Israeli police assaulted Palestinians in Jerusalem during a solidarity demonstration late on Friday, while standing by as groups of extremist Israelis chanted “We Want Nakba now”, led by a city councilman, The New Arab reported.
Scores of Sheikh Jarrah residents and activists took part in a protest against the new Israeli far-right government’s policies, waving Palestinian flags and calling for an end to Israeli apartheid.
In recent days, Israeli authorities have ordered the demolition of several Palestinian houses across Jerusalem, while continued Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank have claimed 12 Palestinian lives since the beginning of the year.
Jewish settlers, led by city councilman Yontan Yossef, amassed in a counter-protest, chanting racist slogans and calling for a repeat of the Nakba – the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their lands during the creation of Israel in 1948.
Jerusalem City Council member Yontan Yossef storms Sheikh Jarrah chanting “We want Nakba now.”
This man is responsible for denying thousands and thousands of Palestinian building permit applications, btw. When we say the Israeli settler state…pic.twitter.com/XXMU5luSwQ
— Mohammed El-Kurd (@m7mdkurd) January 13, 2023
Israeli police were seen assaulting Palestinian protesters, including elderly veteran protester Nafissa Khweiss, who regularly takes part in sit-in protests at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Israelis calling for a repeat of the Nakba, however, were allowed to continue chanting.
Chants calling for the expulsion of Palestinians have been given fresh oxygen in recent months by the rise of the extremist religious right in Israeli politics.
(The New Arab, PC, SOCIAL)
