RAMALLAH – The Israeli occupation authorities dismantled the Palestinian Bab-Al-Shams tent village near occupied Jerusalem, Palestinian and Israeli sources said. Abdullah Abu Rahmeh, an organizer of the activity and the coordinator of the Bil'in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, said that the Israeli police and “Israel Land's Authority” dismantled Bab Al-Shams (Gate of the Sun) late Wednesday night after the Israeli High Court of Justice green lit the move. Abu Rahmeh said that Israeli forces had dismantled the approximately two dozen tents in the village. He added that the Israeli forces sealed all entrances leading to the area. Israeli Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said all tents had been cleared from the area. “There were no disturbances,” he added. Israel moved to tear it down on Saturday, but the move was stayed by the court after four Palestinian families said the tent village was set up on their land. Palestinian activists on Friday set up the Bab a-Shams village in E1, he bitterly contested tract between occupied Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim, to protest Israeli government decision to build thousands of Jewish homes in the area. The Palestinian Authority has said that E1 land is needed so the future Palestinian state will be viable and have territorial continuity. It warned that Israeli construction there imperils the two-state solution. The village was cleared of its occupants early Sunday morning, after police said the court injunction only mandated that the tents be left in place. Some 150 people were moved off the land, which had been declared a closed military zone, in the half-hour police operation, with activists offering only non-violent resistance. On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of Palestinians and international activists attempted to march back to Bab a-Shams, where they were met by Israeli security forces who barred them from entering. Some activists reported the use of stun grenades and tear gas by the police.
