Israel prepares to build 1,000 new homes in occupied East Jerusalem
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 11:20PM 
Israel will reportedly build more than 1,000 new homes in East Jerusalem as part of its ongoing ethnic cleansing program in the occupied territories. It comes amid the latest complaints by Palestinians that their homes have been illegally bulldozed.
Construction contracts for 300 homes in the northeastern settlement of Ramot were signed, and another 797 land plots in the much larger settlement of Gilo in Jerusalem were listed for sale. Danny Seidemann, a director of the Jerusalem settlement watchdog group Terrestrial Jerusalem, told AFP that the building was quietly ordered last year by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The housing project is certain to draw the ire of the international community, which cites international law nullifying Israel’s domain over the region, which the country annexed after the 1967 Six-Day war. Netanyahu has reportedly pushed the project under the carpet temporarily so as not to impact US Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to bridge peace talks between Israel and Palestine.
The news of the land purchases is said to have been leaked by Israeli Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel in an effort to pressure the prime minister.
“This does not mean that the show is over, it does mean that Netanyahu’s minister of construction is trying to achieve that,” Seidermann told the AFP. “There is a de facto freeze at the moment, there have been no new units since the elections. This is an attempt to force Netanyahu’s hand.”
The leak coincides with news that Israeli forces demolished two Palestinian homes in Beit Hanina, in East Jerusalem. The destruction was closed off to media and pedestrians but Badran al-Salameh, who owns the homes, told the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency he was not given prior notice of the demolition.
“My son’s wife and his two kids were the only ones inside the house,” he said. “I tried to reach my home when I heard from neighbors but Israeli officers banned me. I wanted to take out my wife’s gold and money from one of the drawers.”
The incident in question came as a result of the Salameh family reportedly lacking Israeli building permits, a justification Tel Aviv has used to forecefully displace over 1,630 non-Jewish families since 1967.
Palestinian leaders have demanded a halt to Israeli settlement construction before the continuation of so-called peace talks, which have remained stagnant for nearly three years. Despite Kerry’s four trips to the region since being made Secretary of State, those close to the situation say the instability is unlikely to be resolved.
“Kerry is still unable to put pressure on the Israeli government to meet its obligations under the terms of the peace process,” Palestinian negotiator Nabil Sha’ath told the Jerusalem Post Wednesday. “This is not because Kerry does not want but because he is unable to exert pressure on Israel. Israel is responsible for obstructing the peace process.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clashes as thousands of Palestinians mark 65 years since displacement
Police and protesters were injured as Palestinians clashed with the IDF in Jerusalem and across the West Bank during rallies to commemorate the Nakba, or the ‘catastrophe’ of the displacement of Palestinians after the creation of Israel in 1948.
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly had to use teargas and rubber bullets in response to Palestinian protesters throwing rocks at soldiers.
In Jerusalem, two policemen were wounded as a result of clashes, reports Haaretz. A fire bomb was thrown at an IDF vehicle injuring four soldiers near the city of Hebron in southern West Bank.
According to Palestinian WAFA news agency, several “peacefully demonstrating” Palestinians were injured during confrontations with IDF at Kalandia checkpoint, between Jerusalem and Ramallah. Violence broke out after Israeli soldiers fired teargas and acoustic bombs at protesters, the agency states.
The IDF spokeswoman, however, said it was Palestinians who sparked the clashes, throwing stones at soldiers, while Israeli forces had to respond with crowd dispersal techniques, reports the Jerusalem Post.
Some 16 Palestinian protesters were arrested at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem after hurling stones and bottles at police officers. One of the officers was taken to hospital after his head was injured, in a separate incident an Israeli Jew recieved minor injuries after being beaten by a Palestinian, according to JPost.
In the afternoon Palestinian militants fired rockets at Eshkol Regional Council in Southern Jerusalem, causing no injuries or damages, according to Israeli media.
Clashes were also reported in other locations in the region, including Kadum and at Rachel's tomb in Bethlehem.
On May 15, thousands of Palestinians throughout Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip took part in events to mark 65th anniversary of the Nakba Day – the day after the creation of the State of Israel, which resulted in the mass displacement of Palestinians.
At noon, sirens wailed in the West Bank for 65 seconds to commemorate the event.
In Ramallah, thousands marched on the Nakba Day from the grave of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to the city center. In a sign of mourning, many demonstrators were wearing black and chanted “The right of return will not die.” Protesters were also holding Palestinian flags and large keys that symbolized homes they fled or were forced to leave decades ago.
About a thousand Palestinians marched to the United Nations headquarters in Gaza City.
“Israel has no place on the land of Palestine, we will free all the land of Palestine, and we will establish our state after all the refugees come back,” Hamas leader Khalil al-Haya, stated at the rally, as cited by AP.
According to the Palestinian Central Statistics Bureau, 5.3 million of the 11.5 million Palestinians around the world, are registered by the UN as refuges in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
Reader Comments