donderdag 29 juli 2021

We Palestinians are still fighting for our homes

 

Here in Jerusalem, we Palestinians are still fighting for our homes

The world has looked away, but in Sheikh Jarrah the effort to dispossess us has not slowed down

A member of Israeli security forces aims a stun grenade gun at Palestinian protesters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem on 17 July.
A member of Israeli security forces aims a stun grenade gun at Palestinian protesters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem on 17 July.Photograph: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
Wed 28 Jul 2021 14.57 BST

Afew months ago, the world’s attention was on Sheikh Jarrah, my neighbourhood in occupied Jerusalem. For decades, Israeli settlers, backed by their state, have been trying to displace us from our homes and colonise our neighbourhood. The UN called these forcible expulsions a war crime. I call this theft – because it is.

In May, our efforts to resist this takeover received a surge of solidarity from Palestinians across Jerusalem and further afield, in what became known as the Unity Uprising. Palestinians were subjected to Israeli violence across the eastern part of Jerusalem – not only in Sheikh Jarrah, but outside the Damascus gate (itself a focus of protests), and in and around the al-Aqsa mosque – which escalated into attacks on besieged Gaza. Palestinians mobilised and resisted, and around the world people demonstrated in support of the Palestinian right to liberation and decolonisation. But after the ceasefire, the world’s attention has moved away. The reality for Palestinians, however, has not changed.

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