Ramallah, 17-03-08: “Yet another example of the nonchalance of Israeli police forces in the face of violence by settlers and extremists against Palestinians” was how PNI Secretary General, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP described an attack by members of Israeli far right groups on the Jabal Al Mukaber neighbourhood of Jerusalem last night.
Dozens of right-wing Jewish extremists and settlers stormed the Palestinian neighbourhood in East Jerusalem on Sunday evening with the express intent of demolishing the home of the family of a Palestinian man who killed eight Israelis at a Jewish seminary strongly associated to the Zionist settler movement on 6 March.
The demonstration was organized by right-wing groups including Komemiyut and Women in Green, and was attended by settlers from the West Bank and figures associated with the Kach party, a movement outlawed by Israel, Canada, the European Union and the United States.
Video footage of the incident shows around 200 Israelis marching through the streets chanting "Revenge" and "Death to the Arabs", before breaking through police barriers and hurling rocks at homes, smashing windows and damaging solar water heaters.
Despite the fact that it was an illegal demonstration, the police stood by as demonstrators gathered en masse in Jabal Al Mukaber, and did little to contain the violence.
News of the attack comes just days after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert approved the construction of 750 new housing units in the illegal Givat Zeev settlement in the West Bank, after the ultra-Orthodox Shas party threatened to quit his ruling coalition unless the construction was approved.
“The Olmert government has posited itself as one that will bring peace to the region through the Annapolis process,” commented Dr. Barghouthi. “But the nonchalance of its police force as extremist groups attack Palestinian property; its willingness to accommodate the whims of such groups in violation of international law; and its ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, betrays a stark lack of commitment to achieving peace,” concluded Dr. Barghouthi.