JERUSALEM, Friday, October 18, 2019 (WAFA) – Israeli police today overnight stormed a wedding party and assaulted attendees in Sur Baher neighborhood, southeast of Jerusalem, said local sources.

Police stormed a wedding party in the Jerusalem neighborhood, provoking scuffles with and assaulting some of the attendees.

Residents of Sur Baher, estimated around 18,000, are a portion of occupied East Jerusalem’s 435,500 Palestinian population who are frequently targeted by Israeli military raids and home demolitions

While Israel demolishes houses on a regular basis to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Jerusalem under the pretext of unlicensed building, it builds tens of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements in East Jerusalem for Jews with a goal to offset the demographic balance in favor of the Jewish settlers in the occupied city.

Although Palestinians in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory that has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, they are denied their citizenship rights and are instead classified only as "residents" whose permits can be revoked if they move away from the city for more than a few years.

They are also discriminated against in all aspects of life including housing, employment and services, and are unable to access services in the West Bank due to the construction of Israel‘s separation wall.

K.F.