Settler Violence Continues in Sheik Jarrah

Settler violence continued in Sheik Jarrah this week when a settler attacked Samar Al Sabach, a Palestinian woman who was staying in the Sheik Jarrah tent just below the Sfaradim settlement. The settler first came to the Hanoun house, which is currently under threat of eviction and has been a leader in the campaign against evictions in Sheik Jarrah. After being scared off by a large crew of family members, neighbors and solidarity activists, the settler retreated to the Sheik Jarrah tent, a community center just below the Sfaradim settlement, former home of the Al Kurd family. The settler found Samar alone in the tent and attacked her, beating her over the head with a rock. Samar has been hospitalized, and is suffering serious head trauma. There were no witnesses to the attack, and no arrests have been made.

The attack was just one more incident in a new wave of settler violence that began this past Sunday, when settlers launched their new "pricetag" campaign. The campaign is a response to US special envoy George Mitchel's recent trip to Palestine, and the Obama administration's "hardline" rhetoric against settlements. 11 new outposts were erected Sunday as the "price" for condemning settlements, and settler attacks have been more frequent and violent then usual throughout East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The settler occupation in Sheik Jarrah this Sunday coincided with the launching of this campaign.

For more information about settlements in Sheik Jarrah, visit http://www.standupforjerusalem.org/.