AMMAN — An Israeli court, on Monday, rejected an appeal by 58 Arab
families in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem to reverse a
decision by the occupation authorities to demolish their homes, giving the
go-ahead for the destruction, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.
اضافة اعلان
A local spokesman, Fakhri Abu Diab, said in a statement that the displacement
of the families of Wadi Yasoul quarter of Silwan marks the beginning of an
assault on nearby areas, namely Al-Bustan and Wadi Hilweh, to ring the Old City
of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque compound with Israeli settlements.
"Targeting Wadi Yasoul with mass demolitions marks a policy of demolition
of entire (Arab) neighborhoods of Jerusalem," he said, adding that the
occupation authority had effectively begun implementing the so-called
"Holy Basin" scheme from Sheikh Jarrah (neighborhood) to Silwan.
The occupation authority first handed the families demolition orders in 2004,
claiming their homes were illegally built, and the occupation court dismissed
their appeal yesterday, Diab said.
Wadi Yasoul is located to the southwest of the Old City and Al-Aqsa Mosque in
an area over 310 dunums with houses built before 1967 and 1948, and is home to
1,050 people. It is the southern flank of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City, and
if the occupation authority controls the neighborhood, it can move swiftly to
other neighborhoods, he said.
Elsewhere in occupied Jerusalem, Israeli machinery demolished a construction
materials store in the town of Anata, northeast of the city, under the pretext
it was built without a license.
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