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Israel cleansing al-Quds of ethnic Palestinians: Rights body

Thursday, 17 December 2015 2:19 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 17 December 2015 2:19 PM ]

A Palestinian is checked by Israeli soldiers patrolling the streets of the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron) on December 15, 2015. ©AFP

A Palestinian human rights group has slammed the Israeli regime for attempting to clear al-Quds (Jerusalem) of the Palestinian population, saying Tel Aviv is committing “ethnic cleansing” against the oppressed people in the occupied city.

The comments were made by Shawan Jabarin, director of the Ramallah-based al-Haq rights group, at a conference in Indonesia organized by the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on the Question of Jerusalem.

“Since Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967, it has implemented a comprehensive policy to deepen its control over the city by weakening Palestinian presence and ties there. In Jerusalem, a policy of ethnic cleansing was pushing Palestinians out of the city. Since September, the situation had erupted,” he said.

Jabarin also urged the international community to sever cooperation with Israel, ban settlement products and implement sanctions against the regime.

Ban raps ‘Israeli occupation’

Meanwhile, in a statement issued to the conference, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also slammed “Israeli occupation” as the root cause of ongoing tensions in the Palestinian lands.

“The anger we are witnessing is bred from nearly five decades of Israeli occupation. It is the result of fear, humiliation, frustration, and mistrust,” said the UN chief.

Israeli forces use stun grenades to disperse Palestinian demonstrators in a street of the Muslim quarter in the Old City of East al-Quds (Jerusalem) during scuffles with Israeli riot police on September 15, 2015. ©AFP

Ban strongly condemned Israel’s illegal settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian lands, saying the Tel Aviv regime’s expansionist policies are an obstacle to peace.

The conference comes at a time when tensions in the occupied territories have escalated since the Israeli regime’s imposition of restrictions in August on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

Palestinians are angry at increasing violence by Israeli settlers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and their attacks on Palestinian properties, saying the Tel Aviv regime seeks to change the status quo of the compound.

Some 126 Palestinians have reportedly been killed so far in the recent escalation of violence since the start of October.

On Wednesday, Israeli rights group B’Tselem censured the regime’s military for using “excessive and unwarranted” force in killing Palestinians, saying this was tantamount to “summary execution.”

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