Report: New Israeli Tools for Controlling Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood and Displacing Its Residents

SadaNews - The Israeli organization "Ir Amim" issued a new report today, Wednesday, revealing that the Israeli government has entered a new and dangerous phase in its efforts to control the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, one of the most prominent and symbolic neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.

According to the organization, "For decades, settlement associations have led campaigns to evict Palestinian families based on discriminatory laws that allow Jews to reclaim properties dating back to before 1948, while Palestinian families are denied the same right."

The new report shows that the Israeli state is now using unprecedented legal, planning, and administrative tools to achieve the same goal of displacing Palestinian residents and solidifying settlement presence in the heart of the neighborhood, according to the "Ir Amim" organization.

According to the report titled "Suffocating Sheikh Jarrah: New Tools for Israeli Control and Palestinian Displacement", these measures include:

Large-scale "urban renewal" projects that include about 2,000 housing units for settlers, which is more than the number of existing homes in the entire neighborhood, entirely excluding Palestinian residents.

Land registration (settlement of property rights) on several plots, allowing government institutions and settlers to register them in their names.

Confiscation of public spaces and reallocating them to serve Jewish religious institutions and national religious projects.

Using heritage and tourism projects to reshape the neighborhood's identity and enhance Israeli presence in it, similar to what is happening in Silwan and around the Old City.

The "Ir Amim" organization affirmed that "these new governmental mechanisms represent a coordinated and institutional strategy aimed at transforming Sheikh Jarrah from a vibrant Palestinian neighborhood into a fragmented enclave dominated by Israeli settlements. The report warns that these steps could sever the geographic connection between the Old City and North East Jerusalem neighborhoods, posing a serious threat to the future of the entire city."

Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at the "Ir Amim" organization, stated that "what we are witnessing in Sheikh Jarrah represents a new phase in Israel's efforts to entrench its control over East Jerusalem. After years of failed attempts by settlement associations to expel residents, the state itself is now taking the lead using new legal, administrative, and planning tools to establish Israeli presence and push Palestinians to leave. What is happening in Sheikh Jarrah is not limited to one neighborhood; it reflects a comprehensive government policy to reshape the entire city."