Fire fills the air, and as prayers finish, tear gas, skunk water, and rubber bullets are fired. Homes destroyed, and for what? 

For weeks now, Palestinians have been facing illegal evictions in the eastern part of Jerusalem by Israeli officials. These violations of fundamental human rights are said to lead to a conflict much bigger, outrageous measures have been taken by each country that have been seen before but are still occurring. These measures include beatings, harassment, and bombings all due to property. Although this conflict has been going on for years it seems there is always a losing end of the deal. Citizens of a neighbourhood Sheik Jarrah are horrified with the reasoning behind their homes being taken away. Citizens of Palestine should have the right to their own property; UDHR Article 17 clearly states that "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property." No one should be forced out of their home, even over a land dispute that has been going on for hundreds of years. 

If Israeli officials wanted currently Palestinian occupied land, to make this transition legal,  documents and discussions would have to be made. Illegal evictions are a violation of human rights. Israeli officials claim that eastern parts of Jerusalem that contained Israeli settlers is Israeli land. They also claim that Israeli laws state that if a citizen of Israel had property in Palestine, but it is now occupied by Palestinians, it can still be their property. This law is a decision made about a different country occupying that area, meaning they make the decisions about it. 

Adding to these claims, Israeli officials have also claimed that a sacred tombstone of a Jewish priest lies in the Old City (which is occupied by Palestine). Arab citizens living in the Old City have been illegally evicted because of this land thought to be Jewish territory due to the tombstone. "I want Jerusalem to be Jewish," said Yonatan Yosef, a Jewish settler in Sheikh Jarrah and a former spokesman for the area's settlements." These unfair accusations have become biased towards religion. Fleur Hassan-Nahoum states, "This is a Jewish country; there's only one. And, of course, there are laws that some people may consider as favouring Jews — it's a Jewish state. It is here to protect the Jewish people." Nations and religions are different,  there are Muslim, Christian, and Jewish citizens living near that tombstone in Sheik Jarrah, but that still does not make it Israel territory nor Jewish territory. 

The main reasoning for these evictions is the claim that Palestinian land had Jewish settlers and that it was Israel territory. Although it was formally their territory, former Palestinian refugees had been moved there by the UN Relief and Works Agency or UNRWA. Unlike the evictions happening now, these were official and were granted for the point of saving lives. Mohammed El Kurd stated, "Sheikh Jarrah has seen a systematic push by the Israeli government to take over our homes, and there is clear collusion between the settler organizations and the Israeli judicial system to throw us out of our homes." There is no reasonable nor legal explanation as to why Israel is doing this, and that is clear. 

And as equally important, Israel has tried to state that this is an official property dispute that only involves Israel and Palestinians. Aryeh King said, "It's a local conflict, it's not affecting all of Israel or Jerusalem, it's a few Arab families that decided to break the law." These Arabs are not breaking any law, maybe in Israel but not in Palestine, which these properties lie in.  Although Israel states this conflict is over property, the eviction of Arab families says differently. "The legal basis of all these evictions are discriminatory laws," said Hagit Ofran from Peace Now. 

Religious discrimination is the foundation of this conflict. Protests and beatings have been happening in the streets. Israeli officials guarded the Al - Aqsa mosque and, after praying, forcefully removed everyone. Israelis had been harassing Palestinians while chanting "death to the Arabs." Israeli officials are weaving their biases into a legal matter. Hagit Ofran from Peace Now stated, "It is not a purely legal matter. It is a political matter which is carried out through legal means." This same conflict has been happening for years, and somehow religion is always a factor. 

But with a complex story like this with a lot of historical background, we must look at the other sides. 

For decades now, Arabic Palestinians have been living illegally in a Jewish land. The land was taken away from Israel in 1956 by the Jordanian government. So if that land was formally Israeli and under Israeli control, what gives Jordanian officials the right to move people to their land? 

People claim that Israel is taking Palestinian land, when Jordan did the same to Israel in 1956. Israel is simply taking it back. Citizens of Sheik Jarrah were moved out of their homes to make room for Palestinians to live in Israel occupied land. Palestinians claim that moving them out of Sheik Jarrah is against the law, but this land is Israeli; it abides by Israeli laws. This neighbour is the home of Simeon the Just, a Jewish high priest. Would this land not be Jewish? Shouldn't Jewish worshipers live there? 

Although Jordanianians took land from Israel, they took it for a moment of crisis. What Israel is doing is a clear violation of human rights, and even if they wanted this settled officially, they would need documents to make it legal. The eviction of Palestinian citizens is an act with biased reasoning. Palestinians have done nothing wrong. 

In conclusion, the eviction of Palestinian citizens is an act with biased reasoning. It is a violation of human rights and a clear violation of UDHR Article 17. The religious factor that plays a role in this is cruel and inhuman towards Arabs; justice must be done for Palestine.