Family members threatened to burn themselves and blow up the houses…the Salhiya family prevents its eviction
Monday, the Salhiya family failed its eviction from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in favor of the “occupation municipality,” with a sit-in, refusing to leave, and threatening to blow up the two houses and burn themselves if the eviction decision was implemented.
The crews of the occupation municipality, accompanied by the forces from “Al-Yamam, the Special Forces, the police, officers, and the intelligence” stormed the property of the Salhiya family in the early morning hours, accompanied by bulldozers and trucks, ahead of the deadline set by the court to implement the eviction order, which ends on the 25thof this month, and completely surrounded it, simultaneously with the storming of commercial facilities. The Salhiya family began to sit on the roof of their houses, threatening to explode gas cylinders and set the two houses on fire.
Mahmoud Salhiya said: "We will not live a new catastrophe, we were displaced from the village of Ein Karem, and today they want us to be displaced from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, we will not be afraid of threats and intrusions, and I will not leave the house except to the grave, I will burn myself and blow up the two houses."
The Salhiya family members and dozens of young men placed gas cylinders on the roof of the house, and fabrics and blankets to burn if the intrusion took place. They also closed all entrances to the houses with wood and fire to prevent the advance of the forces that were completely besieging them, and in front of the family’s steadfastness for more than 10 hours on the roof of the house, the forces retreated from implementing the eviction order.
The Salhiya explained that he has fought in the occupation courts for about 25 years to prove his right to the land and what is on it, which has an area of 6 Dunoms, and he refused to give it up in exchange for millions, and today he is clinging to his right to the property, threatening to burn himself.
He explained that the real estate on his land consists of a nursery, a car dealership, a car repair shop, a barber shop, and a car wash...which dozens of families in Jerusalem depend on for their livelihood.
The bulldozer completely demolished the commercial facilities, destroyed the floors, and placed the boards around the land, under the pretext of a plan to build a school on the site, in conjunction with a complete closure and siege on the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Arrests
The Salhiya family stated that the forces arrested Ahmed Al-Khatib, Yahya Al-Khatib, Hamza Bseisu, and Abdullah Al-Ikrimawi, in addition to separate arrests from the street near the property.
