Arab residents in Silwan complain they are being driven out after Jews bought 6 properties in the Jerusalem neighborhood last month.

By Noam (Dabul) Dvir, News Agencies

Arab residents in East Jerusalem on Monday night threw Molotov cocktails and firecrackers at a building in Silwan into which nine Jewish families moved the night before. No one was hurt and no damage was caused.

Israeli police guard the entrance to house in Silwan that Jewish settlers moved into – Photo: AP

Police and Border Police forces disperse the rioters using crowd dispersal means. A Molotov cocktail found by police was taken to a forensics lab for testing.

The families moved into two buildings in the “Yemenite Village” in Silwan, called Beit Frumkin and Beit Ovadia, a few hundred meters from each other.

A previous move on September 30 by settlers into homes bought in the Silwan neighborhood, in an area captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, coincided with a US visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, drew White House condemnation and created a high-profile spat with Israel.

Hoping to cement Israel’s claim on all of Jerusalem, far-right Jews have been paying top dollar for Silwan properties, often through Arab middle-men to circumvent Palestinian taboos on such sales.

An estimated 500 settlers, armed or protected by paramilitary police, live in Silwan among 50,000 Palestinians.

Ateret Cohanim, an organization that settles Jews in Arab areas of East Jerusalem, said it facilitated the purchase of the two buildings from their Arab owners. Spokesman Daniel Lurie said the buildings contain nine apartment units and that Jewish families and religious studies students would soon move into the properties, immediately doubling the Jewish presence in that section of Silwan.

“For the Jewish people, having Jewish life back in an old Jewish neighborhood is paramount,” said Lurie. The homes were purchased in an area where Jewish immigrants from Yemen lived for a few decades before they left amid Arab riots in the 1920s and 1930s.

In an apparent bid to stave off fresh scrutiny and possible confrontations, Monday’s Israeli arrivals slipped in by night and holed up in the two buildings whose apartments, Palestinians said, had been vacant for months after being sold through a local intermediary who had since absconded.

Late last month, Jewish settlers took over six properties in another area of Silwan, in the biggest settler acquisition in the neighborhood since Jews began moving there two decades ago. The White House called the move a provocation, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended it, saying residents may buy properties wherever they want.

Silwan resident Mahmoud Qarain argues with Israeli police inside his cousin’s home, which has been purchased by Jewish settlers – Photo: AP

But in a speech Sunday, President Reuven Rivlin criticized the way the homes were occupied. He is a supporter of Jews moving to the Arab area, but said Jerusalem cannot be a city, “where sneaking into apartments is done in the cover of night.”

Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it, a move not recognized internationally. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as their capital, while Israel says all of Jerusalem will forever remain its capital. The international community, including the US, does not recognize Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem and says the area’s fate must be resolved through negotiations.

The Silwan neighborhood where the homes were purchased is one of the city’s most sensitive areas. Located adjacent to the walled Old City and the city’s holiest site for both Jews and Muslims, the Arab neighborhood sits atop ancient ruins where Jewish tradition says the biblical King David established his capital.

Palestinians say the move is an effort to cement a Jewish presence in the contested neighborhood while driving locals out.

“They’re all thieves,” said Umm Muhammed Shiyoukhi, a Palestinian who lives near one of the homes occupied Monday.

Two Palestinian women stand at their balcony over looking the entrance of the neighboring house that belongs to Palestinian Ziad Qarain, which Jewish settlers moved into – Photo: AP

Jewish real estate deals in the neighborhood are often conducted in the shadows.

Residents claim that Arab brokers purchase homes from local residents and then quietly sell the homes to settler organizations. Settler groups say purchases are purposely kept confidential to protect Arab sellers from attacks by their neighbors.

Israeli lawyer Avi Segal said in an email that Kudram Ltd., a foreign real estate investment company he represents, legally purchased the two buildings, which were occupied Monday with the help of the Ateret Cohanim group.

Segal said another real estate company he represents, Kendall Finance, purchased the six buildings that were occupied in Silwan late last month, a move that a different Jewish settlement organization, the Elad Foundation, helped facilitate.

The lawyer did not respond to questions about the identity of both companies.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

View original Ynet publication at: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4582125,00.html