Settler Group Seeks Approval for 122-Unit Jewish Neighbourhood in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah

An Israeli settler movement has filed an application to establish a new Jewish neighbourhood in Sheikh Jarrah, an area of East Jerusalem.

The group, known as Amara, sent its proposal to the planning association. It calls for 122 housing units on the land where the Shepherd Hotel once stood.

The hotel is often called the "Mufti's House". It was built in the 1930s for Haj Amin al-Husseini, the former mufti of Jerusalem, although he never lived there. The building was demolished in 2009.

Jerusalem's Local Planning and Building Committee is due to hold an initial hearing on the application on 11 November.

Amara was founded in the 1970s and has long been one of the main forces behind settlement growth in the occupied Palestinian territories. The new proposal would nonetheless mark its first settlement in Sheikh Jarrah.

The filing comes as Israeli forces carry out a broad operation in the West Bank city of Hebron. At least 20 Palestinians have been detained during the continuing military siege, which has also displaced more than 2,200 people.

According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, troops entered most Hebron neighbourhoods, raided and searched homes, and abused residents before detaining several Palestinians.

Forces also moved into the towns of Dura, Yatta and as-Samu, south of Hebron. Wafa said 11 Palestinians were detained there after soldiers stormed their homes and mistreated them. Two others were taken in Tarqumiya, west of Hebron, and more were detained in Halhul, to the north.

Wafa further reported that Israeli forces converted several Palestinian homes into barracks and observation posts. It said troops took over houses in the Khallat Manna and Dahiyat al-Zaytoun areas of southern Hebron for use as barracks.