06 Aug 2021; MEMO: The US State Department has urged Israel to refrain from evicting Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah area of occupied East Jerusalem. Nevertheless, spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Thursday that the department believes that the proposal offered by an Israeli court this week is a matter for the Israeli and Palestinian parties to consider.
"We've said this just this week and many times before that: families should not be evicted from their homes in which they have lived for decades," explained Price." We have encouraged Israeli authorities to avoid evictions and other actions that exacerbate tensions and that undercut efforts to advance a negotiated two-state solution."
Price declined to answer a question on whether any US diplomat had met or contacted the Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah to make any "compromise" in the case.
It was reported earlier this week that Israel has asked the US to put pressure on the Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah to pay rent to illegal settlers. This followed a court proposal for the families to accept "protected residence" status instead of ownership of their properties.
