International Solidarity Movement
11th April 2010
Nabil Al-Kurd, head of the Al-Kurd family was arrested last night at midnight. He went with police to file a report against a settler who threatened his life and was violating previous release agreements by coming to the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and was arrested. Two settlers are also being held. At the police station both settlers and international and Israeli activists came to give statements. Settlers were allowed to enter the police station and give statements. International and Israeli activists waited for three hours with video footage but were not allowed to speak to police. 
Settlers began gathering around sundown at the entrance to the Al-Kurd home. The door to the home was malfunctioning, angering and embarrassing the group of 15 young men. The fence, erected two weeks ago through a garden-beautification project organized by East Jerusalem youth, has been a source of contention since the beginning. While waiting to enter their stolen home, settler boys began dismantling the fence with their hands, and by jumping on it.
Settlers claim that the fence violates their “property rights” while legal documents state that only the home, not the yard can be occupied by settlers. The Al-Kurd home was built without a permit, providing legal grounds for eviction. The yard is not unpermitted and therefore transfer to settlers is illegal.
The fence was completely removed at 4am by three settler boys. Four ISM volunteers were present for the destruction; one was physically assaulted while filming. The family will begin the
After a night in jail, Nabil Al-Kurd and the two settlers (despite parole violations) were released after a judge dropped all charges. Nabil Al-Kurds arrest continues the trend of arresting Sheikh Jarrah residents in an attempt to instill fear in the community about resisting the ethnic cleansing of their neighborhood and the occupation of Palestine.