De facto government spokesman Taher An-Nounou called Palestinians to unite and put an end to political detentions so “the resistance can oppose all Israeli practices in Jerusalem.”
An-Nunu said in a news conference on Monday evening that he “condemns the Israeli practices in Jerusalem,” referring to new plans to move hundreds of Palestinians from their homes in order to create a public park, something he said would “have consequences.”
He stressed the need of Arab and Islamic countries to show their support for Al-Aqsa Mosque and the residents of Jerusalem, “who are under threat of being forced out of their homes and lands.”
He added that settlement-building in the West Bank “needs a strong stance from the international community to stop such practices, including the confiscation of land.”
On a separate note, the Hamas leader said he stands by Christians “in the aftermath of the latest Israeli assault to the holiness of Jesus Christ,” referring to a satirical Israeli television show that mocked the Christian.
Source: Maan News Agency
2/23/2009
B'Tselem: If Israel has nothing to hide, let us into Gaza
Israel is preventing independent human rights monitors from entering Gaza, Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem said Sunday.
"Israel continues to obstruct independent investigations into allegations of laws of war violations by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas military forces in Gaza," the groups said in a joint statement to Ma'an.
After submitting applications for permission to enter via the Erez crossing in January 2009, the groups faced continued delays from the military unit reviewing the applications. In February, the army told Human Rights Watch that it had rejected its application. The Israeli military denied B’Tselem's first request to enter Gaza and has failed to respond to a second.
“Israel’s refusal to allow human rights groups access to Gaza raises a strong suspicion that there are things it doesn’t want us to see or the world to know about its military operation there,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “If Israel has nothing to hide, why is it refusing to allow us in?”
Human Rights Watch requested permission to enter Gaza on 5 January. After weeks of delay, the military rejected the application on 9 February, on the grounds that Human Rights Watch “was not registered with the [Israeli] Ministry of Social Affairs.” On all previous occasions, including several times in 2008, Israeli authorities permitted Human Rights Watch staff to enter and leave Gaza via the Erez crossing.
The army never previously suggested such a requirement for access to Gaza, and Human Rights Watch is not aware of any such Israeli law or regulation. The Israeli military has not responded to Human Rights Watch’s requests for clarification, they said.
Israel does not allow Jewish citizens of Israel, other than security forces, to enter Gaza on the grounds that their security would be at risk. B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, on 20 January requested permission from the military to allow the organization’s fieldwork director (a Palestinian citizen of Israel) to enter Gaza. The military refused the request nine days later.
B’Tselem submitted an additional request on 29 January for entry for three staff members and an international consultant. The Israeli military has not responded to this request.
Human Rights Watch and other international human rights groups were able to enter Gaza via Egypt in late January to carry out initial investigations. The international researchers left Gaza just before 5 February, when Egypt had announced it would close the Rafah crossing.
The army had told Human Rights Watch that because its researchers had entered Gaza through Rafah, they would not permit the researchers to exit through Erez.
B’Tselem has not managed to gain access for its Israeli or West Bank staff, or for international consultants. Only the organization’s two field researchers, who are residents of the Gaza Strip, have been able to conduct research on the ground, they said.
“Israel puts itself in the same league as Burma, North Korea, and Syria in keeping out independent human rights monitors,” said Jessica Montell, executive director of B’Tselem. “The people of Israel deserve to know the truth about the conduct of our forces in Gaza. It is also in Israel’s best interest that the full picture comes out.”
The army prevented journalists from entering Gaza during the 22-day military operation, called “Operation Cast Lead,” even after an Israeli Supreme Court ruling on 2 January ordered the state to allow entry to members of the Foreign Press Association.
Since the escalation of fighting in Gaza on 27 December, 2008, both Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem have documented serious violations of international humanitarian law by Israel and Hamas. On 10 January, Human Rights Watch exposed Israel’s unlawful use of white phosphorus in civilian areas, an allegation the army initially denied but now claims to be investigating.
B’Tselem has expressed grave concern over violations of the principles of proportionality and distinction, including the deliberate targeting of civilian installations, such as government ministries and the Palestinian Legislative Council. Both organizations have, for over two decades, documented violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Article Six of the Human Rights Defenders Declaration ensures that everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, “to know, seek, obtain, receive, and hold information about all human rights and fundamental freedoms,” B’Tselem noted.
In addition, “the apparent blanket denial of access to Gaza by human rights groups violates the right to freedom of movement,” B’Tselem said. “Although human rights law permits restrictions on freedom of movement for security reasons, the restrictions must have a clear legal basis, be limited to what is necessary, and be proportionate to the threat.”
Source: Maan News Agency
"Israel continues to obstruct independent investigations into allegations of laws of war violations by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas military forces in Gaza," the groups said in a joint statement to Ma'an.
After submitting applications for permission to enter via the Erez crossing in January 2009, the groups faced continued delays from the military unit reviewing the applications. In February, the army told Human Rights Watch that it had rejected its application. The Israeli military denied B’Tselem's first request to enter Gaza and has failed to respond to a second.
“Israel’s refusal to allow human rights groups access to Gaza raises a strong suspicion that there are things it doesn’t want us to see or the world to know about its military operation there,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “If Israel has nothing to hide, why is it refusing to allow us in?”
Human Rights Watch requested permission to enter Gaza on 5 January. After weeks of delay, the military rejected the application on 9 February, on the grounds that Human Rights Watch “was not registered with the [Israeli] Ministry of Social Affairs.” On all previous occasions, including several times in 2008, Israeli authorities permitted Human Rights Watch staff to enter and leave Gaza via the Erez crossing.
The army never previously suggested such a requirement for access to Gaza, and Human Rights Watch is not aware of any such Israeli law or regulation. The Israeli military has not responded to Human Rights Watch’s requests for clarification, they said.
Israel does not allow Jewish citizens of Israel, other than security forces, to enter Gaza on the grounds that their security would be at risk. B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, on 20 January requested permission from the military to allow the organization’s fieldwork director (a Palestinian citizen of Israel) to enter Gaza. The military refused the request nine days later.
B’Tselem submitted an additional request on 29 January for entry for three staff members and an international consultant. The Israeli military has not responded to this request.
Human Rights Watch and other international human rights groups were able to enter Gaza via Egypt in late January to carry out initial investigations. The international researchers left Gaza just before 5 February, when Egypt had announced it would close the Rafah crossing.
The army had told Human Rights Watch that because its researchers had entered Gaza through Rafah, they would not permit the researchers to exit through Erez.
B’Tselem has not managed to gain access for its Israeli or West Bank staff, or for international consultants. Only the organization’s two field researchers, who are residents of the Gaza Strip, have been able to conduct research on the ground, they said.
“Israel puts itself in the same league as Burma, North Korea, and Syria in keeping out independent human rights monitors,” said Jessica Montell, executive director of B’Tselem. “The people of Israel deserve to know the truth about the conduct of our forces in Gaza. It is also in Israel’s best interest that the full picture comes out.”
The army prevented journalists from entering Gaza during the 22-day military operation, called “Operation Cast Lead,” even after an Israeli Supreme Court ruling on 2 January ordered the state to allow entry to members of the Foreign Press Association.
Since the escalation of fighting in Gaza on 27 December, 2008, both Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem have documented serious violations of international humanitarian law by Israel and Hamas. On 10 January, Human Rights Watch exposed Israel’s unlawful use of white phosphorus in civilian areas, an allegation the army initially denied but now claims to be investigating.
B’Tselem has expressed grave concern over violations of the principles of proportionality and distinction, including the deliberate targeting of civilian installations, such as government ministries and the Palestinian Legislative Council. Both organizations have, for over two decades, documented violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Article Six of the Human Rights Defenders Declaration ensures that everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, “to know, seek, obtain, receive, and hold information about all human rights and fundamental freedoms,” B’Tselem noted.
In addition, “the apparent blanket denial of access to Gaza by human rights groups violates the right to freedom of movement,” B’Tselem said. “Although human rights law permits restrictions on freedom of movement for security reasons, the restrictions must have a clear legal basis, be limited to what is necessary, and be proportionate to the threat.”
Source: Maan News Agency
Israeli army arrests a Palestinian in Bethlehem
The Israeli Forces arrested on Monday a Palestinian citizen in city of Bethlehem in southern the West Bank, Palestinian security sources said.
The sources added that the 24-year-old Adli Balaha was arrested by the IOF in the city of Bethlehem, without indication the arrest reasons.
Earlier on Sunday, the IOF arrested a 16-year-old Palestinian teen in the city of Jenin, taking him to an undisclosed area.
During the last week, The IOF arrested more than 102 Palestinian citizens from the different cities across the West Bank
There are more than 11.000 Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails, including children, women and lawmakers.
Source: Ramattan
Palestinians injured in Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza strip
At least three Palestinian citizens were injured on Monday as the Israeli warplanes launched several air strikes against a house in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinian security and medical sources said.
The sources added that the Israeli warplanes completely destroyed the house and a car was beside it in the east of Al-Maghazi camp of in central Gaza.
The Israeli army said that Palestinian gunmen fired at an Israel patrol near the border fence, but no injures were reported in the Israeli soldiers.
Source: Ramattan
Fatah and Hamas will talk
Egyptian-sponsored reconciliation talks between Palestinian groups will take place on Wednesday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
Ending divisions between Islamist Hamas and the rival Fatah group of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is seen as key to lifting an Israeli-led blockade of the Gaza Strip, enforced since Hamas won a parliamentary election in 2006.
The reconciliation talks were meant to have begun in Egypt on Sunday, but were postponed last week with Hamas blaming Israel’s refusal to agree to a new Gaza truce after its January offensive in the territory to counter cross-border rocket fire.
Hamas drove Fatah out of Gaza in June 2007 after a power struggle that turned violent, leaving Abbas with a truncated mandate in the occupied West Bank.
Fatah has mounted roundups of West Bank Hamas activists. Hamas wants them released as part of the rapprochement efforts.
“In order for the dialogue to succeed, serious work must be exerted to release all political prisoners from the Palestinian Authority jails in the West Bank,” said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, who also confirmed the Feb. 25 date for the talks.
An official from Fatah, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the group could order an imminent amnesty for some Hamas prisoners.
“Under an understanding with Hamas, there will be releases of many Hamas detainees,” the Fatah official told Reuters.
Ending divisions between Islamist Hamas and the rival Fatah group of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is seen as key to lifting an Israeli-led blockade of the Gaza Strip, enforced since Hamas won a parliamentary election in 2006.
The reconciliation talks were meant to have begun in Egypt on Sunday, but were postponed last week with Hamas blaming Israel’s refusal to agree to a new Gaza truce after its January offensive in the territory to counter cross-border rocket fire.
Hamas drove Fatah out of Gaza in June 2007 after a power struggle that turned violent, leaving Abbas with a truncated mandate in the occupied West Bank.
Fatah has mounted roundups of West Bank Hamas activists. Hamas wants them released as part of the rapprochement efforts.
“In order for the dialogue to succeed, serious work must be exerted to release all political prisoners from the Palestinian Authority jails in the West Bank,” said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, who also confirmed the Feb. 25 date for the talks.
An official from Fatah, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the group could order an imminent amnesty for some Hamas prisoners.
“Under an understanding with Hamas, there will be releases of many Hamas detainees,” the Fatah official told Reuters.
Gulf states launch Arab aid plan to rebuild Gaza
Gulf Arab states proposed on Sunday a joint plan for Arab aid to rebuild the Gaza Strip.
The extent of the funding has not been revealed but a Gulf Arab official said $1.25 billion has been pledged by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The plan is to put aid from Arab donors under the joint management of a committee made up of contributors and the Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank, Gulf Arab ministers said in a statement after a meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
"The goal is for this program to be implemented fast and minutely planned and also for it to respond to the needs of our Palestinian brethren in Gaza as soon as possible," Oman's minister in charge of foreign affairs, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, told reporters.
Israel's three-week offensive against Gaza created new divisions in Arab ranks, pitting Saudi Arabia, Egypt and their allies against Qatar, Iran, Syria and their allies.
Qatar hosted the leaders of Iran, Syria and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas at a conference to support Gaza. It suspended its ties with Israel and called for the withdrawal of a 2002 Arab peace initiative sponsored by Saudi Arabia.
Under the joint plan, an office may be opened in Gaza to ease the execution of projects and the entry to the densely populated strip of material needed for reconstruction.
Details of the plan are to be outlined by a meeting on Saturday before an expected conference of international donors in Cairo on March 2.
"Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Libya also plan to contribute (funding)," the official said on condition of anonymity.
Source: Reuters
The extent of the funding has not been revealed but a Gulf Arab official said $1.25 billion has been pledged by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The plan is to put aid from Arab donors under the joint management of a committee made up of contributors and the Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank, Gulf Arab ministers said in a statement after a meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
"The goal is for this program to be implemented fast and minutely planned and also for it to respond to the needs of our Palestinian brethren in Gaza as soon as possible," Oman's minister in charge of foreign affairs, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, told reporters.
Israel's three-week offensive against Gaza created new divisions in Arab ranks, pitting Saudi Arabia, Egypt and their allies against Qatar, Iran, Syria and their allies.
Qatar hosted the leaders of Iran, Syria and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas at a conference to support Gaza. It suspended its ties with Israel and called for the withdrawal of a 2002 Arab peace initiative sponsored by Saudi Arabia.
Under the joint plan, an office may be opened in Gaza to ease the execution of projects and the entry to the densely populated strip of material needed for reconstruction.
Details of the plan are to be outlined by a meeting on Saturday before an expected conference of international donors in Cairo on March 2.
"Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Libya also plan to contribute (funding)," the official said on condition of anonymity.
Source: Reuters
President of European Parliament to visit Gaza on Monday
European official delegation headed by European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pottering will visit Gaza on Monday, UN sources told Ramattan.
According to a statement received by Ramattan, the EU Parliamentarian delegation would make a tour in Gaza with the UNRWA Commissioner General, Karen AbuZayd.
The Delegation will hold a press conference in Beit Lahia School, north of Gaza, where Palestinian children killed in an Israeli bombardment.
Source: Ramattan
Five Palestinians died, two wounded due to tunnel collapse south of Gaza
Palestinian medical sources said on Sunday that five Palestinians died today morning due to a tunnel collapse near the Palestinian-Egyptian borders southern Gaza.
Palestinian Ministry of Health sources said that the medical emergency teams evacuated five dead people and two wounded.
The sources added that the casualties died as a result of suffocation.
The incident came after a series of Israeli air strikes along the borderline between Gaza and Egypt in the south of Gaza Strip through the last week.
The tunnels phenomenon appeared after the Israeli tighten siege on Gaza following Hamas takeover of Gaza two years ago.
Around 60 Palestinians died in tunnels collapse in the last two years.
Source: Ramattan
Fatah and PPP argue: Palestinian unity the only response to Netanyahu government
Gaza – Ma’an – Rival Palestinian factions must reunite in order to face a likely right-wing government that will emerge in Israel, senior Palestinian officials argued on Saturday.
“This attitude shows Israeli public support for the complete destruction of what was left in Gaza …[the election] is evidence that Israeli voters are not satisfied with their [government’s] performance and want more killing and destruction among the Palestinians ,” said Senior Fatah leader Ibrahim Abu An-Naja.
Abu Naja called for “unity [among] the Palestinians through a comprehensive national dialogue and what would come out of it of forming a national unity government that is able to face the expected dangerous risks.”
“Designating Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the Israeli Likud party, to form the new Israeli government was not surprising but came along with the attitudes of the Israeli voters that are heading towards the right wing,” said Walid Al-Awad, a member of the PPP’s politburo, said.
On Friday Netanyahu was officially tasked with forming a ruling coalition. Israel’s national election earlier this month saw the extreme right make significant gains.
“Netanyahu will work on getting centrist parties to join his government, which will make it a center-right government in an attempt to market it to the world,” Al-Awad said, adding, “Such an option is ruled out until now as indicated by the statements of the centrist parties which will make forming a extremist government likely.”
“In such a case the possibility is of escalating attacks on the Palestinians,” he said, calling for a united Palestinian front to confront Netanyahu’s government.
The competing Palestinian parties are meeting in Egypt next week in an attempt to restore political unity.
The last unity government was dissolved in June 2007 when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip.
Source: Maan News Agency - Palestine
“This attitude shows Israeli public support for the complete destruction of what was left in Gaza …[the election] is evidence that Israeli voters are not satisfied with their [government’s] performance and want more killing and destruction among the Palestinians ,” said Senior Fatah leader Ibrahim Abu An-Naja.
Abu Naja called for “unity [among] the Palestinians through a comprehensive national dialogue and what would come out of it of forming a national unity government that is able to face the expected dangerous risks.”
“Designating Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the Israeli Likud party, to form the new Israeli government was not surprising but came along with the attitudes of the Israeli voters that are heading towards the right wing,” said Walid Al-Awad, a member of the PPP’s politburo, said.
On Friday Netanyahu was officially tasked with forming a ruling coalition. Israel’s national election earlier this month saw the extreme right make significant gains.
“Netanyahu will work on getting centrist parties to join his government, which will make it a center-right government in an attempt to market it to the world,” Al-Awad said, adding, “Such an option is ruled out until now as indicated by the statements of the centrist parties which will make forming a extremist government likely.”
“In such a case the possibility is of escalating attacks on the Palestinians,” he said, calling for a united Palestinian front to confront Netanyahu’s government.
The competing Palestinian parties are meeting in Egypt next week in an attempt to restore political unity.
The last unity government was dissolved in June 2007 when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip.
Source: Maan News Agency - Palestine
Amnesty International urges freeze on arms sales to Israel
More than 20 countries sold Israel weapons and munitions whose use during Operation Cast Lead could constitute war crimes and might pose serious infractions of international law, according to a report to be released by Amnesty International on Monday.
The United States is at the top of the list of arms exporters to Israel, but France, Romania, Bosnia and Serbia are listed as well. Amnesty's report, entitled, "Fueling Conflict: Foreign Arms supplies to Israel/Gaza," details arms sales to Israel between 2004 and 2007, and publishes some of the organization's findings on the use of such weapons against civilians and civilian targets.
"Direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects, disproportionate attacks and indiscriminate attacks are war crimes," the report states, describing such attacks during the war in Gaza. The organization recommends that all arms sales to Israel be frozen until "there is no longer a substantial risk that such equipment will be used for serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses."
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The report further noted that Hamas and other Palestinian groups also used weapons indiscriminately against civilians. Although Amnesty cannot determine the direct supplier of non-homemade weapons (which are manufactured in Iran and Russia), it also calls for a moratorium on weapons sales and shipments to the Palestinians. The report also mentions that the types and quantity of weapons in Hamas' hands are much smaller than those in Israel's possession.
"Even before the three-week conflict, those who armed the two sides will have been aware of the pattern of repeated misuse of weapons by the parties. They must take some responsibility for the violations perpetrated with the weapons they have supplied and should immediately cease further transfers," the report states."
Since 2001, the Unites States has been Israel's main supplier of conventional weapons, the report states. The figures Amnesty obtained show that from 2004 to 2007, the total value of U.S.-supplied arms to Israel stood at some $8.3 billion.
The report also notes that since 2002, Israel has received military and security aid to the tune of $21 billion, of which $19 billion was direct military aid. "Put simply, Israel's military intervention in the Gaza Strip has been equipped to a large extent by U.S.-supplied weapons, munitions and military equipment paid for with U.S. taxpayers' money."
A 10-year agreement, in force until 2017, stipulates that the United States will supply Israel with military aid totaling $30 billion.
"The Obama administration should immediately suspend U.S. military aid to Israel," Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East director, said ahead of the report's release.
Between 2004 to 2007, France exported military equipment to Israel to the tune of 59 million Euros. Romania exported equipment worth approximately 20 million Euros, while Britain provided the equivalent of some 10 million pounds sterling's worth. Serbia sold Israel approximately $15 million worth of weapons and munitions, whereas Germany provided some $1.5 million in military aid.
The report also mentions civilian targets, including The American School in Beit Lahia, Gaza, destroyed by F-16 aircraft. Amnesty's report further states that three ambulance crew-members and a boy who showed them the way to a group of injured were killed on January 4 by an Israeli guided missile that was manufactured jointly by Hellfire Systems and Lockheed Martin/Boeing as part of a U.S. military contract.
The Amnesty representative in the Gaza Strip also found extensive evidence of the use of U.S.-made phosphorus bombs against civilian targets and densely populated areas.
Amira Hass - Haaretz
The United States is at the top of the list of arms exporters to Israel, but France, Romania, Bosnia and Serbia are listed as well. Amnesty's report, entitled, "Fueling Conflict: Foreign Arms supplies to Israel/Gaza," details arms sales to Israel between 2004 and 2007, and publishes some of the organization's findings on the use of such weapons against civilians and civilian targets.
"Direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects, disproportionate attacks and indiscriminate attacks are war crimes," the report states, describing such attacks during the war in Gaza. The organization recommends that all arms sales to Israel be frozen until "there is no longer a substantial risk that such equipment will be used for serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses."
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The report further noted that Hamas and other Palestinian groups also used weapons indiscriminately against civilians. Although Amnesty cannot determine the direct supplier of non-homemade weapons (which are manufactured in Iran and Russia), it also calls for a moratorium on weapons sales and shipments to the Palestinians. The report also mentions that the types and quantity of weapons in Hamas' hands are much smaller than those in Israel's possession.
"Even before the three-week conflict, those who armed the two sides will have been aware of the pattern of repeated misuse of weapons by the parties. They must take some responsibility for the violations perpetrated with the weapons they have supplied and should immediately cease further transfers," the report states."
Since 2001, the Unites States has been Israel's main supplier of conventional weapons, the report states. The figures Amnesty obtained show that from 2004 to 2007, the total value of U.S.-supplied arms to Israel stood at some $8.3 billion.
The report also notes that since 2002, Israel has received military and security aid to the tune of $21 billion, of which $19 billion was direct military aid. "Put simply, Israel's military intervention in the Gaza Strip has been equipped to a large extent by U.S.-supplied weapons, munitions and military equipment paid for with U.S. taxpayers' money."
A 10-year agreement, in force until 2017, stipulates that the United States will supply Israel with military aid totaling $30 billion.
"The Obama administration should immediately suspend U.S. military aid to Israel," Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East director, said ahead of the report's release.
Between 2004 to 2007, France exported military equipment to Israel to the tune of 59 million Euros. Romania exported equipment worth approximately 20 million Euros, while Britain provided the equivalent of some 10 million pounds sterling's worth. Serbia sold Israel approximately $15 million worth of weapons and munitions, whereas Germany provided some $1.5 million in military aid.
The report also mentions civilian targets, including The American School in Beit Lahia, Gaza, destroyed by F-16 aircraft. Amnesty's report further states that three ambulance crew-members and a boy who showed them the way to a group of injured were killed on January 4 by an Israeli guided missile that was manufactured jointly by Hellfire Systems and Lockheed Martin/Boeing as part of a U.S. military contract.
The Amnesty representative in the Gaza Strip also found extensive evidence of the use of U.S.-made phosphorus bombs against civilian targets and densely populated areas.
Amira Hass - Haaretz
Israel 'evicts Jerusalem families'
More than 1,500 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem could be made homeless after Israel told them their homes are illegal and are to be demolished.
"The owners of 80 houses in the al-Bustan neighbourhood have received eviction notices saying that the structures will be destroyed because they are illegal," Hatem Abdel Kader, an official responsible for Jerusalem affairs in the Palestinian government, said.
Kader said that several of the houses served with demolition orders had been built before the 1967 war, when Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan, but that numerous extensions have been built since.
"The [Jerusalem] municipality used this as a pretext to issue the demolition orders despite appeals by the residents," he said.
No comment was immediately available from the city authorities.
Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital and has annexed the Arab east of the city, but under international law east Jerusalem is considered to be occupied and has not been recognised by world powers as the Israeli capital.
According to B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights organisation, Israeli authorities have demolished about 350 houses in east Jerusalem since 2004, saying that they were built without permits.
Source: (Al-Jazeera)
"The owners of 80 houses in the al-Bustan neighbourhood have received eviction notices saying that the structures will be destroyed because they are illegal," Hatem Abdel Kader, an official responsible for Jerusalem affairs in the Palestinian government, said.
Kader said that several of the houses served with demolition orders had been built before the 1967 war, when Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan, but that numerous extensions have been built since.
"The [Jerusalem] municipality used this as a pretext to issue the demolition orders despite appeals by the residents," he said.
No comment was immediately available from the city authorities.
Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital and has annexed the Arab east of the city, but under international law east Jerusalem is considered to be occupied and has not been recognised by world powers as the Israeli capital.
According to B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights organisation, Israeli authorities have demolished about 350 houses in east Jerusalem since 2004, saying that they were built without permits.
Source: (Al-Jazeera)
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