An Israeli settler movement has submitted an application for a new Jewish neighbourhood in the Sheikh Jarrah area of East Jerusalem. The Amara movement submitted a proposal to the planning association to build a Jewish neighbourhood comprising 122 housing units at the former site of the Shepherd Hotel. The Shepherd Hotel, often referred to as the "Mufti's House", was originally built in the 1930s for the former mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, though he never actually lived there.
It was demolished in 2009. The application is scheduled for an initial hearing before Jerusalem’s Local Planning and Building Committee on 11 November. Founded in the 1970s, Amara has been one of the prime driving forces behind settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories, but this latest development would be its first settlement in Sheikh Jarrah. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The news comes as Israeli forces launched a widespread operation targeting the West Bank city of Hebron.
Israeli forces have detained at least 20 Palestinians during the ongoing military siege, which has also led to the displacement of more than 2,200 people. Another East Jerusalem neighbourhood is demolished as the world fails to act Read More » The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli forces stormed most neighbourhoods of Hebron, raided and searched homes, and subjected citizens to abuse before detaining several Palestinians.
The forces also raided the towns of Dura, Yatta and as-Samu, south of Hebron, detaining 11 Palestinians after storming their homes and mistreating them. Two more Palestinians were detained in Tarqumiya, west of Hebron, along with others from the town of Halhul to the north. Wafa reported that Israeli forces turned several Palestinian homes into barracks and observation posts. The news agency said troops took over homes in the Khallat Manna and Dahiyat al-Zaytoun areas of southern Hebron to be used as barracks.
Middle East Eye reports a settler group's plan for a 122-unit settlement in Sheikh Jarrah and an Israeli raid and siege in Hebron, naming the actors and Wafa's account of abuse and home seizures. It never tells the reader that the settlement would be illegal under international law, or that the court found the occupation of East Jerusalem unlawful. In its opening sentence it calls the settlement a "Jewish neighbourhood", the settlers' own word.
Hedges the documented record
Serious
“a new Jewish neighbourhood in the Sheikh Jarrah area of East Jerusalem”
Why this matters
These words place the planned settlement in "East Jerusalem" with no word on its legal status. Nowhere does the article say the settlement would be illegal or that Israel's rule over East Jerusalem is unlawful.
The impression it gives
A reader takes the plan as a planning matter, a new housing project awaiting a hearing, whose legality is open.
The context
The International Court of Justice found Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal and its occupation unlawful. The whole article turns on a new settlement, yet it never gives that settled status.
How we know
On the recordThe International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal under international law.icj-cij.org (opens in a new tab)
On the recordThe International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem unlawful.icj-cij.org (opens in a new tab)
Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “illegal” and “unlawful”.
An Israeli settler movement has applied to build a 122-unit settlement in Sheikh Jarrah in occupied East Jerusalem. The International Court of Justice has found Israel's settlements there illegal and its occupation unlawful.
Uses the occupation's words
Minor
“new Jewish neighbourhood”
Why this matters
In its own voice the outlet calls the planned settlement a "new Jewish neighbourhood" in the opening sentence, the settlers' term for it.
The impression it gives
A reader meets the project first as an ordinary residential district.
The context
The outlet's own headline calls it a settlement, so the body softens what the headline states.
How we know
In the headline“new Jewish settlement in Sheikh Jarrah”