CAIRO: Egypt has called on the United Nations and the international Quartet to the region to step up pressure on Israel to force the Jewish state to end its eviction of Palestinians from their homes. In a statement issued by Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki, the country's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said last week that UN chief Ban Ki-moon can help to resolve the situation that has left many angered over Israeli actions. According to the statement, Aboul Gheit has sent messages to Ban Ki-moon and the Quartet in order to reiterate that the Israeli measures against Palestinians are not legal, calling on the Jewish state to stop evicting families from homes. “Egypt concerns about the Israeli's attempts to change the facts on land,” Zaki said. The Egyptian stance came after Israeli police last Sunday forced two Palestinian families of 53 people to leave their houses in Sheikh Jarrah Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem after a court ruled that the houses were owned by Israeli settlers. But the two families assured the court and media that they had documents that would prove that they owned these homes for more than 50 years, which was at odds with the Israeli occupation's claims. Clashes erupted between the Israeli forces and the Palestinian residents during the evacuation of the families that have nearly 20 children. Even American President Barack Obama has called on Israel to freeze settlement activity, an idea that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has all but dismissed as his country continues to establish new settlers in Palestinian territory. BM
