Palestinian activists erected three more tent villages on Palestinian land in February. (See PN 2554 for a report on Bab al-Shams, the first of these new Palestinian settlements.)
On 2 February, the Israeli defence forces violently evicted 200 Palestinians from just outside the village of Burin, near Nablus. They had put up two large white tents and eight metal huts.
On 8 February, a tent was set up on private Palestinian land in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem to protest against the eviction of Palestinian families by Israeli forces. Dismantled by the police, campaigners have promised to continue putting the tent up every Friday.
On another front, Palestinian prisoners continue to hold hunger strikes to protest against their detention without trial.
On 17 February, hundreds gathered outside Israel’s Ofer jail, near Ramallah, in solidarity with Samer Issawi, who had been on hunger strike for 198 days, and Tareq Qaadan and Jaafar Azzidine, on 80 days. Palestinian youths threw stones at Israeli forces, and soldiers pushed back the crowds and used tear gas. Some 156 Palestinians were treated for tear gas inhalation.