Aryeh King in eastern Jerusalem
Aryeh King in eastern JerusalemIsrael news photo: World Net Daily

Arabs destroyed a Jewish home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem last week after forcing a Jewish contractor to leave. Both the Arabs and Jews claim that police were involved, but a police spokesman said he knows of no activity in the area.

The Bethlehem-based Maan news agency, which is closely affiliated with the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, reported Wednesday morning that senior Fatah leaders prevented Jews from entering the home. The Fatah officials, in the presence of police, reportedly convinced the Jews to leave the property, allegedly owned by an Arab since the 1940s.

Aryeh King, whose Israel Land Fund is heavily involved in the Jewish presence in eastern Jerusalem, said that the incident actually took place two weeks ago and that the police evicted the Jews.

“We came to make repairs and move in a family,” according to King. “The Arabs called police, who decided to evict the Jewish contractor without even presenting or asking for documents or receiving a complaint from the Arabs.”

King said that the Jews were told by the police the following day that they could return to the building but then discovered that it had been wrecked. “They broke off doors and smashed the walls,” King said.

He added that the property has been registered under Jewish ownership for a decade and that the Arabs have yet to file a complaint. King also said that the Maan report, claiming that the courts will hear a property ownership appeal in September, is false.

King also charged that the Jews cannot win compensation from the government for the damage because the police refused to declare the destruction an act based on anti-Jewish nationalism. He said he will ask the Minister of Internal Security to intervene.

Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said he is not aware of any police activity in the area but is investigating to ascertain if police were involved in the incident.