Israeli forces to expel Palestinian Bedouin families from occupied East Jerusalem

Israeli authorities have issued expulsion orders for 15 Palestinian Bedouin families in two towns in occupied East Jerusalem.

Bir Nabala and Beit Hanina were stormed by occupying Israeli forces on Tuesday. They delivered a number of expulsion orders to families of the Kaabneh Bedouin tribe, according to Hassan Mleihat, the General-Supervisor of Al-Baydar Organization for the Defence of Bedouin Rights.

He said Israeli forces have their eye on seizing land the families have erected tents on.

Mleihat added that these expulsion orders are systemic attempts by Israeli authorities to carry out their policy of de-Palestinianisation in Jerusalem and to make room for more illegal Israeli settlements.

Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and has built settlements across the area in violation of international law.

Around 700,000 Jewish settlers now live there. The Palestinians want a future state with East Jerusalem as its capital and see the settlements as the biggest obstacle to peace. Most countries consider the settlements to be illegal.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognised by the international community and considers the entire city as its capital.

Palestinian residents in the city face systematic discrimination, especially when it comes to urban planning, making it extremely difficult for them to build new homes or expand existing ones.