JERUSALEM, April 23, 2011 (WAFA) – An Israeli court Friday placed two Palestinian teenagers from the Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan under house arrest for a week on allegation they threw rocks at residences occupied by Israeli settlers in the neighborhood, according to local Palestinian sources.

The house arrest means Ibrahim Siyam, 15, and Yazan Siyam, 16, will not be able to attend school.

The court had also ordered parents of the teens to accompany them to school and back for five days after the house arrest order expires.

Both teenagers denied the charges.

Silwan, where 55,000 Palestinians live, has recently witnessed a rise in confrontations between Palestinian residents, on one hand, and Israeli settlers and police, on the other, as Israel prepares to demolish 88 Arab homes in the neighborhood to build a biblical park in their place.

Israel is also working on expanding the so-called City of David, which it claims was originally located in what is now known as Wadi Hilweh section of Silwan. It is encouraging Jewish settlers to occupy Palestinian homes in the area, which is adding to the tension between the Palestinian residents and the settlers, who belong to the extremist groups, Elad.

The two teenagers placed under house arrest live in Wadi Hilweh.

R.Q./M.A.