As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Washington in a much-feted effort to restore damaged ties with the United States, new tensions in East Jerusalem threaten to rekindle a diplomatic row over Jewish building beyond the Green Line in the city.
On Saturday lawyers served eviction notices to two Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, a focus of clashes between Arab residents and settlers.
The families were ordered to vacate their properties within 45 days.
Netanyahu will meet U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday in what observers predict will be extremely cordial circumstances – a marked contrast with the Israeli leader's previous visit to the White House in March, when he was denied a joint photo-call with his American counterpart.
Then, Washington's frosty hospitality was part of the fallout from a diplomatic spat that erupted after Israel angered its close ally with the announcement during a visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden of plans to build 1,500 Jewish homes in Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Israel has since soothed Washington's ire by promising not to repeat the debacle.
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