Ma'an - Palestinian officials from across the political spectrum lodged a petition at the US Consulate on Thursday urging President Barack Obama to stop "ethnic cleansing" in Jerusalem.
The group, which included former Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Khalid Abu Arafah and Jerusalem Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, specifically addressed the expulsion of lawmakers. Abu Arafah is one of four lawmakers at risk of removal from the city.
The officials then headed to Red Cross headquarters, where they planned to hold a sit-in until the deportation orders are reversed.
The move comes after Jerusalem resident and elected Palestinian lawmaker Mohammad Abu Tier was detained near his home Wednesday by Israeli police under the pretext of illegal presence in the city.
Abu Arafah said Wednesday that the move was in preparation for the execution of deportation orders passed by an Israeli court last week. The orders would see Abu Tier stripped of his Jerusalem residency card and prohibited from accessing the city.
Abu Teir was expected to face court Thursday. An Israeli police spokesman said the court would decide whether to expel him to Palestinian Authority-controlled territories or to keep him in custody.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces detained three young men from the flashpoint Silwan neighborhood, bringing the total detentions to eight in two days, while others received summons for interrogation, head of a local information centre, Jawwad Sieyam, told Ma’an.
Sieyam added that Israeli forces installed six military posts on the roofs of buildings and homes in the area to monitor residents.
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