Israeli Municipality Confiscates Palestinian Jerusalemite Land, Threatens to Demolish 22 Homes

[ 21/06/2010 - 06:27 PM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)--

The Zionist Israeli occupation government continue in their schemes of Judaizing Jerusalem and displacing its Palestinian citizens, as the so-called Jerusalem Planning and Construction committee decided to confiscate land from residents of the Bustan neighborhood in the town of Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to forcefully demolish the homes of twenty two homeowners in the neighborhood.

Several sources explained that the decision made by the committee under the Israeli municipality on Monday provided that the lands would be handed over to the Israeli municipality, and that whoever does not comply with the decision will be prosecuted and severely fined.

This move is part of the Israeli municipality’s efforts to implement a scheme to demolish 88 houses in the Bustan district to establish a biblical national park upon the ruins of Arab homes.

Israel’s decision angered residents of Jerusalem, leading people whose homes were threatened with demolition to sit in front of the municipality to protest against Israel’s decision to uproot them from the city.

Chairman of the Committee for Defense of Homes Threatened with Demolition Fakhri Abu Diab, according to the Safaa agency, said that "the demolition of houses in the neighborhood will lead to the displacement of more than 550 Jerusalemites from their holy city.”

Abu Diab added that "the start of demolition in the Bustan neighborhood would mean the start of demolition in the town of Silwan, Jerusalem, which would mean the demolition of houses in each of the valley of Hulwa and the valley of Jura; which would mean the displacement of more than seven thousand Jerusalemites from the city, more than 1500 of them from the Bustan neighborhood.”

A report from the Israeli municipality claimed that the Bustan neighborhood is illegally built on land belonging to the “King's Garden,” and that the unlawful construction is a threat to the lives of people living in these houses.

Abu Diab said that the Israeli municipality’s progression of displacement and expulsion of the population lacks consideration for international pressure exerted on Israel to stop its policies of Judaization.

Dr. Yousuf al-Mansi, Minister of Public Works and Housing in the Gaza Strip denounced the Israeli decision in a press statement on Monday, saying, “The IOA continues its policy of brutality towards the citizens of Jerusalem in the Bustan neighborhood, in its confiscation of their land, demolition of their houses, and continuous threats to remove them from the neighborhood, aiming to achieve the malicious Zionist goal of taking control of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Al-Mansi warned of the danger of the demolition, calling for urgent action to stop the destruction of the Jerusalem houses, and for international pressure on Israel to stop its brutal, racist policies against the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

IOFs serve demolition notices to landlords in JV, Baqa

[ 21/06/2010 - 05:26 PM ]

NABLUS, (PIC)--

Israeli occupation forces (IOF) handed demolition notices to owners of six Palestinian homes in two villages north of the Jordan Valley on Monday and 15 homes in Baqa Al-Gharbiya.

Local sources in the Hudaidiya and Hummusa villages said that the IOF soldiers delivered the notifications after hours of searching their homes.

Meanwhile, the Israeli planning commission declared intention to demolish 15 houses in Baqa Al-Gharbiya in 1948 occupied Palestine.

The popular committee in the village declared a state of emergency and decided to engage in a legal battle against the order in addition to pitching a sit-in protest tent near the threatened homes.

It said in a statement that Baqa would break the Israeli racist policies and would not acquiesce to the demolition orders.

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