The eviction in Shimon Hatzadik
The eviction in Shimon HatzadikIsrael Police spokesperson

On Wednesday morning, Israel Police carried out an eviction order of illegal buildings built on grounds designated for a school for children with special needs in the Sheikh Jarrah (Shimon Hatzadik) neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel Police and the Jerusalem Municipality said in a statement.

The evacuation of the area has been approved by all the courts, including the Jerusalem District Court. Since the evacuation order was issued in 2017, members of the family living in the illegal buildings were given countless opportunities to hand over the land with consent, but unfortunately they refused to do so, even after meetings and repeated dialog attempts by the Jerusalem municipality.

The evacuation began on Sunday, January 16, 2022 and continued in the early hours of the morning on Wednesday, 19 January 2022. A number of people were detained for questioning on suspicion of violating a court order, violent fortification, and disturbing public order.

On Monday, one Arab barricaded himself on the roof of his family's illegal home, taking a gas balloon with him and threatening to blow himself up if police attempted to remove him.

"These illegal buildings had been preventing the construction of a school which can benefit the children of the entire Sheikh Jarrah community," the joint statement emphasized. "The family's illegal takeover of public space prevented hundreds of children with special needs from eastern Jerusalem from receiving a educational service that the municipality seeks to provide."