, by the time he reached home with the
document, it was too late.
Shortly afterwards, some 15 Jewish settlers,
accompanied by dozens of police, took over a house in another
part of the district, an Israeli peace activist said.
"Around 15 people entered the house which is next door
to another house which has been taken over by settlers," said
Assaf Sharon, who belongs to an Israeli-Palestinian group
which tries to stop settlers from taking over Arab homes in
east Jerusalem.
Sharon said the building, which had stayed empty for
two years due to a court order, had been purchased by Lowell
Investments. A foreign firm, it is believed to be a front for
the right-wing Elad movement that seeks to settle Jews in
mainly Arab east Jerusalem.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, November 24, 2010, 23:48