Jerusalem Revives Plan To Raze Palestinian Homes

[Purveyor]

JERUSALEM (AP) -- A Jerusalem planning body on Monday approved a plan to raze 22 Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem to make room for an Israeli tourist center, a decision that could raise tensions in the divided city and deepen the conflict with the Obama adminstration.

Back in March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pressured Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to hold up the plan so authorities could consult with Palestinians who would lose their homes - a delay that appeared to be aimed at fending off criticism from the U.S.

"Now, after fine-tuning the plan and seeking more cooperation with the residents as far as their needs and improving the quality of their lives, the municipality is ready to submit the plans for the first stage of approval," said Barkat's spokesman, Stephan Miller, before the city's planning commission agreed to the plan.

Final approval, which would require an Interior Ministry green light, could take many more months.

Jerusalem is the most divisive issue between Israelis and Palestinians. Israel annexed east Jerusalem after capturing it from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war and nearly 200,000 Jews have moved there since, living alongside 250,000 Palestinians in an uneasy coexistence. Palestinians hope to build the capital of a future state in east Jerusalem and see any Israeli construction there as undercutting their claims to the land.

The international community does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over east Jerusalem and the U.S. wants Israel to freeze all Jewish settlement in Palestinian areas, including east Jerusalem, to facilitate Mideast peace talks. It also recently demanded that Israel lift its three-year old blockade of the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza.

MORE...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-06-21-10-48-37

[no_hypocrisy]

1. This makes me so sad.

Evicting Palestinians from their homes is bad enough. But razing their homes so there is no hope of them returning to live there is altogether over the top. And not even to replace homes with homes, but a building for non-Israelis to visit and be solicited to financially support Israel and more policies like this one. And the land is still in dispute as to sovereignty (except in the eyes of the Israelis who have co-opted title and possession).

[polly7]

2. It makes me sad too.

I can't imagine watching my children's only shelter bulldozed knowing there was nothing I could do about it. It's horrible.

[hayu_lol]

3. Seems to me that recently I read about HAMAS tearing down...

squatters homes in Gaza to build a large mosque. Could be wrong about the number but I think it was around 180 homes. That the houses shouldn't have been built there in the first place is academic since they were built.

Both sides are wasting valuable resources building and tearing down.

[polly7]

4. I just read a few sources saying it was 40 some homes Hamas

claimed were built on Gov't land the mosque was to be built on, but yes, it's clearly terrible for the people living in them.

Much different though than decades of systematic, cruel destruction of Palestinian homes by Israel. http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=2254

http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004CE90B/(httpCountries)/78C5F977D946B388802570A7004CD702?OpenDocument

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/docs/Broken_Homes_English_low_res.pdf

"The Israeli authorities are putting Palestinians in an impossible situation. Whatever choice they make, they face homelessness."
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/israeli-authorities-must-stop-demolitions-palestinian-homes-2010-06-16

[azurnoir]

5. After razing 20, Gaza govt to build public housing

Following the demolition of 20 homes allegedly built illegally on public land in Gaza, the de facto government announced it would build housing units on land allocated for public use Sunday, in a bid to curb what officials describe as the illegal trade of public land.

De facto Planning Minister Muhammad Awad called on Gaza residents to reject all offers of land for sale put before them by illegal land traders, a statement from the Gaza Ministry of Planning read.

The announcement follows government claims that some 20 homes demolished in the southern Gaza Strip in May were illegally built on public lands. The demolition of the homes caused an outcry, and resulted in the comparison of the de facto government to Israel, in its policies of home evictions and demolitions targeting Palestinian citizens of Israel, and Jerusalem residents.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=290013

[elias7]

6. Israel took control of the entire west bank in '67

As Jordan had amassed legions of troops there preparing to attack Israel after signing an agreement with Egypt (who had amassed massive numbers in sinai and gaza, and it should be noted that Israel returned sinai to Egypt as exchange for Egypt recognizing Israel's right to exists and for peace). Israel has left custodianship of the islamic holy sites, as well as the holiest site in Judaism (temple mount) in the hands of Jordan.

To say that israel has co-opted title and possession is misleading and pejorative.

[azurnoir]

7. Is your claim that Jordan is at present the custodian of AlAqsa?

you are "mistaken"

Administration

The Waqf Ministry of Jordan held control of the al-Aqsa Mosque until the 1967 Six-Day War. After Israel's victory in that war, instead of the government taking control of the al-Aqsa Mosque, Israel transferred the control of the mosque and the northern Temple Mount to the Islamic waqf trust, who are independent of the Israeli government. However, Israeli Security Forces are permitted to patrol and conduct searches within the perimeter of the mosque. After the 1969 arson attack, the waqf employed architects, technicians and craftsmen in a committee that carry out regular maintenance operations. In order to counteract Israeli policies and the escalating presence of Israeli security forces around the site since the al-Aqsa Intifada, the Islamic Movement, in cooperation with the waqf, have attempted to increase Muslim control inside the Haram Al-Sharif. Some activities included refurbishing abandoned structures and renovating.<71>

Muhammad Ahmad Hussein is the head imam and manager of the al-Aqsa Mosque and was assigned the role of Grand Mufti of Jerusalem in 2006 by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.<72> Other imams including Shaykh Yusuf Abu Sneina and the previous Mufti of Palestine, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri. Another of the former Imams of al-Aqsa, Shaykh Muhammad Abu Shusha, now resides in Amman.

Ownership of the al-Aqsa Mosque is a contentious issue in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Israel claims sovereignty over the mosque along with all of the Temple Mount, but Palestinians hold unofficial custodianship of the site through the Islamic waqf. During the negotiations at the 2000 Camp David Summit, Palestinians demanded complete ownership of the mosque and other Islamic holy sites in East Jerusalem.<73>
Access
While all Muslim citizens of Israel are allowed to enter and pray at the al-Aqsa Mosque, Israel imposes, on occasion, severe restrictions on access to the mosque for Jews, and Palestinian Muslims living in the West Bank or Gaza Strip, or placing age restrictions on Palestinians and Arab citizens of Israel, such as limiting entry to married men at least 40 or 50 years of age. Arab women are sometimes restricted as well with regard to marital status and age. Israeli reasoning for the restrictions is that older, married Palestinians are less likely "to cause trouble";<74> i.e., they are less of a security risk.

Many rabbis, including Israel's chief rabbinate since 1967, have ruled that Jews should not walk on the Temple Mount due to the possibility of their stepping on the site of the Holy of Holies. Israeli governmental restrictions only forbid Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, but allow Jews as well as other non-Muslims to visit for certain hours on certain days in the week. Several rabbis and Zionist leaders have demanded the right of Jews to pray at the site on Jewish holidays.<75> Although the Israeli Supreme Court has supported individual (as opposed to group) prayer, in practice Israeli police bar a Jew from praying "in any overt manner whatsoever on the Temple Mount, even if he is just moving his lips in prayer

This page was last modified on 16 June 2010 at 15:41.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Aqsa_Mosque

[Mosby]

9. sad isn't it

That jews are prohibited from reading from a prayer book on the temple mount because the palestinians and waqf consider the act of a jew praying a serious provocation.

Fyi its primarily orthodox jews who avoid the temple mount.

[azurnoir]

11. Is the act of a Jew praying or the act of a Jew praying at a mosque?

it is equally sad that most Palestinians are not allowed to pray there there either

[Mosby]

12. The rule applies to anywhere on the temple mount

afaik Muslims can pray anywhere on the temple mount/noble sanctuary.

[no_hypocrisy]

8. The land does not belong to Israel. The United Nations Treaty which established

the borders for the Jewish State and a future Palestinian State doesn't have a united Jerusalem as part of Israel.

[choie]

10. Thank you!

It amazes me that even though there has been a legal ruling on this issue, people still claim that Israel has the right to land that is legally not theirs.

[IndianaGreen]

13. Fine! Then grant full Israeli citizenship to the Arabs on Judea and Samaria and Gaza

and let's have free and democratic elections in which all the people in Israel, Arabs and Jews, get to vote the government they want to represent them. Jerusalem will remain undivided as the capital of an all inclusive Israel, and right of return becomes second nature for all.

I am all in favour of that! How about ya?