Israelis add their voices to a protest against eviction orders issued to two Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah district of east Jerusalem (al-Quds), Press-TV reported.
Israeli watchdog Ir Amim on Tuesday condemned the orders issued by an Israeli court on Sunday as part of development plans aimed at creating a ring of Jewish settlements around the Old City and its holy sites.
"On May 17, two Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of east Jerusalem received court orders to vacate their homes by July 19, 2009," the group said.
The group revealed that the houses will be turned over to settler organization Nahalat Shimon International, which seeks to demolish the existing Palestinian neighborhood and build a 200-unit settlement in its place.
The NGO warned that the actual and pending evictions of Palestinian families would "threaten to spark a dangerous escalation of the conflict in the city" and would also raise "international controversy".
"Israeli authorities claim that Palestinian residents have lost their rights as protected tenants due to delinquency in rent payments, while Palestinians maintain that Israeli ownership claims are baseless."
According to Ir Amim, five to six buildings in the area are now being lived in by Israeli settlers, while active court cases threaten four Palestinian extended families.
Israel occupied east al-Quds (Jerusalem) during the 6-day war of 1967 and illegally annexed it later in spite of international opposition, settling at least 190,000 Israelis in the area home to some 270,000 Palestinians.
Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US President Barack Obama in Washington, where the White House urged the hawkish premier -- in vain -- to stop the expansion of Israeli settlements.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry said on Tuesday that he frankly brought the issue forward during talks with visiting Netanyahu.
The West Bank settlers' umbrella organization Yesha Council says the Netanyahu government will definitely allow settlers to continue their activities in the West Bank.
Under a 2003 US-backed peace "road map", Israel is required to stop settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories.
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