JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel moved to defend itself in the face of international criticism Monday over its eviction of dozens of Palestinian families from a neighborhood of Jerusalem they have lived in for generations. Left-wing Israeli activists protest against the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in east Jerusalem. "I think a lot of the criticism is simply not fair," said Mark Regev, a government spokesman, who described the dispute as a legal one between two private parties over who had title to a property in East Jerusalem. In the court action, a settler group sued claiming the Palestinians had violated an agreement under which they were allowed to live in the houses.
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Israel incurs international criticism over eviction of Palestinian families
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Two Jewish families moved in after evictions in East Jerusalem
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Israeli spokesman says dispute is a legal one between private parties
And he denied the suggestion that the evictions were part of any systematic effort to move Palestinians out of @placeholder and move in Jewish families.