Jen Marlowe writes: "I heard the jangle of ankle and wrist cuffs before I saw them. The detainees (five Israeli, four Palestinian and four international) were being led into a small court room. One woman had a black eye. They had been arrested the night before at a demonstration against the eviction of the Hannoun and al-Ghawe families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of east Jerusalem. At 5:00 Sunday morning, the families were removed from their homes by Israeli police, leaving 53 people homeless — 20 of them children."

"I walked to Sheikh Jarrah. It was easy to locate the houses. They were blocked off and guarded by police forces. I found the father of the Hannoun family, Maher, sitting on the pavement across from his home with his family, friends and supporters. A pile of thin foam mats were stacked up behind them."

"I asked Maher the details of what had taken place the previous morning. 'A lot of policemen came with weapons,' Maher told me. 'My son was standing guard outside. When he saw them, he came inside and locked the door. The soldiers broke the door to the gate, the main door and the windows. They got in by force and they kicked all the family out of the house. Seventeen people.' Read more

Also see: Evicted Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah Remain Dispossessed but Determined | Another Day Sleeping Under the Sky: The Situation in Sheikh Jarrah and the Uncertain Destiny of The Gawi and Hannoun Families | UN concerned over potential further evictions in East Jerusalem

Other articles by Jen Marlowe: The Ordeal of Suleiman Jamous Trapped in Darfur | Gaza Struggling under Siege | Death in Darfur | In Gaza, Circles of Hell