Israel police evict Jerusalem residents from disputed houses

By ILAN BEN ZION
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police have evicted Palestinian residents from a disputed property in a flashpoint Jerusalem neighborhood. The predawn demolition took place in Sheikh Jarrah, an east Jerusalem neighborhood where attempts by Jewish settlers to evict longtime Palestinian residents have sparked protests that last year helped lead to an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza militants. Earlier in the week residents held a tense standoff with police officers who had come to evict them from the property. The Jerusalem Municipality formally seized the property in 2017 to build a special needs school. The family says it has owned the property since before 1967, when Israel captured east Jerusalem.