Palestinians and Jewish settlers hurled stones, chairs and fireworks at each other overnight in a tense Jerusalem neighbourhood where settler groups are trying to evict several Palestinian families, officials said Tuesday.
The threatened evictions fuelled protests and clashes in the runup to last month's 11-day Gaza war and pose a test for Israel's new governing coalition, which includes three pro-settler parties but is hoping to sideline the Palestinian issue to avoid internal divisions.
Israeli police and border officials said they arrested four suspects in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. It was unclear who started the brawl. One woman was reportedly injured when she was hit in the back by a stone, police said.
The Red Crescent emergency service said its crews treated 20 Palestinians, including 16 suffering from pepper spray and tear gas and others wounded by rubber-coated bullets. Two other people were wounded, including an elderly man who was hit in the head, it said.
The Red Crescent said settlers threw stones at one of its ambulances and Israeli forces sprayed skunk water on a second ambulance belonging to the service.
The eruption of violence is the latest friction in Sheikh Jarrah, where weeks of unrest captured international attention ahead of the 11-day Israel-Hamas war last month. The cease-fire took effect on May 21, but the long-running campaign by Jewish settlers to evict dozens of Palestinian families continues.
A Palestinian demonstrator is arrested by Israeli security forces, as Palestinian families face eviction, part of an ongoing effort by Jewish Israelis to take control of homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied east Jerusalem, on June 21, 2021. | AFP
Eviatar: Israeli youths carry flags at the outpost of Eviatar near the northern West Bank town of Nablus, Monday, June 21, 2021. | PTI
Israeli border guards stand at attention in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah on June 21, 2021, during clashes between Israeli far-right extremists and Palestinians. | AFP
Israeli border guards stand at attention in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah on June 21, 2021, during clashes between Israeli far-right extremists and Palestinians. | AFP
Israeli security forces spray Palestinian protesters with skunk water in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah on June 21, 2021, during clashes between Israeli far-right extremists and Palestinians. | AFP
A Palestinian demonstrator is arrested by Israeli security forces, as Palestinian families face eviction, part of an ongoing effort by Jewish Israelis to take control of homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied east Jerusalem, on June 21, 2021. | AFP
A Palestinian demonstrator is arrested by Israeli security forces, as Palestinian families face eviction, part of an ongoing effort by Jewish Israelis to take control of homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied east Jerusalem, on June 21, 2021. | AFP
With inputs from AP.
