Thousands rally at Sheikh Jarrah

Israeli and Palestinian activists protest Jewish presence in east J'lem.

sheikh jarrah protest 311 (photo credit: AP)
sheikh jarrah protest 311
(photo credit: AP)
Approximately 3,000 Jewish and Arab activists were demonstrating in east Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood Saturday evening, protesting the eviction of four Palestinian families from their homes in August and the settlement of Jewish families inside the neighborhood.
Demonstrators waved Israeli and Palestinian flags and called out the slogan “no holiness in an occupied city” and prepared to march towards the Jewish settlement of Shimon Hatzadik inside the neighborhood. Meretz Chairman Haim Oron and New Israel Fund President Naomi Chazan were among the protesters.
Meanwhile over a hundred right-wing activists staged acounter-demonstration nearby. Some held signs declaring“leftists=traitors.”
There was a heavy police presence at the scene, but no violence or clashes have been reported so far.