By: Zahra Jawad
Palestinians in Bethlehem protest in solidarity with Sheikh Jarrah residents who are facing eviction on 10 May 2021 - Middle East Eye
As of the 17th of May, The UN has declared 10,000 Palestinians forced out of their home within the Gaza strip. The death toll since Benjamin Netanyahu’s order to impose a ground strike, has risen to over 200. With tensions escalating due to the disputed and controversial evictions in of six families in Sheikh Jarrah, analysts predict that the fallout of such violence may result to death tolls as high as the second Intifada.
At a glance…
The complex Israeli-Palestinian seventy-three-year-old conflict has proliferated into a Nexus of land dispute between the Arabs and Israelis fighting for influence and sovereignty over the regions, with the currently stateless Palestinian people living in the occupied West-Bank and Gaza being posed as liabilities between Israeli authorities and the rouge Islamic militant group Hamas.
Since 1948 – with the creation of Israel, Palestinian citizens have been caught in the cross hairs of the international conflict. Since the British departure from the Mandated Palestine, it is argued that Palestinians have been systematically expelled by Zionist settlers in the early 20th century through financially crippling their means of livelihood, furthermore enforced influxes of Jewish immigration backed by the British which in fact fuelled Palestinian frustration. Yet a different iteration is told by the Israeli pro Zionist narrative who claim all land was bought fairly – even at highly inflated prices, and that riots and resistance was started by the Arab leaders who had their own iniquitous and anti- Semitic intentions.
What’s Happening in Sheikh Jarrah.
What is currently been dubbed as one of the most controversial disputes of the 20th century has now been catapulted on to the global stage due to property disputes in Sheikh Jarrah, as of May 2021 at least four families are facing evictions within the neighbourhood. To give a brief historical context the narrative shows as follows: Posterior to the 1948 Nabka, in 1956 the government of Jordan cooperated with the UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency) to house 28 Palestinian families within the neighbourhood. The battle of Jerusalem led to the East of the city being taken by Jordanian forces which thus settled the families. Many Palestinians have built on their grassroots within these areas and have resided there for over 70 years. After the annexation of Jerusalem by Israeli forces after the 1967 Six-Day War, Settler organizations have been lobbying for the property rights of the disputed areas.
The quote on quote “legal seizure of these territories” have been based on Israel’s very controversial “Property Absentee Law” which came into active use in the 1950s which states that the following property can be seized by Israel can seize properties of Palestinian absentees and hand them over to Jewish settlers and the JNF (The Jewish National Fund). The word absentee also applies to the following 1. Properties who were once owned by Jews prior to 1948, and 2. Properties of Palestinians who live on land now annexed by Israel. The Law in 2015 was now also ruled by Israeli supreme court who has deemed the use of the law legal in East Jerusalem, bearing in mind East Jerusalem has been dubbed an occupied territory of the state of Palestine according to UN security council resolution 2334, this can be further supported by the fact that under the UN general assembly resolution 134 Palestinian refugees have a right to reside within those territories.
Israel’s continued seizure of territories has been (according to the UN security council) a violation regarding the fundamentals of international and humanitarian law whilst also breaching article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The UN, Amnesty international and several other state and non-state actors have called out the state on its constant disregard for international treaties.
After the foreseeable evictions of the 6 Palestinian families from East Jerusalem sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood caused an uproar of Israeli-Arab clashes, with Palestinians resisting the clutches of the occupation while Pro-Israeli advocates narrate the IDF clashes with Palestinian citizens as an act of self-defence. Hamas has retaliated over the violence by firing over 2000 rockets at Israel – however bearing in mind the iron defence shield preventing a spike in casualties, reporting 10 dead including two children. Palestinian casualties however have soared, with live reports coming in with new casualties every day. According to various news reports the eighth consecutive day on police raids and air strikes on Gaza have left over 200 Palestinians dead with thousands injured.
The current issue has erupted a mass array of global disconnect, solidarity for the Palestinians continue in the form of protest across Europe, London’s protest on the 16th of May according to the BBC had a turn out of over 150,000 people. Yet despite the growing support for Palestinian solidarity, past bills ushered by Israel lobbyists have called upon the UK to ban BDS against the state of Israel by banning public bodies from launching their own boycotting campaigns, yet despite the rejecting ruling by the UK supreme court increased pressures in the past have tried to impinge free speech on the matter.
In 2019 Right wing activists are attempting to spread new laws across Republican-controlled states that would suppress criticism on public university campuses of Israel and its occupation of Palestinian territory, which included banning human rights investigations as well as delegitimizing the right of Israel’s existence. Many would see these steps taken as way to impinge on academic freedom, violating the first amendment as well other constitutions who advocate for freedom of speech in the name of democracy. Raising awareness to such issues allows counter strikes to be taken to save freedom of speech.
What happens next.
The rockets raining down on Gaza have not only destroyed property and killed civilians but taken also destroyed any hope of furthering diplomatic ties with Israel. Netanyahu’s outside-in approach to try and legitimize Israel in the eyes of the international community has become strained due to such aggression on recent assaults against Gaza, paving way for Netanyahu’s political career to end in turmoil. This may also strain internal US politics as the Biden administration faces a schism due to progressive democrats pushing for tougher measures to curb the violence. Yet Biden takes a relaxed approach to the conflict, without calling for any direct measures to be undertaken, yet still taking a biased approach blocking UN security council members from making a statement. Predictions by journalists and analysts state that this will likely end in a ceasefire, yet the unsuccessful attempt made by an Egypt delegation may prove otherwise.
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