Senator Sanders, other progressives raise alarms about Israeli violence in Jerusalem al-Quds

US Senator Bernie Sanders and other prominent progressive lawmakers have raised the alarm about continued Israeli attacks against Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds.

About 100 Palestinians were wounded after Israeli forces cracked down on protesters in the Old City of Jerusalem al-Quds Saturday night.

The assault came a day after Israeli forces raided the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, firing rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades against hundreds of Palestinian worshipers who had gathered for prayers on Islam’s holy night of Laylat al-Qadr – or the “Night of Destiny.” More than 200 Palestinians were wounded on Friday night.

Many worshipers stayed on to protest Israeli plans to forcibly evict Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem al-Quds.

“The United States must speak out strongly against the violence by government-allied Israeli extremists in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and make clear that the evictions of Palestinian families must not go forward,” Sanders, an Independent senator from Vermont, tweeted on Saturday.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, echoed a similar sentiment in a Twitter post on Saturday.

“The forced removal of long-time Palestinian residents in Sheikh Jarrah is abhorrent and unacceptable. The Administration should make clear to the Israeli government that these evictions are illegal and must stop immediately,” the progressive senator wrote.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat and a rising star of the progressive movement, also took to Twitter to condemn the Israeli atrocities and express solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine.

“We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian residents” facing eviction, she wrote. “Israeli forces are forcing families from their homes during Ramadan and inflicting violence. It is inhumane and the US must show leadership in safeguarding the human rights of Palestinians,” Ocasio-Cortez added.

Democratic Rep Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress back in 2018, shared her concerns as well, slamming the brutality from Israeli forces and settlers on occupied territories.

“There is no reason, none, to attack people while they are praying or seeking medical attention—other than to dehumanize and terrorize them,” Tlaib tweeted on Saturday, sharing a video showing Israeli forces firing stun grenades into a medical facility.

Tensions have mounted in al-Quds, the occupied West Bank and Gaza throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, amid growing anger about the planned eviction of Palestinians from their homes on land claimed by illegal Israeli settlers in Sheikh Jarrah.

In a joint statement on Saturday, the so-called Middle East Quartet – the United States, Russia, European Union, and United Nations – expressed “deep concern” over Israeli atrocities in Jerusalem al-Quds.

“The envoys noted with serious concern the possible evictions of Palestinian families from homes they have lived in for generations… and voice opposition to unilateral actions, which will only escalate the already tense environment,” it said.

“We call upon Israeli authorities to exercise restraint and to avoid measures that would further escalate the situation during this period of Muslim holy days.”

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