Israeli Gov’t Likely to Delay Sheikh Jarrah Evictions ahead of Bennett’s Washington Visit

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa (center) visiting Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood (AFP)
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa (center) visiting Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood (AFP)
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Israeli Gov’t Likely to Delay Sheikh Jarrah Evictions ahead of Bennett’s Washington Visit

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa (center) visiting Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood (AFP)
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa (center) visiting Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood (AFP)

The Israeli government will likely delay the verdict in the controversial court case looking to evict Palestinian residents of Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, revealed a source close to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Bennett’s government is seriously considering postponing the court session scheduled for next Monday, said the source, without specifying how such a delay would be ensured.
However, the source hinted that it is possible to freeze proceedings for another six months.

The Times of Israel cited the source stressing that the government coalition will avoid evicting the families even if the Supreme Court’s decision orders otherwise.

Discussions in the prime minister’s office on the matter come as Bennett readies for his first trip to the White House as premier. No date has been scheduled yet for the visit, but sometime in mid-August is more likely as the Knesset will be in recess.

However, a decision to move forward with the evictions could cause problems for the trip to the US, given Washington’s firm opposition to the move.

The evictions have become a rallying cry for Palestinians in recent months and sparked violent clashes in East Jerusalem that spread far beyond the contested city and were partly responsible for the flare-up between Israel and Gaza terror groups in May.

In other news, Israel intends to increase by 15,000 workers the quota of Palestinian residents of the southern and northern West Bank working in the field of construction.

Another 1,000 permits will be issued to Palestinians working in Israeli hotels, an official statement revealed.

The Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions considered the hike in permits as “political exploitation.”

The announcement followed discussions between Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

Moreover, the move to increase permits for Palestinian workers suggests that Israel is heeding Washington’s warning on the Palestinian Authority facing an unprecedented political and economic crisis.



Turkish Foreign Minister Says No Room for Kurdish Militants in Syria's Future

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R), also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, shaking hands during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024.  EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R), also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, shaking hands during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
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Turkish Foreign Minister Says No Room for Kurdish Militants in Syria's Future

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R), also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, shaking hands during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024.  EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R), also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, shaking hands during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE

Türkiye’s foreign minister said after meeting Syria's de facto leader in Damascus on Sunday that there was no room for Kurdish militants in Syria's future, calling for the YPG militia to disband.
Türkiye regards the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington and the European Union.
Sunday's visit to Damascus by Hakan Fidan, the first foreign minister to visit Damascus since Bashar al-Assad's overthrow two weeks ago, came amid hostilities in northeast Syria between Turkish-backed Syrian fighters and the YPG, which spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeast.
Speaking alongside Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, Fidan said he had discussed the YPG presence with the new Syrian administration and believed Damascus would take steps to ensure Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
"In the coming period, the YPG must come to a point where it is no longer a threat to Syria's national unity," Fidan said, adding the YPG should disband.
The SDF played a key role defeating ISIS militants in 2014-2017 with US air support, and still guards ISIS fighters in prison camps. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that the group would try to re-establish capabilities in this period.
Fidan said the international community was "turning a blind eye" to the "illegality" of the SDF and YPG's actions in Syria, but added that he believed US President-elect Donald Trump would take a different approach.
He said the new Syrian administration had told him during their talks that they could manage the ISIS prison camps, if needed.
In a Reuters interview on Thursday, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi acknowledged the presence of PKK fighters in Syria for the first time, saying they had helped battle ISIS and would return home if a total ceasefire was agreed with Türkiye. He denied any organizational ties with the PKK.
The SDF has been on the back foot since Assad's fall, with the threat of advances from Ankara and Türkiye-backed groups as it looks to preserve political gains made in the last 13 years, and with Syria's new rulers being friendly to Ankara.
Earlier, Türkiye's defense minister said Ankara believed Syria's new leadership, including the Syrian National Army (SNA) armed group which Ankara backs, will drive YPG fighters from all of the territory they occupy in the northeast.
Ankara, alongside Syrian allies, has mounted several cross-border offensives against the Kurdish faction in northern Syria and controls swathes of Syrian territory along the border, while repeatedly demanding that its NATO ally Washington halt support for the Kurdish fighters.
Ankara had for years backed opposition groups looking to oust Assad and welcomed the end of his family's brutal five-decade rule after a 13-year civil war. Türkiye also hosts millions of Syrian migrants it hopes will start returning home after Assad's fall, and has vowed to help rebuild Syria.
Fidan said all international sanctions imposed against Assad must be lifted as soon as possible to help Syria start rebuilding, offering Ankara's assistance on matters such as infrastructure development.
Sharaa told Sunday's press conference his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.