Syria Denounces Israeli Brutality in Occupied East al-Quds Neighborhood as ‘War Crime’

Syria has roundly condemned the brutal practices of Israeli military forces and extremist Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the occupied East al-Quds neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah as “war crimes,” calling on international organizations to put an end to the rising acts of the regime’s aggression.

“The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates follows up on ferocious Israeli assaults being committed by Israeli settlers and troops against local Palestinians in the occupied al-Quds. The attacks have claimed several lives and caused damage to property,” the ministry said in a statement released on Monday.

It denounced the displacing of Palestinian families from their ancestral homes in Sheikh Jarrah as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and a flagrant violation of international law and humanitarian principles.

“Syria calls on world states as well as international humanitarian organizations to immediately stop Israeli practices and prevent the regime from killing more Palestinians and trampling on their rights,” the ministry stated.

Clashes broke out in Sheikh Jarrah on Sunday as far-right Jewish lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir of the Religious Zionism alliance opened a parliamentary office there, in what was described as an effort to exacerbate the situation in the neighborhood.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned Ben Gvir’s step as a “provocative” move that “threatens to ignite violence.”

The ministry said the failure of the international community and the UN Security Council to take necessary measures to compel Israel to stop its occupation of al-Quds encourages the occupying regime to forge ahead with its colonial Judaization projects in the Holy City.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry then held the Israeli regime fully and directly responsible for the escalation in occupied al-Quds and the potentially dire consequences.

The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement has issued a strong warning to the Israeli regime and settlers after the latter renewed their attacks on Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah.

Mohammed Hamadeh, a spokesman for the Gaza-based movement, said the attack “amounts to a clear violation” and that Israel is “playing with fire.”

Sheikh Jarrah has been the scene of frequent crackdowns by the Israeli police on the Palestinians protesting against the displacement of dozens of Palestinian families in favor of Israeli settler groups.

Since Israel seized East al-Quds in a 1967 war, Israeli settler organizations have claimed ownership of land in Sheikh Jarrah and have filed multiple lawsuits to force Palestinians out of their homes in the area.

Source: Press TV