Tiny east Jerusalem neighborhood emerges as symbol of Palestinian struggle

Sheikh Jarrah is a tiny neighborhood of east Jerusalem that has become the flashpoint in the recent unrest in the Israeli capital, and where a property dispute is threatening to drag Israel and Gaza into another major conflict.

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Protesters in Sheikh Jarrah are trying to prevent Israel from evicting eight Palestinian families and letting Jews move in.

The standoff has seen violent clashes around the walled Old City and on Monday led to rocket fire by Gaza terrorists, drawing Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

It has also made Sheikh Jarrah an emblem of what Palestinians alledge to be an Israeli campaign to force them out of east Jerusalem.

A tree-lined area of sandstone homes, foreign consulates and luxury hotels, Sheikh Jarrah lies about 500 metres (550 yards) from the Old City's Damascus Gate.

It is named after a personal physician to Saladin, the Muslim conqueror who seized Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187.

Palestinians live in most of Sheikh Jarrah's homes, but Israelis have moved in to some of its properties, saying they were owned by Jews before the 1948 War of Independence that followed the end of the British Mandate for Palestine.

Israel's government has downplayed any state involvement, portraying it as a real estate dispute between private parties.

On Monday, Arab Israeli lawmakers were among protesters, some of them chanting "Settlers out!", who faced off with several ultra-nationalist Israeli politicians along Othman Ibn Affan street. Police kept them apart.

The Palestinians have lived in Sheikh Jarrah since they were re-housed there in the 1950s by Jordan after fleeing or being forced to abandon their homes in West Jerusalem and Haifa during the fighting around Israel's creation in 1948.

The Israelis who filed the lawsuit over Othman Ibn Affan street said they bought the land from two Jewish associations that purchased it at the end of the 19th century.

A lower Israeli court found in favor of the settlers under an Israeli law that allows Jews to reclaim ownership of property lost in 1948. No such law entitles Palestinians to do the same in west Jerusalem or other parts of Israel.

"Our families came here as refugees. It's happening all over again," said Sheikh Jarrah resident Khaled Hamad, 30.

Across the street, an Israeli said the Supreme Court had rewarded Palestinians by delaying a hearing on the case as tensions rose.

"If anything they should have moved the ruling up," said the settler, who gave his name only as Yaakov.

The United States is among critics of the evictions, raising the prospect of them becoming a diplomatic liability for Israel.

Anti-eviction protests have been held in Palestinian cities across the West Bank and by Arab Israelis in Haifa and Nazareth.

Joint Arab List MK Ahmad Tibi showed his support by coming to Othman Ibn Affan street. Support has poured out on social media.

Salem Barahmeh, a member of the Palestinian youth movement Generation for Democratic Renewal, said Sheikh Jarrah was "mobilising young Palestinians in Palestine and all over the world."

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