Far-right MKs arrive in Sheikh Jarrah amid sky-high tensions

Ultranationalist Israeli MKs Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir arrive in the flashpoint East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, accompanied by a group of supporters.

Smotrich blames recent clashes in Jerusalem between Palestinians and Israeli police on the expected participation of Arab parties in the next government.

“When I move around in Jerusalem and see the [Palestinian] nationalist arrogance, the uprising, the rejection of the Jewish state… the penny should drop,” Smotrich says.

Palestinian demonstrators, including Arab Israeli MKs, chant “Jerusalem is Arab” farther down the street.

Smotrich calls the decision to delay a hearing that could have evicted four Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah “an enormous disgrace.”

“The police have abandoned Jerusalem,” Ben-Gvir adds.

סמוטריץ וסיעת הציונות הדתית בשייח ג׳ראח pic.twitter.com/xv0RPJR8VH

— יאיר שרקי (@yaircherki) May 10, 2021