Israeli police Thursday morning warned a Palestinian family against partaking in sit-in protests close to its house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

According to Palestinian news agency WAFA, Israeli police barged their way into the neighborhood and cautioned the Salem family against participating in any solidarity activities close to their house, at the imminent risk of takeover by settlers, in the neighborhood, which has become a scene of massive protests against Israel’s settler-colonialism in the occupied territories.

Ibrahim Salem said that they were surprised this morning to receive from the police a notification of a court hearing, scheduled on December 30, without giving any additional details on the reasons behind summoning the family to the court, while pointing that the family received a warning against participation in events denouncing settlers’ attempts to forcibly displace it and takeover its house.

He pledged that the family will continue to confront the settlers’ ambitions to seize their house.

The neighborhood has become a scene of massive protests against Israel’s settler-colonialism in the occupied territories since the Israeli occupation authorities decided to forcibly expel dozens of families from their houses in favor of colonial settler groups.

Palestinians have maintained that the Israeli occupation authorities decision to “evict” the families from their houses in favor of the settler groups is politically-motivated and comes as part of Israel’s efforts to ethnically cleanse Jerusalemite Palestinians.

Since the occupation of Jerusalem by Israel in June 1967, Israeli settlers colonial organizations, including Elad and Ateret Cohanim, have claimed ownership of Palestinian property in Jerusalem. Backed by the Israeli state, judiciary and security services, these organizations have been working on wresting control of Palestinian property and convert it into colonial outposts as part of the efforts to ensure a Jewish majority in the city, as well as on managing archaeological sites in Silwan and overseeing their excavation. This scheme involves building new colonial tourist sites, such as the “City of David”, to bolster their propaganda.