Israeli Attorney General requests the postponement of the evacuation session of “Sheikh Jarrah”

Israel’s Attorney General has asked the High Court to adjourn Monday’s hearing on evictions in the Sheik Jarrah neighborhood.

The Public Broadcasting Corporation of Israel said that Attorney General Avichaï Mandelblit had asked the court to adjourn its sessions for 14 days.

The Public Broadcasting Corporation has previously said that “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the matter of postponing court sessions with Justice Minister Benny Gantz in an effort to reduce tension in East Jerusalem.”

The Israeli High Court of Justice has set Monday as the start date for hearing Palestinians and Israeli settlers about the Israeli Central Court’s decision to expel 4 Palestinian families from their homes in Sheik Jarrah for settlers.

The central court’s decision to expel the families from their homes has sparked protests in East Jerusalem for more than two weeks.

Palestinians warned that the decision to evict families from their homes would be a prelude to evacuating more families in the future.

The Israeli Supreme Court’s decision cannot be appealed if it decides to proceed with the eviction of the families.

“In 1956, 27 families set up homes in Sheikh Jarrah, under an agreement with the Jordanian government and the UN refugee agency, UNRWA.”

But settlers say that “the land on which the houses were built was owned by Jews decades ago and they demand the eviction of Palestinians from these houses.”

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said in a report translated by Al Ain News: “Gantz, who is also defense minister, discussed with Netanyahu the possibility of trying to delay the court session to reduce tensions.”

She added : “They have asked the Prosecutor to consider whether this step is legally viable.”

It was not clear whether the court sessions would actually be postponed.

The Israeli action drew angry reactions. In recent days, many Arab and Western countries have called on Israel to reverse the decision to evacuate families from their homes.

The United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations on Saturday evening called on Israel to avoid actions that would further escalate the situation.