Bethlehem – Ma’an – The EU’s Swedish Presidency condemned on Monday Israel’s expulsion of two Palestinian families from their East Jerusalem homes the previous day as “illegal” and “unacceptable.”

“The Presidency of the European Union reiterates its serious concern about the continued and unacceptable evictions in East Jerusalem, notably the evictions by Israeli authorities of two families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood,” it said in a statement.

The Presidency “recalls that house demolitions, evictions and settlement activities in East Jerusalem are illegal under international law.”

The statement also noted that they “contravene repeated calls by the international community, including the Quartet, to refrain from any provocative actions in East Jerusalem.

These actions, the EU Presidency said, “confirm a worrying trend that runs counter to the creation of an atmosphere conducive to achieving a viable and credible solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.”

More than a hundred Israeli police forced 53 members of the Al-Ghawi and Hanoun families from their houses in the Sheikh Jarrah at dawn on Sunday, allowing Israeli settlers to take control of the buildings.