Israel forcibly displaces more Palestinian families in East Jerusalem

Rights group says Israel ‘expanding ethnic cleansing in East Jerusalem, throwing Palestinian families into the streets’.About a dozen Palestinian families have been pushed out of their homes in occupied East Jerusalem, as human rights groups warn that Israel is intensifying a wave of forced displacement across the area.Israeli human rights group B’Tselem said on Wednesday that at least 11 Palestinian families were forced out of their homes in the Batn al-Hawa area of Silwan, just south of Jerusalem’s Old City and the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Palestine weekly wrap: West Bank attacks surge, Israel restricts Gaza aidlist 2 of 3UN expert says world has given Israel ‘licence to torture Palestinians’list 3 of 3Israeli settlers vandalise school, raise Israeli flag in occupied West Bankend of list“Amidst the ongoing illegal and lethal Israeli-American offensive against Iran, Israel is expanding its ethnic cleansing in East Jerusalem, throwing Palestinian families into the streets,” B’Tselem said in a social media post.Videos shared online showed a heavy Israeli police presence in the neighbourhood as workers wearing orange, reflective vests removed the families’ belongings from their homes.The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), a humanitarian group, said the homes are expected to be transferred to the Israeli settler organisation Ateret Cohanim. “Over 1,000 more Palestinians in East Jerusalem are at risk of forced eviction,” the group wrote on X.Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have faced a wave of soaring Israeli settler and military violence in the shadow of Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.At least 1,052 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and troops in the West Bank between the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023 and the end of January of this year, according to United Nations figures.