Published Tuesday 21/07/2009 (updated) 22/07/2009 10:47 Jerusalem – Ma’an -

Research and documentation department at the Al-Quds Center for Social and Economic Rights released a report on Saturday detailing the daily Israeli violations of the rights of the Palestinian in Jerusalem.

The thirty page report, in Arabic, details the rights violations behind Israeli home demolitions, the violation of holy sites and abusive acts of Israeli soldiers against Palestinian civilians for the month of June. The document marks the first in a planned series of reports documenting Israeli violations in East Jerusalem.

Some of the central stories in the report include the detailed events around the killing of Amjad Abu Khudair, resident of the north Jerusalem area of Shu’fat who was killed by Israeli extremists while on his way to work. The 30- year-old father of four was shot and killed by an Israeli settler near the New Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem. Testimonies revealed the man was shot several times; once in the right eye, once I the forehead and half a dozen wounds were found in his back and abdomen.

A second focal point of the report was the growing alarm over Israeli policies in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan and the settlement activities planned for the area.

According to the researchers the Israeli West Jerusalem municipality has approved the construction of a hotel and a commercial center neat the walls of the old city within a settlement project that will take the shape of an “archeological garden.” The report said the garden was an idea developed by the right-wing settler movement Il’ad, which has been a primary actor in the plans to destroy the Palestinian neighborhood.

The report said plans for the area would see dozens of stores in the area shut down and a kindergarten demolished. An additional 23 dunums of land will be used to build a 200-room hotel.

A more comprehensive plan to edge out Palestinians from Jerusalem comes in the form of Jerusalem 2000, the report says. The plan reportedly details the expansion of West Jerusalem residential areas in four stages: creating new city blocks, expanding vertically and constructing new neighborhoods.

Israel plans to demolish Bustan area in O. Jerusalem

[ 23/07/2009 - 10:32 AM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM-

The Ir Amim organization said Thursday in a report quoted by the Hebrew media that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) is preparing a plan to demolish the whole Bustan neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem and build in its place a Jewish historical park.

The report added that the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem intends to allow only Israeli settlers to build in the vicinity of the neighborhood. The report said that the IOA gave 14 Palestinian real estates to Jewish parties without obtaining any approval from the legal advisor of the Israeli government.