MK Itamar Ben Gvir made good on his promise Thursday night and arrived at the site of his new parliamentary bureau in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, also called the Shimon HaTzaddik neighborhood.
Ben Gvir Relocates Parliamentary Office to Jerusalem’s Shimon HaTzadik (Sheikh Jarrah) Neighborhood
After the conclusion of the daily Ramadan fast, dozens of Arabs gathered in front of the new bureau inaugurated by Ben Gvir, chairman of the Otzma Yehudi party. The rioters yelled epithets at him and hurled stones, plastic chairs and other furniture at him, his new office and at the activists who were there with him as well.
Alon Nuriel, spokesperson for Ben Gvir, said police “stood on the sidelines and did not intervene.”
The rioters yelled, “Occupiers, thieves. We will not move from here!” and blasted some Arabic music along with the shouting. Jewish activists played music in Hebrew in response, according to the Hebrew-language N12 television news outlet.
Ben Gvir said in a statement about the violence that Israel Police have become “bankrupt.”
תיעוד: הקטטה האלימה בין יהודים לערבים בשייח ג'ראח בירושלים pic.twitter.com/tmRdzpCr4P
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Almost immediately after he arrived at the new venue, “Arab rioters destroyed my office,” he told JewishPress.com in a text.
“They threw stones, chairs and everything else nearby, as the police stood aside and did not intervene.
“It is time to provide a strong backing for the police, to instruct them to deal with bullies and not to handcuff the hands of police.
“The time has come for police to operate against anyone who tries for days on end to hurt the residents of the Shimon HaTzadik neighborhood, under the sovereignty of the State of Israel.”
After the conclusion of the daily Ramadan fast, dozens of Arabs gathered in front of the new parliamentary bureau of MK Itamar Ben Gvir, chairman of the Otzma Yehudi party. The rioters yelled epithets at him and hurled stones and other objects at him, at his new office and at the activists who were with him.
“Occupiers, thieves. We will not move from here!” the rioters yelled and blasted some Arabic music along with the shouting as young Jewish activists played music in Hebrew in response, according to the Hebrew-language N12 television news outlet.
Police commander Sami Marciano, head of the Kedem police district, said the clashes are part of the same escalation that has been taking place over the past three weeks, perpetrated by Arab agitators and residents who live in the neighborhood, and aimed at the several dozen Jewish families who have moved into the area.
Police had made seven arrests by 9:30 pm, according to N12.
Earlier in the evening, before police arrived, the rioting included pepper spray in addition to throwing stones and plastic chairs.
Bottom line? “We will stay until they stop attacking Jews,” Ben Gvir’s spokesperson said.