Israeli settlers clash with Palestinians in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood on Feb.13, 2022, after an Israeli lawmaker reopened his office in the neighborhood. (Photo by Muammar Awad/Xinhua)
JERUSALEM, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli settlers broke out in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood early on Sunday after an Israeli lawmaker reopened his office in the neighborhood.
Israeli police said in a statement that six Palestinians had been arrested overnight amid the clashes. The police said that the "riots," which included throwing stones and other objects, injured "several" people who needed hospital care.
The police "dispersed the rioters after they did not comply with the police call to stop the riot," the statement read.
The clashes were sparked by a statement issued by Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit ("Jewish Power") party, announcing he will open "a bureau" in the flashpoint neighborhood.
Meanwhile, the police arrested a driver from East Jerusalem after he hit a 20-year-old Jewish man in the neighborhood. According to the state-owned Kan Bet Radio, Jewish rioters claimed that the incident was a nationalist car-ramming attack, but the suspect maintained he lost control of his vehicle after being sprayed with pepper spray by Jewish rioters.
Israel's Magen David Adom said in a statement the injured need hospital care. Another Jewish man in his twenties was injured by a rock and was taken to a hospital, it said.
In the morning, Ben Gvir arrived at Sheikh Jarrah to open "the bureau" and fresh clashes erupted. At least two Palestinians were arrested, the police said.
He said in a statement that he intends to arrive at the office every day "to restore security to the (Jewish) residents."
Photos on social media showed Ben Gvir sitting near a desk in an improvised bureau outdoors. The office is located outside the home of the Yeshoviev family, a Jewish family whose settler home in Sheikh Jarrah was allegedly torched by Palestinians over the weekend.
Sheikh Jarrah is located in East Jerusalem, a territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war. ■
