EU missions condemn eviction of Palestinian family from East Jerusalem home

The European Union missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah issued a joint statement on Saturday condemning the eviction of an Arab family from an East Jerusalem home.

Israeli police evicted the family from a home in the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina Wednesday, after a court ruled that the house was purchased by Jews in the 1970s.

The joint statement announced that the EU missions “are deeply concerned by the plans to build a new settlement in the midst of this traditional Palestinian neighborhood.”

Arieh King, who directs an organization that buys land for Jews in east Jerusalem, said Wednesday that about ten Israelis moved into the home.

Beit Hanina is part of East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in 1967 and which Palestinians claim as the capital of their future state.