by Melanie Phillips, The Spectator

Reaction to the evictions of Arab families from where they were living in the Sheikh Jarrah district of east Jerusalem has universally given the impression that the Israelis threw out Palestinian families from their homes in order to colonise a traditionally Arab area for further 'illegal' Jewish 'settlement' (see for example reports by the BBC and the Times ).

The response by the British government was particularly aggressive. The British consulate said:

We are appalled by the evictions in East Jerusalem. Israel's claim that the imposition of extremist Jewish settlers into this ancient Arab neighbourhood is a matter for the courts or the municipality is unacceptable. Their actions are incompatible with Israel’s desire for peace. We urge Israel not to allow extremists to set the agenda.

The US and the UN also condemned the evictions:

State Department spokeswoman Megan Mattson said such actions in east Jerusalem constitute violations of Israel's obligations under US-backed 'road map' peace plan. ...Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, called Sunday's evictions 'totally unacceptable.'

The hysteria has unleashed yet more vile anti-Israel bigotry -- and not just on the left. On Conservative Home's Centre Right blog, this post featuring video coverage of the evictions provoked vicious attacks on Israel in the readers' thread, including calls for Israel to be 'dismantled', suggestions that Israelis were less than human and comparing their treatment of the Palestinians to the Nazis.

Yet the belief that Israel has turfed out the rightful Arab inhabitants of Sheikh Jarrah could not be further from the truth.

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