JERUSALEM municipal authorities have postponed the eviction of a Palestinian family from their Sheikh Jarrar home following a mass standoff outside their house that saw multiple arrests.

The Salhiya family, who have lived in their East Jerusalem property since before 1967, when Israel annexed the area, were defended by huge crowds as bulldozers and demolition crews arrived on Monday.

They have been fighting a court order seizing the property since 2017. Authorities say the site is earmarked for a special needs school for Palestinian children, but Israeli rights group Ir Amim said another site supposedly planned for this school was subsequently used to build an Orthodox Jewish seminary, and that the claim was a “public interest excuse” to facilitate the family’s removal.

Homeowner Mahmoud Salhiyeh and supporters climbed onto the roof with gas canisters and threatened to burn the house and themselves if crews moved in, while police attacked demonstrators outside the house and forcibly removed hundreds, including a Hadash member of the Knesset, Ofer Kasif. However, authorities withdrew after an hours-long standoff.