Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

Israeli Occupation Government Pursues Policy of Eliminate Jerusalem Landmarks, Turning the Old City Into a Closed Jewish Ghetto

Tafakji: IOG pursues new policy to eliminate O. Jerusalem landmarks

[ 04/05/2009 - 11:01 AM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)--

The Israeli occupation government (IOG) has endorsed new rules regulating construction in occupied Jerusalem that would primarily bloc Jerusalemites from building in their own city, Khalil Al-Tafakji, the director of maps department in the Arab studies society, said.

He added in a report on Sunday that the new rules stipulated that any Jerusalemite wishing to build in occupied Jerusalem should obtain permission from the interior ministry in Tel Aviv then complete the procedures in the municipality in the event his request was approved.

Tafakji said that the municipal procedures were not simple, and added that the new law would pose as a stumbling bloc before anyone wishing to build his/her own home.

The land expert said that the IOG was embarking on a new large settlement project that would include building new 40,000 housing units in occupied Jerusalem and surrounding settlements in a bid to judaize the holy city.

He noted that the greater Jerusalem project was currently being implemented whereby Jerusalem would constitute 10% of the West Bank area after annexing all settlement blocs near it.

The IOG is planning to demolish between 15,000 to 25,000 Palestinian houses in occupied Jerusalem, which it said were built without permits, Tafakji pointed out, adding that 10,000 Jerusalemites had lost their IDs for not residing in the holy city.

He said that the IOG wants to retain a Jewish majority in Jerusalem and reduce the number of Palestinian inhabitants of the holy city to 12% of the overall population, and added that all the aforementioned measures would change the landmarks in Jerusalem.

Khater: IOG wants to turn Jerusalem into a closed Jewish ghetto

[ 03/05/2009 - 06:31 PM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)--

Dr. Hassan Khater, the secretary general of the Islamic-Christian front for the defense of Jerusalem and its holy shrines, charged that the Israeli occupation authority wants to turn Jerusalem into a closed Jewish ghetto after getting rid of all its non-Jewish inhabitants.

He said in a written statement on Saturday that the UN warning that the IOG was trying to force the emigration of 60,000 Palestinians out of Jerusalem was not enough.

He called on the international organization to adopt practical measures to stop the IOG racial cleansing in Jerusalem.

Khater said that the IOA does not want any Islamic or Christian holy shrines in Jerusalem.

The UN report about the IOA racial cleansing in Jerusalem was a fraction of what the IOA was planning against the Jerusalemites, the secretary general underlined.

He said that the UN was ignoring the serious religious, historic and political implications of the IOG demolition of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem and focusing on the humanitarian aspect only.

A UN report said that the IOG demolition of Palestinian homes in occupied Jerusalem at the usual pretext of not obtaining permits would render 60,000 Palestinians, half of them children, homeless, which in turn would force them out of the holy city.

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