MIDDLE EAST: Palestinians in occupied territories hold general strike. Rocket from Gaza hits Ashkelon school

Record ID: 338650

  • Title: MIDDLE EAST: Palestinians in occupied territories hold general strike. Rocket from Gaza hits Ashkelon school
  • Date: 1st March 2009
  • Summary: EAST JERUSALEM (FEBRUARY 28, 2009) (REUTERS) VIEW OF SILWAN NEIGHBOURHOOD, SOUTH TO AL AQSA SHRINE COMPOUND HOUSES IN BUSTAN AREA, INSIDE SILWAN NEIGHBOURHOOD TENT IN BUSTAN AREA, WITH ARABIC SIGN SAYING: 'WE REFUSE EVACUATION, WE REFUSE COMPENSATION' (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SILWAN RESIDENT FAKHRI ABU DIAB SAYING: "The Israeli government and municipality claim that it's a q
  • Embargoed: 16th March 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: War / Fighting,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVACA5X9K0LU5QJN0QO1EBBPR181
  • Story Text: General strike announced in East Jerusalem and the West Bank in protests of Israeli intentions to demolish houses in Silwan neighbourhood. Israeli school sustains damage after being hit by a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip.
    Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank declared a general strike on Saturday (February 28) in protest of what they say is an Israeli plan to demolish 88 houses in the Arab East Jerusalem village of Silwan.
    Shops in Jerusalem and the in towns across the West Bank were closed, and few people were seen on the streets, also due to windy weather conditions.
    Israeli authorities in Jerusalem said on Tuesday (February 24) they had no immediate plans to demolish scores of Arab homes in the east of the city but that they had designated the area for a park.
    Palestinians said on Monday (February 23) the Israeli-controlled municipality of Jerusalem was preparing to evict 1,500 Palestinians and demolish 88 homes in East Jerusalem's Silwan district, to convert it into an open public space. The dispute is part of a wider conflict over Jerusalem.

    "The Israeli government and municipality claim that it's a question of building permits, but where is the human side of it? These are our houses and our lands. But their aim is a political one, they want to turn us homeless for political motivations, where they want this land without the residents," said Silwan resident Fakhri Abu Diab.
    Israel regards all of the city as its capital, including East Jerusalem and adjacent parts of the West Bank annexed since their capture in 1967, a claim not recognised internationally. Some 500,000 Israelis live in settlements, which are considered illegal internationally.
    Ahead of next week's visit by new U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Palestinian officials are seeking support against what they say are Israeli plans to drive Arabs from the city and cut off occupied Arab East Jerusalem from territory on which they hope to establish a Palestinian state.

    "If they demolish our houses, or if they don't, there is an important thing that foreign media neglects and that is our children and family's sentiments. They live under difficult emotional conditions. Our children do not understand if their house has a permit or not, the only thing they do understand is that they could lose their home, their bed and their safe place," Abu Diab added.
    City officials said there were no immediate plans to evict Palestinians from Silwan or demolish any homes, but the Israeli mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, confirmed in a statement the area was designated for use as a recreational area.
    The city's deputy mayor, Naomi Tsur, told Reuters that Barkat's administration, elected in November, was working on a zoning plan for the area but vowed first to seek an "understanding with all the residents of the city".
    Palestinians say the plan could prevent the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

    "Today we witness a strike on a national level and everyone knows the reason, and it's Jerusalem, and what is happening in Jerusalem. I speak with bitterness, how the evacuation is taking place, and we can't do anything about it. The least we could do in protest is this general strike," said Hebron resident Amjad El Najjar.
    In southern Israel, a rocket fired by Palestinian militants in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip exploded on Saturday near a school in the city of Ashkelon, causing damage but no injuries, Israel's military said.
    The rocket, one of three fired from the coastal territory on Saturday, landed in the courtyard of a school in the Israeli city, some 12 km (7 miles) north of the Gaza border. Shrapnel blew away doors and flew into classrooms.
    Authorities said the school was empty for the weekend.

    "Disaster, it could have been a disaster. Listen, the Arabs know there is no school today, but they still launch (rockets) in order to show 'we are here on the ground, you did not manage to overpower us,'" one Ashkelon resident told Reuters television.
    Israel has responded to similar attacks with air strikes in the Gaza Strip.
    Egypt has been trying to broker a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas to take the place of a shaky Jan. 18 ceasefire that ended a 22-day Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. There have been almost daily exchanges of fire since then.
    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday's rocket fire.
    ENDS.
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