The Israeli policy of destroying Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem is continuing at a rapid pace. No diplomatic turn or negotiation is having any affect, as the Fateh official in charge of the file of Jerusalem, Hatem Abdel Qader, pointed out today.
A delegation from his office is in the Israeli Supreme Court today to issue a resolution against the Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai. The subject is his blatant refusal to ratify the final drafts for structural changes in Palestinian neighborhoods in the city of Jerusalem, although citizens have satisfied all the requirements laid forth by the engineering and legal committees. They also have the approval of the local and district offices on the plans. The long and short of it is: it is nearly impossible to get a building permit if you are Palestinian in Jerusalem.
With this latest infraction, 131 Palestinian apartments, the homes to 1,000 citizens, will be demolished if the permits are not issued.
Abdel Qadar described the Israeli policy as being racist and illegal, aimed at harming Palestinian demographics in Jerusalem. The Israelis have been open in the recent past about plans to change the demography in the city to ensure it has a Jewish majority. The plan includes evicting more Palestinians and brining in more settlers.
The Palestinian official in charge of the Jerusalem file said today, "The refusal to ratify these plans puts 131 housing units in Jerusalem, with a population of 1,000 citizens, among the list of demolitions. This is especially wrong since the plans were developed to correct the legal status of these unlicensed houses which are located in Shu'fat, Beit Hanina, Mount Scopus, Baher, and other neighborhoods."
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