Jewish and Arabs gathered in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem to protest against the eviction of Palestinian families from the neighbourhood, on Friday, after the dispute escalated into 11 days of violence in recent weeks.

Some 200 demonstrators were seen marching side by side, holding signs in Arabic, Hebrew and English.

"We are here to protest the forced eviction of residents of Sheikh Jarrah, because of a law that allows Jewish Israelis to reclaim a land they've lost in 1948, but does not allow Palestinians Israeli citizens, or Palestinian Jerusalemites the same privilege," said one of the protesters who is Jewish. "These people who are refugees, who are home owners, are losing their land, but cannot reclaim the land they lost. This seems horribly unjust."

Palestinian refugees relocated to the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah in 1948 after being forced to leave their homes for the creation of the state of Israel. In early May, a court ruled in favour of Jewish settlers trying to evict the Palestinian families and reclaim the neighbourhood, leading to protests which escalated into violence between Hamas and Israel, killing 12 people in Israel and 248 Palestinians including 66 children.

After a ceasefire was reached on Thursday, Hamas officials said their had received assurances Israel would 'lift its hands' from Sheikh Jarrah. The Israeli Supreme Court will hold hearings on the matter in June.