Israeli settler intentionally collides with a little Palestinian boy in Sheikh Jarrah

Emerging CCTV footage showed an Israeli settler riding an electric bicycle deliberately colliding with a little Palestinian boy in Sheikh Jarrah in occupied East Jerusalem. The incident happened on the afternoon of Wednesday, 16 August. 

The assailed boy, 12-year-old Tarif Alloul, is reportedly unharmed. His father, Muhammad, refused to give any other information about the incident. A relative said an ambulance was called to the scene and that the police were informed. 

Residents told The New Arab that the man's identity is unknown to them. However, one noted that he is a frequent visitor to the Shimon HaTzadik settlement located in the same neighbourhood. 

Just another day in the eternal undivided capital of Israel.

Sheikh Jarrah, occupied East Jerualem, August 15, 2023.

A not-too-young Israeli on an e-bike intentionally runs into a Palestinian child.

Zero provocation.

Pure malice.

Jerusalem? Sodom. https://t.co/59zEIjsVoC

— Daniel Seidemann (@DanielSeidemann) August 16, 2023

The area of Sheikh Jarrah is the focus of several far-right Jewish settler groups aiming to establish a Jewish presence, if not a majority. 

According to the Israeli settlement watch group Peace Now, at least 1,000 Palestinian families risk losing their homes to settler groups in East Jerusalem. 

The state-backed settler groups use a controversial law called "the Legal and Administrative Matters Law of 1970", which allows Jews the right to reclaim assets in occupied East Jerusalem, currently inhabited by Palestinians, on the premise that Jews owned them before the war of 1948. In contrast, Palestinians cannot recover properties lost during the conflict. 

In 2021, threats of evictions in Sheikh Jarrah and tensions in the Al-Aqsa ignited an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza's ruling Hamas militant group. Over 260 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead were killed. 

Israel illegally annexed East Jerusalem following the 1967 Mideast War. Since then, it has built Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem that are now home to some 220,000 people. At the same time, it has severely limited the growth of Palestinian neighbourhoods, leading to overcrowding and the unauthorised construction of thousands of homes that are at risk of demolition.