Jerusalem council set to approve Jewish housing in Arab neighborhood
Several Palestinian families in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah will be evicted to pave way for two new buildings meant to comprise 13 apartments.
By Nir HassonThe Jerusalem Municipal Committee for Planning and Building is expected to approve Monday the construction of two buildings that will include 13 apartments for Jewish residents in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
Backing the plan are settler organizations who currently occupy three homes in the neighborhood. Following the plan's approval, it will be necessary to evict a number of Palestinian families living on the site in order for construction to commence.
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Settlers evict Palestinians from their home in Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, December 1, 2009. |
| Photo by: AP |
The planning committee is also expected to approve a new access road south of Har Homa, which will enable the expansion of the neighborhood.
According to the plan to be brought today for approval, two buildings will be razed in the western part of the neighborhood where, until now, nearly no Jews live. In its place, two new buildings will be built. One will have 10 apartments and the other, three.
In both cases Chaim Silverstein, a well known figure in right-wing circles in Jerusalem, is proposing the plans to the municipality. The companies behind the project are registered in the United States, and are probably front companies set up by right-wing activists in order to transfer funds for the purchase of real estate in Israel.
Silverstein has power of attorney rights in both companies, Debril and Velpin.
For the past 18 months there has been a struggle between Arabs and Jews over the activities of settlers in Sheikh Jarrah and against efforts to evict Palestinian families from the neighborhood.
The settlers have been able to expand their hold in the neighborhood because prior to 1948 there was a Jewish neighborhood in Sheikh Jarrah. The court recognized the right of Jews who inherited properties to reclaim their properties. Since then, the settlers are working hard to convince the owners of the properties to sell them the rights so that they could evict the Palestinians and populate the area with Jewish families.
A Supreme Court ruling in 2001 included the possibility of applying for Jewish property rights in the western portion of the neighborhood, and right-wing activists announced that they intended to expand their activities in the area over that portion of Sheikh Jarrah.
"Continuing Jewish settlement in Sheikh Jarrah will seriously harm relations with the Palestinians and will break all agreements that Jewish neighborhoods will remain under Israeli sovereignty and Arab neighborhoods will be under Palestinian sovereignty," says Yosef Alalu, a Meretz city councillor.
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no country, Arab or else would accept the behaviour of the Sheikh Jarrah inhabitants.
The far left wants the Jews in the Ghetto and the Arabs in a township. There are no more places forbidden to Jews in Israel.
Hard to take a court seriously that doesn't seem to be aware that it has contradicted itself on the occupation. It has judged that Israel is in belligerent occuptation of the West Bank, yet it refuses to declare all Israeli settlements there illegal as layed down in the Geneva Convention and it seems to recognise the illegal Israeli annexation of E. Jerusalem, even, though it's also part of the West Bank.
If you want to present all sides how about telling us exactly why did the supreme court made its ruling. As it is now it looks like a biased article that present it as though the Supreme court made a bad decision except we have no idea whats behind all of it.
usurping, racist, and outright ruthless. Why our tax payers money continues to go to this welfare state is mind-numbing. We have over 50 million people under the poverty line, and 3B is going to hooligans intolerable of their neighbors and international law.
Building is only an excuse for the arabs to avoid peace. BUILD BABY BUILD!!
Eventually, the old school jews in the U.S. will die off and then NO ONE will give a rat's ass about Israel.
Hooray!! It's about time that Jews were permitted to build and live in Israel, all of Israel.
Hooray!! It's about time that Palestinians were permitted to build and live in Israel, all of Israel.
Change is coming!
It is really amazing how many people are against property owners regaining their land which was stolen from them under the Jordanian Government. The poor "palestinians" are being rob and should be compensated. Well, no one is calling for the Jews who were expelled from Islamic Countries to be compensated for the losses. The Ethnic Cleansing was started by the Arabs. They don't like when the RIGHTFUL OWNERS come back and take possession of what is theirs. When Arabs start respecting what belongs to others, then others will start respecting them. The world does not run on Sharia Law!
... who heeds that?!... where is equal and reciprocal justice?
You think that it's "business as usual"? Methinks somebody's got to wake up and smell the coffee before all hell breaks loose!
the arab property owners that sold the buildings?
Right now is probably the single most important time, in at least 40 years, for the state of Israel not to antagonize local populations. Israel's next war will be in the cities and acts like this will each have echos.
meanwhile in the Arab country of Sudan probably 13 women were raped, 13 children killed, not to mention the 13 more Black muslims on top of millions displaced by the Arab Muslims. All you Israel haters need to get lives, and do some reading on some REAL oppression committed by Muslim countries every second of every day that are infinitely worse than building 13 freakin apartments.
The two state solution is dead, long live the one state solution! Bravo settlers
Injustice has a limited shelf-life - vide Tunisia, Egypt, (... Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, ... Israel?)
Silverstein and his cohorts in these American "front" companies deserve to be arrested by US marshals and sent to Guantanamo to be held with the other terrorists. The assets of those Jewish front companies should be attached and frozen just like those of the Palestinian front companies that were funding groups in Gaza and the West Bank.
For many years Israeli Arabs have sought to reclaim their property that often they were evicted from by force during the war for independence. There are many complicated laws dealing with this in Israel. No arab, to my knowledge, has ever succeeded in their attempts (even when succeeding in the courts the military and goverment have stepped in to prevent their attempts). Nevermind all the Palestinians who fled the country and have not been allowed to return...there are many, many examples of Israeli Arabs...in other words people who are citizens of Israel who never left Israel but who are not allowed to go back to their prewar homes. Why now are Jews (of which I am one) allowed to evict arabs out of homes based on some prewar Jewish ownership (the original owners aren't even reclaiming the property) in a densely arab neighborhood of east jerusalem. This to me is apartheid, simply put, applying the law quite differently to different racial groups....even to those who do hold citizenship. I can't understand this. This is not democracy.
The funny thing is when you tell this to the people in Europe they usualy dont believe you and say its palestinian propaganda!
Every inch of Palestine was baught by Israelis.
To all the knee-jerk Israel-bashers: these properties were owned by Jews before the area was ethnically cleansed by their Palestinian neighbors and the Jordanians. It is long past time that this wrong was righted and the properties returned to its rightful owners. And to those who think that somehow Jews have no "right" to live in areas where they formerly lived, too bad.
Jews rebuilding in East Jerusalem is a good thing.
It is amazing we have not learned anything. These settlerments are a roadblock to peace. Its a shame. we are in 2011. nothing has changed. This goverment should resign. ,I am a proud jew who is a zionist, not on the back of arabs. Its 2011. The times they are a changing.
the peace and security of Israel can be left to the Jerusalem Planning Committee is obviously a ruse for the government to avoid responsibility for decisions that are clearly its own.
And not just in Jerusalem
All these peace agreements could be turned over at the drop of the hat by arab sides. Israelis, do not give any land for any kind of so-called peace agreement as you already experienced giving out land to gaza... and turmoil in Egypt where another deadly islamic entity wiggles its way to the government... Build settlements and populate Israeli Land with Jewish People. Arabs have so mcuh land it is not even funny. Jordan can share some land with palestinians, the can easily afford that...
As we know, there's plenty of room for Arabs in the Middle East; but there's a lot of resistance to moving Arabs out of "Palestine." Why not have Jews take over Manhattan, and move in, using the same techniques as the Jewish Fund did in "Israel." Everything's for sale in the US and New York City is a perfect place for immigration, much better than Jerusalem; and the non-Jewish population can move easily to any other part of the North American Continent. ...no problem.
Of course it's for your own good.
Giving away land is not the same thing as relinquishing an illegal occupation of land. Gaza never belonged to Israel, and neither does E. Jerusalem. Also, I'm thinking you learned the wrong lesson from the Egyptian protests.
Hey Buddy, Arabs are the owner of the land .By the way ,New york can also afford few more Israelis so you can get you luggage and move there. Anything not built in fairness and Justice will never last and what happened in Egypt inshallah will change everything in thar Region. live with Peace and with the hate-------
More ethnic cleansing from good old Israel. A light unto nations...my butt.
The headline screams "Arab Neighborhood." Only in the 7th paragraph is there reference to the fact that that this has long been Jewish-owned land and that Arabs expelled the Jews decades ago and occupied thier homes. Reclaiming what belongs to you and has been taken away by force is not "ethnic cleansing" in any honest use of the term.
A few evictions of people living on properties which are to be developed isn't ethnic cleansing. Arabs live in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza... those areas haven't been ethnically cleansed. The only time they were ethnically cleansed were when Egypt and Jordan captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem and ethnically cleansed them of Jews. Jews reclaiming their properties is the furthest thing from ethnic cleansing.
Can the Arabs get back their properties that were stolen in West Jerusalem!
More and more countries around the world get disgusted with Israel and side with the Palestinians, even supporting the 1967 borders, but Israel keeps playing the same tune. Truth be told, this is a relatively good time for Israel to act in this way. The world is occupied with the riots in Egypt and instability in the Middle East, so not many countries will complain now about new construction in Jerusalem. But the eating up of land contested by the Palestinians will not be forgotten, and come this September, the chances are the UN General Assembly will approve a Palestinian state in the '67 borders. After that, it will be almost impossible to agree on anything less, other than exchange of territory.
Check your facts
Finally the Jews are rebuilding the ancient Jewish street of Shimon Hatzadik.
built with the nice jewich tombs all over.And arabic neighboros has nothing to do only to take care and tide this nice jewish cemetry inside Sheikh Jerrah. "Shimon Hatzadic" is the nice name for new jewish cemetry.
Rebuilding the ancient Jewish street of Shimon Hatzadik. on stolen land ? Robbed out of pals ? I am sure God will be satisfied with you.
The SUPREME cOURT RULED THE PROPERTY BELONGS TO jEWS. Is Haaretz against the rule of law?
Who sets on the supreme court Ahmad and Ali, or David and Yezhak? and you are talking about justice!!! And who makes the laws???
that the government and the settlers ignore all the time. Bill, are you against the rule of law?
The ICJ ruling at the Hague unaminously ruled 13-0 that Israeli settlements are illegal. PERIOD!! Bill, what do you not understand about that?? Ahh, better to live in your own fantasy land where the truth is not important.
So wether (or not) they own the property is simply irrelevany: int'l law states very, very clearly that an occupying power MUST NOT allow this to happen. So if these Jews want to "develop" their property then they must wait until the occupation has ended before they can move in and start evicting.
Evicting families so you can move in a group of heavily armed occupation settlers is wrong. Hopefully the Israeli's will start to see right from wrong and take a stand. Learn from the Egytian's, you can make a change and save face.
oh that's right you don't know either!
UNSC 242 outlaws Israel Occupation of lands outside the Green Line The 4th Geneva Convention outlaws colonizing conquered territory The UN Charter requires all members to obey all UNSC resolutions.
The headline should reflect that. Justice is being done.
Israel did not control area until 1967 yet ruled on actions from 1948 or before, while land under Israel control in 1948 they ruled the other way on similar actions with Jews gaining land in both.
Therefore Article 49 of Geneva Convention IV applies i.e. the occupying power is unconditionally prohibited from allowing this to happen FOR AS LONG AS THAT OCCUPATION CONTINUES. "Justice is being done" No, it isn't, because FOR AS LONG AS THAT OCCUPATION CONTINUES the occupying power is presuming a jurisdiction that it simply does not have.
If jews that have inherited in 1948 of before houses in Jerusalem yes they have the right to reclaim them BUT the same rule should apply to palestinians whose properties were taken by jews in Tel Aviv end Haifa and elsewhere , they also have the right to claim back their properties (it is called the right of return) Good luck !
I am waiting......
It would seem that the Israeli right is determined to bring the Egyptian "virus" to Jerusalem. Virus is John McCain's term. Is Israel on such good terms with its Arab citizen population and with the Palestinian under population so that the democracy movement will have no impact? Or is the plan to out-Mubarak Mubarak in suppressing the movement?
Evicting families in the name of occupation, Israel is truly revealing itself to the world.
Don't create peace, don't let people live as one side by side and blame it all on God. Sounds reasonable ...To anyone out of their mind!
Don't create peace, don't let people live as one side by side and blame it all on God. Sounds reasonable ...To anyone out of their mind!
Property owners often get to evict tenants if they are developing their properties.
Citizens of the occupying power have to WAIT until the occupation is ended before they can move in to "develop" their properties. You know, Geneva Convention IV, Article 49 'n' all.....
What morals ? You can't lose something you don't have.
Picture worth thousands of words. Settlers = shame on Jews, shame on Judaism. Fundamentalists everywhere of every stripe. Shame on you.
for attacking Israel,now they suffer,looks fair in my books!!
Bibi's "gestures" got Israel through the Quartet meeting without being condemned, and now that the meeting is over it's back to Business As Usual. How predictable....
Jewish country ,Jewish land so remember winners are grinners and do as they like. Arabs start a war and lose it the spoils go to the victor!