Palestinians face stun grenades and 'skunk water' in street violence in East Jerusalem

There were violent confrontations between Israeli settlers, riot police and Palestinians on Monday evening

Israeli border guards gather in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah. AFP

Protesters take part in a demonstration against the possible eviction of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah, after an Israeli court accepted Jewish settler land claims. Reuters

The potential eviction of Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah helped spark violence in East Jerusalem in May. Reuters

Israeli and Arab activists protest against the potential eviction of the Palestinian families. EPA

Israeli border police block a road into Sheikh Jarrah. EPA

Activists say plans to evict the families are aimed at pushing Palestinians out of East Jerusalem, while Israel has referred to the issue as a 'property dispute'. EPA

East Jerusalem has been the scene of several protests against the threatened evictions. AFP

Demonstrators in East Jerusalem carry a banner that reads: " We are with you Sheikh Jarrah." AFP

Israeli security forces spray Palestinian protesters with 'skunk water' in Sheikh Jarrah. AFP

A Palestinian is detained by Israeli security forces during a protest. AFP

Palestinians and Jewish settlers hurled stones, chairs and fireworks at each other overnight in a tense Jerusalem neighborhood where settler groups are trying to evict several Palestinian families, officials said on Tuesday.

The threatened evictions fueled protests and clashes in the runup to last month’s 11-day Gaza war and pose a test for Israel’s new governing coalition, which includes three pro-settler parties but is hoping to sideline the Palestinian issue to avoid internal divisions.

Israeli police and border officials said they arrested four suspects in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

The officials said someone launched fireworks at police forces and residents’ houses and that “several Molotov cocktails were thrown and stones were thrown.” One woman was reportedly injured when she was hit in the back by a stone, police said.

The Red Crescent emergency service said its crews treated 20 Palestinians, including 16 suffering from pepper spray and tear gas and others wounded by rubber-coated bullets. Two other people were wounded, including an elderly man who was hit in the head, it said.

The Red Crescent said settlers threw stones at one of its ambulances and Israeli forces sprayed skunk water on a second ambulance belonging to the service.

The eruption of violence is the latest friction in Sheikh Jarrah, where weeks of unrest captured international attention ahead of the 11-day Israel-Hamas war last month.

The cease-fire took effect on May 21, but the long-running campaign by Jewish settlers to evict dozens of Palestinian families continues.

The renewed violence represents the first challenge for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the right-wing Yamina party. In two years, he’ll be replaced by Yair Lapid, leader of centrist Yesh Atid.

Leading the opposition is Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, ousted from the premiership after holding the post for 12 years.

An intervention by Israel’s attorney general at the height of the unrest has put the most imminent evictions on hold. But rights groups say evictions could still proceed in the coming months as international attention wanes, potentially igniting another round of bloodshed.

The settlers have been waging a decades-long campaign to evict the families from densely populated Palestinian neighborhoods just outside the walls of the Old City, in one of the most sensitive parts of East Jerusalem.

Israel captured east Jerusalem, home to holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 war and annexed it in a move not recognised internationally. Israel views the entire city as its capital, while the Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

The settlers say the homes are built on land that was owned by Jews prior to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. Israeli law allows Jews to reclaim such property, a right denied to Palestinians who lost lands and homes in the same conflict.