MIDEAST-SETTLEMENT Palestinians condemn Israel's approval of 500 settler homes in East Jerusalem

Record ID: 836993

  • Title: MIDEAST-SETTLEMENT Palestinians condemn Israel's approval of 500 settler homes in East Jerusalem
  • Date: 4th November 2014
  • Summary: RAMAT SHLOMO, JERUSALEM (NOVEMBER 4, 2014) (REUTERS) ISRAELI SETTLEMENT VIEW OF ARAB NEIGHBOURHOOD OF BEIT HANINA IN EAST JERUSALEM AS SEEN FROM SETTLEMENT VARIOUS OF TRACTOR MOVING DIRT (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) RESIDENT OF RAMAT SHLOMO, MORAN MORDECHAY, SAYING: "Despite the fact that a lot of people around the world think that it is not ok and not right, I think that we do have to develop Jerusalem. There are lots of people like Obama and others who will reject this but Jerusalem has recently developed" VARIOUS OF ORTHODOX JEWS OUTSIDE YESHIVA, JEWISH INSTITUTION ORTHODOX JEWS WALKING ALONG STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) RESIDENT OF RAMAT SHLOMO, ELIYAHU MIZLIS, SAYING: "This is not an obstacle to peace, what is an obstacle is our mere presence". VARIOUS OF CONSTRUCTION WORKS IN PROGRESS HOUSES UNDER CONSTRUCTION RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (NOVEMBER 4, 2014) (REUTERS) PALESTINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, RIYAD AL-MALKI, MEETING WITH DENMARK'S FOREIGN MINISTER, MARTIN LIDEGAARD VARIOUS OF MEETING IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, RIYAD AL-MALKI, SAYING: "I updated him with the latest developments on the Palestinian side especially about the new Israeli announcements on new settlements in Jerusalem and around it." OFFICIALS AND DELEGATES LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) DENMARK'S FOREIGN MINISTER, MARTIN LIDEGAARD, SAYING: "The first challenge is that Israel has to show the will to peace. At the present policy of settlements, it starts doing that, we condemn that policy and we have urged Israel to stop the settlements now. We have also said that the new settlements are coming at the time where tensions are high also in Jerusalem and we need to de-escalate both incitement but also the actions taking place." JERUSALEM (NOVEMBER 4, 2014) (REUTERS) POLICEMEN GUARDING NEAR AL AQSA MOSQUE IN JERUSALEM'S OLD CITY ISRAELI LAWMAKER, TZIPI HOTOVELY, OF THE LIKUD PARTY, ACCOMPANIED BY ISRAELI SECURITY WALKING TO AL-AQSA COMPOUND HOTOVELY BEING GUARDED BY POLICE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI LAWMAKER, TZIPI HOTOVELY, SAYING: "Temple Mount is the holiest place to the Jewish nation, Jews should pray and fulfill their human rights and their religious rights on the mountain and I would say this is the right time, now more than ever, to deliver this message to the world, peace in the Middle East will happen only if the three religions will be able to pray on Temple Mount". HOTOVELY WALKING TO AL-AQSA COMPOUND THROUGH THE MUGRABI BRIDGE LINE OF POLICE VEHICLES PARKED ON SITE VARIOUS OF DAMAGE IN AL-TOR NEIGHBOURHOOD IN EAST JERUSALEM AFTER ISRAEL DEMOLISHED ILLEGAL STRUCTURES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF DEMOLISHED HOUSE, ESSAM ABU SUBIAH, SAYING: "At 5:00 a.m. (3:00 gmt) they (Israeli authorities) started to demolish (homes) in Silwan (near Al-Tor) without giving any notice or warning, all randomly happened and as you can see the house had two floors. I lived on the first floor with my handicap child, he is 14 years old, and the second floor belonged to Burqan Family." PALESTINIAN BOY WALKING THROUGH DAMAGED HOMES
  • Embargoed: 19th November 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: West bank
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9H4C3WDYOZYKXSFK1OFW1Q11W
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: The Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki and his Danish counterpart condemned on Tuesday (November 4), Israel's approval of 500 settler homes in East Jerusalem.
    But residents in Ramat Shlomo, a neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, welcomed the plan.
    "Despite the fact that a lot of people around the world think that it is not ok and not right, I think that we do have to develop Jerusalem. There are lots of people like Obama and others who will reject this but Jerusalem has recently developed," said Moran Mordechai.
    "This is not an obstacle to peace, what is an obstacle is our mere presence," added fellow resident, Eliyahu Mizlis.
    Al-Malki and Danish Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard who met in Ramallah, denounced the plan as a main obstacle to founding the independent state Palestinians seek in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.
    Lidegaard called on Israel to halt settlement activity and ease tensions in East Jerusalem over al-Aqsa shrine.
    "The first challenge is that Israel has to show the will to peace. At the present policy of settlements, it starts doing that, we condemn that policy and we have urged Israel to stop the settlements now. We have also said that the new settlements are coming at the time where tensions are high also in Jerusalem an we need to de-escalate both incitement but also the actions taking place," he said.
    The Israeli Interior Ministry panel's preliminary approval of the new homes for Ramat Shlomo, a neighbourhood built on West Bank territory captured in the 1967 war and annexed to Jerusalem in a move not recognised abroad, was kept low profile in an apparent bid to avoid friction with Washington.
    A week ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered plans for some 600 housing units for Ramat Shlomo and another 400 for Har Homa, another East Jerusalem neighbourhood, to be advanced.
    The United States said last week such construction is not conducive to "peace in the region and a two-state solution".
    The European Union asked Israel for clarifications about Netanyahu's promotion of the Har Homa and Ramat Shlomo projects.
    Some 500,000 Israelis have settled in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, among 2.4 million Palestinians.
    The World Court says settlements Israel has built there are illegal, a view Israel disputes.
    Amid heightened tension in Jerusalem, a string of lawmakers continued to defy Netanyahu's call on lawmakers and ministers to show restraint over Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque.
    Israeli politician Tzipi Hotoveli of Netanyahu's Likud party, visited the sacred site - which for decades has stated that while Jews may visit the site, they cannot pray.
    "Temple Mount is the holiest place to the Jewish nation, Jews should pray and fulfil their human rights and their religious rights on the mountain and I would say this is the right time, now more than ever, to deliver this message to the world, peace in the Middle East will happen only if the three religions will be able to pray on Temple Mount," said Hotoveli before entering the compound, encircled by several policemen.
    Netanyahu's calls for restraint and reassurance that the status quo for all religions in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound - known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount - will not be changed has done little to calm Palestinian concerns.
    Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its "indivisible and eternal" capital, a claim not recognised internationally.
    Also on Tuesday Israeli forces demolished two Palestinian homes in al-Tor, near the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan that has been at the heart of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters, a move likely to increase months of tension in holy city.
    Authorities knocked down the buildings, southeast of the Old City, in the early hours, saying they had been built without construction permits.
    "From 5am (0300gmt) they (Israeli authorities) started to demolish (homes) in Silwan (near Al-Tor) without giving any notice or warning, all randomly happened and as you can see the house had two floors. I lived on the first floor with my handicap child, he is 14 years old, and the second floor belonged to Burqan Family," Essam abu Subiah, the owner of one of the buildings, told Reuters.
    Jerusalem's municipality said it had carried out two demolition orders on partially-built structures put up without permits in an area where building is banned.
    Tension has deepened in east Jerusalem in recent months, with almost nightly clashes between Palestinians throwing rocks and setting off firecrackers and heavily armed Israeli police firing stun grenades and tear gas.
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