U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton criticized Israel’s eviction of Arab squatters from the Shimon HaTzadik (Sheikh Jarrah) neighborhood of Jerusalem. After a meeting with Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh in Washington Monday, Clinton said, “The eviction of families and demolitions of homes in East Jerusalem is not in keeping with Israeli obligations and I urge the government of Israel and municipal officials to refrain from such provocative actions.”
The Obama administration recently criticized repair work on property intended for Jews to live within the same neighborhood. In response, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stated that Jews should be allowed to live anywhere within Israel’s capital, just like they are allowed to live anywhere in the United States.