28 jan 2010
Lador to Jerusalem mayor: Evacuate Silwan house immediately
State Prosecutor Lador
State prosecutor criticizes Jerusalem mayor over Beit Yonatan affair, demands municipality comply with court order to evacuate Jewish residence in east Jerusalem neighborhood.
State Prosecutor Moshe Lador sent a letter to Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Thursday, instructing him to comply immediately with the evacuation order for Beit Yonatan, which houses Jewish families in the Silwan neighborhood of east Jerusalem.
"I was dismayed to hear that even at this late date the Jerusalem municipality has not concerned itself with respecting and carrying out court orders that have come from all instances, including four times from the Supreme Court," the state prosecutor wrote.
Lador explained that Beit Yonatan "was built from the beginning without regard for planning and construction laws, by people who have not revealed their identity, while only their 'representatives' are actually present those living in the building."
Mayor Nir Barkat
Currently, Jewish families associated with the right-wing Ateret Cohanim movement reside in the seven-story building, which was constructed in 2004.
The state prosecutor noted that the State of Israel is "a law-abiding state, and court orders must be followed. This simple and basic truth is undermined when orders are ignore."
Lador also referred to previous meetings on the issue, and to the fact that Attorney General Menachem Mazuz was not convinced by the municipality's claims that in light of its plans to develop the Silwan neighborhood the court order should not be carried out.
"All policies regarding development should be examined carefully, of course, and I wish you luck in advancing such plans," Lador wrote, "But this has nothing to do with complying with the court order. In addition, there is no justification for the involvement of political figures who are not authorized to deal in this matter, in their attempts directly or indirectly to undermine law enforcement processes."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3841234,00.html
14 febr 2010
State prosecutor to Barkat: Seal off Beit Yonatan
Lador urges Jerusalem mayor to implement court order against Jewish building in east Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood
State Prosecutor Moshe Lador on Sunday wrote to Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat saying the Jewish building in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan known as Beit Yonatan must not be made legal in the District Planning and Construction Committee, but that the sealing order issued against the building must be implemented.
Lador praised the mayor for his commitment to implement the order and said, "In the end, despite the differences of opinion, the city of Jerusalem will act under your leadership in a manner that honors the law and the courts' orders."
About two weeks ago, before Barkat expressed his commitment to implementing the sealing order, the state prosecutor sent the mayor a scathing letter saying, 'There is no justification for the involvement of political figures who are not authorized to deal in this matter, in their attempts directly or indirectly to undermine law enforcement processes"
In the letter he sent Barkat on Sunday, Lador said he has no doubt that after the City implements the sealing order issued against Beit Yonatan, the Planning and Construction Committee "will work towards enforcing orders issued against other structures in Jerusalem that were built illegally."
Beit Yonatan is a seven-floor building that was erected without a permit in 2004 in the mostly Arab Silwan neighborhood. It currently houses Jewish families associated with the right-wing Ateret Cohanim movement.
Mayor Barkat has made the evacuation of Beit Yonatan dependent on the demolition of illegal Arab buildings in east Jerusalem.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3848943,00.html
2 juni 2010
Private guards in the City of David, Silwan
The settlement of Ir David, the City of David in Silwan, East Jerusalem, has an armed militia, of private guards, funded by the Ministry of Housing,
In recent incidense in Silwan, the private guards, seem to act independetly, while incrising the tension and friction.
30 juni 2010
(3:44) Watch "God's Chosen" kick women and children out of their homes to live on the streets
13 juli 2010
For first time in nine months, Israel razes Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem
Municipality says structures were not homes but witnesses report Palestinian family removing belongings.
Israel razed on Tuesday an inhabited Palestinian home in East Jerusalem for the first time in eight months, effectively ending an unofficial freeze of such internationally condemned demolitions.
A Reuters photographer witnessed a Palestinian family removing its belongings from the house in East Jerusalem's Beit Hanina neighborhood before an Israeli excavator tore into the dwelling.
"They can build hundreds of settlements but I'm not entitled to live in a shack?" asked Linda al-Rajabi outside the demolished dwelling she shared with her husband and their five children.
Israel's Jerusalem municipality said the home was built without a city permit.
The demolition seemed certain to draw a new wave of international criticism of Israeli policy toward Palestinians in East Jerusalem, an area captured in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed by Israel in a move that has not won international recognition.
The dwelling was razed a week after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held White House talks with U.S. President Barack Obama to patch up relations strained by Israeli settlement policy in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Netanyahu promised Obama "concrete steps" - confidence-building measures - within weeks to try to coax the Palestinians back into direct peace negotiations.
Washington has publicly urged Israel not to demolish Palestinian homes built without permits. Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, say it is impossible to obtain construction approval from Israeli authorities.
Israel had refrained from implementing demolition orders since November in the politically sensitive Jerusalem area, after U.S. pressure not to take steps that could jeopardize peace talks with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu intervened several months ago to postpone city plans to demolish about 20 homes in another part of East Jerusalem, where the Israeli municipality is planning a new housing project.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israel razed two unfinished Palestinian homes and part of a factory in East Jerusalem.
Dozens of armed border police guarded an excavator as it tore apart the foundations of the cement structures in the Issawiya section of East Jerusalem. There was no violence, a police spokesman said.
Palestinian resident Basem Isawi, 48, an unemployed contractor, said one of the structures was his own unfinished home. He built it illegally, he said, spending about $25,000, because he knew the municipality would not give him a permit.
He had been notified of the impending demolition but did not know when it was slated to happen, he said.
http://fwd4.me/0kCC 6 dec 2011, 22:41 , Respect
Maria (2:13) Israel destroys more Palestinian homes in Occupied East Jerusalem
22 aug 2010
High-profile Israeli delegation visits settlement projects in Silwan, Jerusalem
High-profile Israeli delegation visits settlement projects in Silwan « Wadi Hilweh Information Center – Silwan: "Outspoken support in Israel for Jewish settlement projects in Silwan has seen a host of Israeli political figures pay visits to the threatened East Jerusalem neighborhood. Such appearances invariably coincide with a large presence of Israeli military and police, accompanying politicians on their inspection of the settler dwellings with little regard paid to the majority Palestinian population of Silwan.
Such an apperance was made yesterday, noted residents of Wadi Hilweh district of Silwan, as the unprecedented but all too familiar sight of an Israeli military influx descended upon the neighborhood. The large force of soldiers and police presided over an armored car later identified as carrying well-known attorney Yehuda Weinstein, State Prosecutor Moshe Lador and Jerusalem Police Chief Aharon Franko, en route to the Jewish settler projects in Wadi Hilweh.
The high profile company first visited the house of Dawood Hussein – though still known in the community for the Palestinian native of Silwan who once resided there, the home has since been taken over by settlers and is now inhabited by Jewish families. Weinstein, Lador and Franko were received by David Beeri, director of Elad settlement organization, notorious for its aggressive campaign of Judaization underway in Silwan. Elad’s goal is to change the demographic makeup of Silwan so radically as to create a Jewish majority via land seizure and home annexation through employment of Israel’s complex system of property laws.
It is understood that the visiting figures were given a briefing by Beeri on the current conditions of the various settlement projects underway in Silwan. Weinstein and his cohorts were then given a personal tour around the settlement outposts in the Baten el-Hawa neighborhood. A growing number of frustrated Palestinian youth, spurred on by the large presence of Israeli military and police in their neighborhood, tossed paint and stones at the army vehicles outside the settlement buildings receiving the visiting officials.
The so-called tour served only to further prove to the Palestinian residents of Silwan the unquestionable bias of the Israeli authorities to the Jewish settlers inhabiting their land and disregard for the majority Palestinian population. The people of Silwan were subjected once again yesterday to what is, in essence, the complete militarization of a residential, civilian community space, by the overwhelming force of armed Israeli military and police presiding over the visit. Said one resident “Weinstein and his cronies have committed a grave mistake in ignoring us [the Palestinian people of Silwan], though he may not realise it – the settlers are a fundamental part of the problem here. As the proverb goes – if your opponent is the judge, to whom shall you complain?”
The State Attorney's visit in the settlement in Silwan, 19/8/10:
"peacenowisrael | August 21, 2010
On 19/8/10 the Israeli State Attorney, Moshe Lador, together with the Government Legal Adviser, Yehuda Veinstein, the Commander of Jerusalem Police, Aharon Franco and other senior members of the Ministry of Justice, visited the settlements in Silwan, and were hosted by the settlers.
They started the visit at the 'Aderet Compound' which was in the past owned by Palestinians, and now used by the settlers, where they were hosted by the chairman of the settler association of Elad, who briefed the guessed.
Then, they moved in an armored car to the neighborhood of Battan al-hawa, where they visited the 'Beit Yonatan' settlers house.
They didn't come to see the situation on the ground as it is seen from the local Palestinian residents perspective.
The footage was taken by www.silwanic.net.
(2:59) The State Attorney's visit in the settlement in Silwan, 19/8/10
http://palestinevideo.blogspot.com/2010/08/high-profile-israeli-delegation-visits.html
26 aug 2010
Stones, Molotov cocktails hurled in Silwan
Border Guard officers disperse dozens of east Jerusalem residents rioting in neighborhood. No injuries reported; four vehicles, two scooters torched. Palestinians say riots broke after masked Jews tried to enter mosque
Dozens of youths hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at Border Guard officers in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan Thursday morning. The forces dispersed the rioters, who also attacked firefighters.
A spokesman for the Jerusalem Fire and Rescue Services said the rioters torched four vehicles, two scooters, trees, trash cans, and a guard post.
Palestinians said the clashes broke out at around 4 am after masked Jewish residents of the neighborhood tried to enter a mosque in the area. The Palestinians, who were awake because of Ramadan, saw the intruders and alerted the youths who started the riots. Jerusalem Police are probing the incident.
Tension has been high in Silwan in recent months, mainly in light of the municipality's decision to raze 22 homes in the neighborhood's al-Bustan area to make way for the construction of a tourist park.
As part of the controversial plan, 22 illegal homes are to be demolished, and 66 others will be "whitewashed" and granted retroactive building permits.
In June, the US administration criticized the plans. "This is expressly the kind of step that we think undermines trust that is fundamental in making progress to the proximity talks and ultimately in direct negotiations," said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley.
Crowley stressed that the US is concerned about the controversial archaeological project which was approved by the Jerusalem Municipality and threatens to demolish Palestinian homes.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3944094,00.html
Palestinians clash with settlers, Border Police in East Jerusalem
Arab Silwan residents say settlers, taking a shortcut to a swimming pool, tried to break down a mosque gate; settlers: We don't know what happened.
Arab residents of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan clashed with Border Police forces early Thursday, setting four cars and two motorcycles on fire and hurling stones at firefighters summoned to the scene.
A Jewish resident of the region, 22, was lightly hurt when a rock was hurled at his head. The Palestinian demonstrators also set fire to trees, trash receptacles, a guard's post and more.
According to the demonstrators, the clashes began when settlers tried to break down a gate leading to a mosque courtyard.
"At three a.m., four settlers arrived and asked to open the gate so they could take a shortcut to the swimming pool," said Mahmoud Karin, a resident of the neighborhood and an employee of the Silwan information center. "One of the [Muslim] worshippers saw them and yelled to them to find out what they were doing and they fled," he said.
Palestinians began hurling rocks at settlers' homes following the incident, and local security personnel began firing shots into the air. During the clash, a settler's car erupted into flames, apparently due to a firebomb. Palestinian vehicles in the area also sustained damage.
The settlers involved in the incident denied the Palestinian allegations, saying that "the story with the gate is completely unfamiliar to us." A settler spokesman said that the clashes had begun Wednesday evening, long before the 3 a.m. incident described by the Palestinians. "We don't know what happened, this area is usually quiet. It is clear to us that this involves a group of extremists, and we have been in contact with many of the residents who clearly didn't want this to happen."
Tensions in Silwan have risen in recent months over Israeli government plans to demolish houses built illegally in the region.
Clashes in East Jerusalem
(1:26) Clashes in East Jerusalem
Residents of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan clash with settlers and police, claiming armed settler guards entered their ancient mosque for its water. 15 jan 2012, 14:28 , Respect
Maria 27 aug 2010
Settler guards, Silwan youth clash overnight
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- A second night of clashes was reported in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan overnight, ending early Friday morning as worshipers began the journey to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The clash was reportedly sparked when teenage residents threw stones at guards outside of settler homes in the neighborhood.
Violence was centered on Ein Silwan Street, adjacent to Wad Hilwa, where fierce clashes erupted on Wednesday following a settler attempt to gain access to a local mosque.
Cars were burned and several trees destroyed during the earlier clash.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=3111641 sept 2010
6 left-wing activists arrested outside City of David
Six left wing activists from the "Sheikh Jarrah solidarity" movement were arrested on Wednesday after protesting at the entrance to the City of David in the Silwan neighborhood of east Jerusalem.
Police said that the the activists held an illegal protest and incited provocations.
Jerusalem Police told the protesters to clear the area but they refused so force was used to disperse the crowds.
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=1867457 sept 2010
Israel bans sheikh from entering Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Sheikh Ali Abu Sheikha was issued an Israeli order at 1 a.m. on Tuesday banning him from Jerusalem until 12 November.
Abu Sheikha, an adviser to the Islamic Movement for Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Affair, said he received the order along with a map of Jerusalem detailing the areas he was forbidden to enter. He added that the order was signed by head of the Israeli army’s Home Front Command Major General Yair Golan.
The decision extends an order issued by Israeli authorities on 12 May which banned Abu Sheikha from entering the Al Aqsa mosque.
“We consider these decisions to be invalid and we do not recognize them. We have the full right to pray in Al-Aqsa when we want, and to enter Jerusalem when we want without asking permissions from the Israeli occupation,” the sheikh said.
He added that there are a number of decisions to keep Muslim leaders like Hatem Abdul Qader, Sheikh Raed Salah, and Sheikh Ekrema Sabri away from the Al-Aqsa compound, which he said suggested an Israeli plan to raid the mosque during the religious holidays.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=313915
10 sept 2010
Watch: A tour of Jerusalem's ancient Silwan Pool
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Abu Moussa was born in Silwan, once a village on a fertile valley, and established before the city of Jerusalem.
The village was founded around a spring, which the founding tribe, known as the Yabousites, dug into a stream with a collecting pool. The water from the spring, known as Ayin Silwan, was used to irrigate crops in the area, and later used by the Canaanites when they began to build Jerusalem.
(4:01) Ein Silwan: Living history of Jerusalem - Hay Baladna
Now considered a neighborhood of East Jerusalem, 88 homes in Silwan are threatened with demolition under an Israeli government plan to create a park in the valley.
Residents and a city planner joined forces and created an alternative development scheme based on the spring, which would be rehabilitated as a central promenade at the bottom of the green valley.
Filmed as part of a series by Ma'an Network, Abu Mussa appeared in September's Hay Baladna (This is Our Country) program, broadcast on MIX satellite, the only Palestinain station in Israel.
The story of Abu Moussa and images from the Silwan Spring were beamed out to Palestinians across the Middle East during the month of Ramadan.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=314364
Lador to Jerusalem mayor: Evacuate Silwan house immediately
State Prosecutor Lador
State prosecutor criticizes Jerusalem mayor over Beit Yonatan affair, demands municipality comply with court order to evacuate Jewish residence in east Jerusalem neighborhood.
State Prosecutor Moshe Lador sent a letter to Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Thursday, instructing him to comply immediately with the evacuation order for Beit Yonatan, which houses Jewish families in the Silwan neighborhood of east Jerusalem.
"I was dismayed to hear that even at this late date the Jerusalem municipality has not concerned itself with respecting and carrying out court orders that have come from all instances, including four times from the Supreme Court," the state prosecutor wrote.
Lador explained that Beit Yonatan "was built from the beginning without regard for planning and construction laws, by people who have not revealed their identity, while only their 'representatives' are actually present those living in the building."
Mayor Nir Barkat
Currently, Jewish families associated with the right-wing Ateret Cohanim movement reside in the seven-story building, which was constructed in 2004.
The state prosecutor noted that the State of Israel is "a law-abiding state, and court orders must be followed. This simple and basic truth is undermined when orders are ignore."
Lador also referred to previous meetings on the issue, and to the fact that Attorney General Menachem Mazuz was not convinced by the municipality's claims that in light of its plans to develop the Silwan neighborhood the court order should not be carried out.
"All policies regarding development should be examined carefully, of course, and I wish you luck in advancing such plans," Lador wrote, "But this has nothing to do with complying with the court order. In addition, there is no justification for the involvement of political figures who are not authorized to deal in this matter, in their attempts directly or indirectly to undermine law enforcement processes."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3841234,00.html
14 febr 2010
State prosecutor to Barkat: Seal off Beit Yonatan
Lador urges Jerusalem mayor to implement court order against Jewish building in east Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood
State Prosecutor Moshe Lador on Sunday wrote to Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat saying the Jewish building in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan known as Beit Yonatan must not be made legal in the District Planning and Construction Committee, but that the sealing order issued against the building must be implemented.
Lador praised the mayor for his commitment to implement the order and said, "In the end, despite the differences of opinion, the city of Jerusalem will act under your leadership in a manner that honors the law and the courts' orders."
About two weeks ago, before Barkat expressed his commitment to implementing the sealing order, the state prosecutor sent the mayor a scathing letter saying, 'There is no justification for the involvement of political figures who are not authorized to deal in this matter, in their attempts directly or indirectly to undermine law enforcement processes"
In the letter he sent Barkat on Sunday, Lador said he has no doubt that after the City implements the sealing order issued against Beit Yonatan, the Planning and Construction Committee "will work towards enforcing orders issued against other structures in Jerusalem that were built illegally."
Beit Yonatan is a seven-floor building that was erected without a permit in 2004 in the mostly Arab Silwan neighborhood. It currently houses Jewish families associated with the right-wing Ateret Cohanim movement.
Mayor Barkat has made the evacuation of Beit Yonatan dependent on the demolition of illegal Arab buildings in east Jerusalem.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3848943,00.html
2 juni 2010
Private guards in the City of David, Silwan
The settlement of Ir David, the City of David in Silwan, East Jerusalem, has an armed militia, of private guards, funded by the Ministry of Housing,
In recent incidense in Silwan, the private guards, seem to act independetly, while incrising the tension and friction.
- 21 juni 2010
Israel OKs plan to destroy Quds homes
Israeli municipal authorities have approved a move to destroy 22 Palestinian homes in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) to make room for construction of a tourist center.
The proposal was ratified on Monday, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. The residents have rejected the plan as it violates their rights and international law.
The site, called al-Bustan, is a section of the larger neighborhood of Silwan which is home to some 50,000 Palestinians and 70 Jewish families.
Palestinians say the project is another attempt by Tel Aviv to cement its claim to all of al-Quds, adding that it is impossible for Palestinians to obtain building permits.
Israel captured East al-Quds from Jordan in the 1967 Six-day War. Tel Aviv's annexation remains unrecognized by the international community.
http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/131387.html 9 jul 2011, 01:54 , Respect -
Maria 22 juni 2010
US: Silwan demolitions mar peace talks
US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley
The US has expressed concern over a new Israeli plan to demolish Palestinian homes in East al-Quds (Jerusalem), saying the move undermines the Mideast peace process.
The Israeli al-Quds (Jerusalem) municipal planning committee on Monday approved plans to raze 22 Palestinian homes in the city's Silwan neighborhood to make room for the construction of a tourist center.
The demolitions are to take place in a site called al-Bustan, which is home to about 50,000 Palestinians and 70 Jewish families and also in central Silwana, where Israeli authorities claim almost half of the buildings are considered illegal and subject to demolition for breaching a height restriction of two stories.
"This is expressly the kind of step that we think undermines trust that is fundamental in making progress to the proximity talks and ultimately in direct negotiations," said US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley referring to US-sponsored indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
"We're concerned about it," he said, adding that Washington had passed on its concern to Tel Aviv in a number of conversations.
The demolition plans drew strong criticism from Palestinians, with top PA negotiator Saeb Erekat accusing Israel of efforts to sabotage the indirect peace talks.
Silwan residents also vehemently protested the decision, demanding the Israeli committee to discuss an alternative plan that does not include razing their homes. Meanwhile they are expected to call on international organization to intervene and overturn the demolition plans.
http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/131448.html 10 jul 2011, 14:57 , Respect -
Maria 23 juni 2010
Settlers threaten to forcibly evict East Jerusalem Palestinians
Beit Yonatan, a building where Israeli settlers live in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan
Israeli settlers say they will hire private security firms to evacuate four families if they do not leave property by July 4.
Israeli settlers in East Jerusalem on Wednesday threatened to forcibly evict four Palestinian families they claim are living on property belonging to Jews in the neighborhood of Silwan.
The settlers said they would hire private security firms to implement the evictions if the four families, which include 40 individuals, do not leave by July 4.
The Palestinian families are living in a structure that was once a Yemenite synagogue in Silwan, located near the neighborhood's controversial Beit Yonatan structure.
Beit Yonatan, a seven-story residential structure, was built illegally in the heart of the predominantly Palestinian neighborhood by the nationalist association Ateret Cohanim.
Despite police discussions in preparation for the evacuation of Beit Yonatan several weeks ago, the implementation has been postponed until at least the end of the month.
There is a standing order, issued two years ago, to evacuate and seal Beit Yonatan, where ten Jewish families reside. Jerusalem municipal officials have yet to enforce the order, despite court rulings and orders from the former attorney general.
Meanwhile, the Beit Yonatan settlers claimed on Wednesday that police have not evicted the Palestinian families due to political constraints and have warned they would take matters onto their own hands next month.
National Union MK Uri Ariel raised the issue Wednesday during a Knesset discussion with Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch.
The settlers are justifying the eviction by claiming deeds for the property show it was owned by Yemenite Jews who lived there from the late 19th century until the 1948 War of Independence.
Aharonovitch said police are prepared to evacuate the structure, but that he has been instructed to delay the action due to political considerations.
"There is discrimination in everything related to the enforcement applied by the state and prosecution in Jerusalem," said a spokesperson for the Jewish community in Silwan.
"It is unclear why the state insists on evacuating Beit Yonatan despite a proposed compromise over the matter," the spokesperson continued. "On the other hand, the same authorities do not implement a court order that unequivocally called for the evacuation of Arab families who invaded a synagogue belonging to Jews."
Silwan, home to some 50,000 Palestinians and 70 Jewish families, has been at the center of a battle between Israeli Jews and Palestinians in their bids to retain control over East Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem municipality on Monday approved preliminary plans to demolish 22 Palestinian homes in the neighborhood as part of a plan to build a tourist center there.
The U.S. State Department criticized the decision, calling it the kind of step that undermines trust fundamental to progress in the proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has said the plan gives a much-needed facelift to Jerusalem's decaying al-Bustan neighborhood, which Israel calls Gan Hamelech, or the King's Garden.
The plan calls for the construction of shops, restaurants, art galleries and a large community center on the site where some say the biblical King David wrote his psalms.
The 22 displaced families would be allowed to build homes elsewhere in the neighborhood, though it's not clear who would pay for them.
http://fwd4.me/0iZI 25 jul 2011, 22:19 , Respect -
Maria 24 juni 2010
UN concerned over Silwan demolitions
A general view of Silwan neighborhood in East al-Quds (Jerusalem)
The UN has expressed "deep concern" over Israel's "illegal" plan to demolish Palestinian homes in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) to make room for an archaeological park.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "is deeply concerned about the decision by the Jerusalem municipality to advance planning for house demolitions and further settlement activity in the area of Silwan in East Jerusalem," his spokesman Martin Nesirky said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The planned moves are contrary to international law, and to the wishes of Palestinian residents," AFP quoted the statement as saying.
Ban further warned Tel Aviv against "provocative steps" that would heighten tensions in the annexed city. "The current moves are unhelpful, coming at a time when the goal must be to build trust to support political negotiations," the statement added.
Earlier on Monday, Israeli municipal authorities in al-Quds approved a plan to raze 22 houses in the Palestinian neighborhood of al-Bustan, arguing that they were built without Israeli permits.
The issue of Israeli construction permit comes despite the international community's refusal to recognize Israel's annexation of East al-Quds, which its army occupied in the six-day war of 1967.
http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/131776.html 8 oct 2011, 12:41 , Respect -
Maria 25 juni 2010
The Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity movement marched in Silwan protesting mayor Nir Barkat's plans to demolish 22 houses in the village.
(3:12) silwan 250610.m4v
30 juni 2010
(3:44) Watch "God's Chosen" kick women and children out of their homes to live on the streets
13 juli 2010
For first time in nine months, Israel razes Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem
Municipality says structures were not homes but witnesses report Palestinian family removing belongings.
Israel razed on Tuesday an inhabited Palestinian home in East Jerusalem for the first time in eight months, effectively ending an unofficial freeze of such internationally condemned demolitions.
A Reuters photographer witnessed a Palestinian family removing its belongings from the house in East Jerusalem's Beit Hanina neighborhood before an Israeli excavator tore into the dwelling.
"They can build hundreds of settlements but I'm not entitled to live in a shack?" asked Linda al-Rajabi outside the demolished dwelling she shared with her husband and their five children.
Israel's Jerusalem municipality said the home was built without a city permit.
The demolition seemed certain to draw a new wave of international criticism of Israeli policy toward Palestinians in East Jerusalem, an area captured in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed by Israel in a move that has not won international recognition.
The dwelling was razed a week after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held White House talks with U.S. President Barack Obama to patch up relations strained by Israeli settlement policy in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Netanyahu promised Obama "concrete steps" - confidence-building measures - within weeks to try to coax the Palestinians back into direct peace negotiations.
Washington has publicly urged Israel not to demolish Palestinian homes built without permits. Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, say it is impossible to obtain construction approval from Israeli authorities.
Israel had refrained from implementing demolition orders since November in the politically sensitive Jerusalem area, after U.S. pressure not to take steps that could jeopardize peace talks with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu intervened several months ago to postpone city plans to demolish about 20 homes in another part of East Jerusalem, where the Israeli municipality is planning a new housing project.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israel razed two unfinished Palestinian homes and part of a factory in East Jerusalem.
Dozens of armed border police guarded an excavator as it tore apart the foundations of the cement structures in the Issawiya section of East Jerusalem. There was no violence, a police spokesman said.
Palestinian resident Basem Isawi, 48, an unemployed contractor, said one of the structures was his own unfinished home. He built it illegally, he said, spending about $25,000, because he knew the municipality would not give him a permit.
He had been notified of the impending demolition but did not know when it was slated to happen, he said.
http://fwd4.me/0kCC 6 dec 2011, 22:41 , Respect
Maria (2:13) Israel destroys more Palestinian homes in Occupied East Jerusalem
22 aug 2010
High-profile Israeli delegation visits settlement projects in Silwan, Jerusalem
High-profile Israeli delegation visits settlement projects in Silwan « Wadi Hilweh Information Center – Silwan: "Outspoken support in Israel for Jewish settlement projects in Silwan has seen a host of Israeli political figures pay visits to the threatened East Jerusalem neighborhood. Such appearances invariably coincide with a large presence of Israeli military and police, accompanying politicians on their inspection of the settler dwellings with little regard paid to the majority Palestinian population of Silwan.
Such an apperance was made yesterday, noted residents of Wadi Hilweh district of Silwan, as the unprecedented but all too familiar sight of an Israeli military influx descended upon the neighborhood. The large force of soldiers and police presided over an armored car later identified as carrying well-known attorney Yehuda Weinstein, State Prosecutor Moshe Lador and Jerusalem Police Chief Aharon Franko, en route to the Jewish settler projects in Wadi Hilweh.
The high profile company first visited the house of Dawood Hussein – though still known in the community for the Palestinian native of Silwan who once resided there, the home has since been taken over by settlers and is now inhabited by Jewish families. Weinstein, Lador and Franko were received by David Beeri, director of Elad settlement organization, notorious for its aggressive campaign of Judaization underway in Silwan. Elad’s goal is to change the demographic makeup of Silwan so radically as to create a Jewish majority via land seizure and home annexation through employment of Israel’s complex system of property laws.
It is understood that the visiting figures were given a briefing by Beeri on the current conditions of the various settlement projects underway in Silwan. Weinstein and his cohorts were then given a personal tour around the settlement outposts in the Baten el-Hawa neighborhood. A growing number of frustrated Palestinian youth, spurred on by the large presence of Israeli military and police in their neighborhood, tossed paint and stones at the army vehicles outside the settlement buildings receiving the visiting officials.
The so-called tour served only to further prove to the Palestinian residents of Silwan the unquestionable bias of the Israeli authorities to the Jewish settlers inhabiting their land and disregard for the majority Palestinian population. The people of Silwan were subjected once again yesterday to what is, in essence, the complete militarization of a residential, civilian community space, by the overwhelming force of armed Israeli military and police presiding over the visit. Said one resident “Weinstein and his cronies have committed a grave mistake in ignoring us [the Palestinian people of Silwan], though he may not realise it – the settlers are a fundamental part of the problem here. As the proverb goes – if your opponent is the judge, to whom shall you complain?”
The State Attorney's visit in the settlement in Silwan, 19/8/10:
"peacenowisrael | August 21, 2010
On 19/8/10 the Israeli State Attorney, Moshe Lador, together with the Government Legal Adviser, Yehuda Veinstein, the Commander of Jerusalem Police, Aharon Franco and other senior members of the Ministry of Justice, visited the settlements in Silwan, and were hosted by the settlers.
They started the visit at the 'Aderet Compound' which was in the past owned by Palestinians, and now used by the settlers, where they were hosted by the chairman of the settler association of Elad, who briefed the guessed.
Then, they moved in an armored car to the neighborhood of Battan al-hawa, where they visited the 'Beit Yonatan' settlers house.
They didn't come to see the situation on the ground as it is seen from the local Palestinian residents perspective.
The footage was taken by www.silwanic.net.
(2:59) The State Attorney's visit in the settlement in Silwan, 19/8/10
http://palestinevideo.blogspot.com/2010/08/high-profile-israeli-delegation-visits.html
26 aug 2010
Stones, Molotov cocktails hurled in Silwan
Border Guard officers disperse dozens of east Jerusalem residents rioting in neighborhood. No injuries reported; four vehicles, two scooters torched. Palestinians say riots broke after masked Jews tried to enter mosque
Dozens of youths hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at Border Guard officers in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan Thursday morning. The forces dispersed the rioters, who also attacked firefighters.
A spokesman for the Jerusalem Fire and Rescue Services said the rioters torched four vehicles, two scooters, trees, trash cans, and a guard post.
Palestinians said the clashes broke out at around 4 am after masked Jewish residents of the neighborhood tried to enter a mosque in the area. The Palestinians, who were awake because of Ramadan, saw the intruders and alerted the youths who started the riots. Jerusalem Police are probing the incident.
Tension has been high in Silwan in recent months, mainly in light of the municipality's decision to raze 22 homes in the neighborhood's al-Bustan area to make way for the construction of a tourist park.
As part of the controversial plan, 22 illegal homes are to be demolished, and 66 others will be "whitewashed" and granted retroactive building permits.
In June, the US administration criticized the plans. "This is expressly the kind of step that we think undermines trust that is fundamental in making progress to the proximity talks and ultimately in direct negotiations," said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley.
Crowley stressed that the US is concerned about the controversial archaeological project which was approved by the Jerusalem Municipality and threatens to demolish Palestinian homes.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3944094,00.html
Palestinians clash with settlers, Border Police in East Jerusalem
Arab Silwan residents say settlers, taking a shortcut to a swimming pool, tried to break down a mosque gate; settlers: We don't know what happened.
Arab residents of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan clashed with Border Police forces early Thursday, setting four cars and two motorcycles on fire and hurling stones at firefighters summoned to the scene.
A Jewish resident of the region, 22, was lightly hurt when a rock was hurled at his head. The Palestinian demonstrators also set fire to trees, trash receptacles, a guard's post and more.
According to the demonstrators, the clashes began when settlers tried to break down a gate leading to a mosque courtyard.
"At three a.m., four settlers arrived and asked to open the gate so they could take a shortcut to the swimming pool," said Mahmoud Karin, a resident of the neighborhood and an employee of the Silwan information center. "One of the [Muslim] worshippers saw them and yelled to them to find out what they were doing and they fled," he said.
Palestinians began hurling rocks at settlers' homes following the incident, and local security personnel began firing shots into the air. During the clash, a settler's car erupted into flames, apparently due to a firebomb. Palestinian vehicles in the area also sustained damage.
The settlers involved in the incident denied the Palestinian allegations, saying that "the story with the gate is completely unfamiliar to us." A settler spokesman said that the clashes had begun Wednesday evening, long before the 3 a.m. incident described by the Palestinians. "We don't know what happened, this area is usually quiet. It is clear to us that this involves a group of extremists, and we have been in contact with many of the residents who clearly didn't want this to happen."
Tensions in Silwan have risen in recent months over Israeli government plans to demolish houses built illegally in the region.
Clashes in East Jerusalem
(1:26) Clashes in East Jerusalem
Residents of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan clash with settlers and police, claiming armed settler guards entered their ancient mosque for its water. 15 jan 2012, 14:28 , Respect
Maria 27 aug 2010
Settler guards, Silwan youth clash overnight
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- A second night of clashes was reported in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan overnight, ending early Friday morning as worshipers began the journey to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The clash was reportedly sparked when teenage residents threw stones at guards outside of settler homes in the neighborhood.
Violence was centered on Ein Silwan Street, adjacent to Wad Hilwa, where fierce clashes erupted on Wednesday following a settler attempt to gain access to a local mosque.
Cars were burned and several trees destroyed during the earlier clash.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=3111641 sept 2010
6 left-wing activists arrested outside City of David
Six left wing activists from the "Sheikh Jarrah solidarity" movement were arrested on Wednesday after protesting at the entrance to the City of David in the Silwan neighborhood of east Jerusalem.
Police said that the the activists held an illegal protest and incited provocations.
Jerusalem Police told the protesters to clear the area but they refused so force was used to disperse the crowds.
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=1867457 sept 2010
Israel bans sheikh from entering Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Sheikh Ali Abu Sheikha was issued an Israeli order at 1 a.m. on Tuesday banning him from Jerusalem until 12 November.
Abu Sheikha, an adviser to the Islamic Movement for Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Affair, said he received the order along with a map of Jerusalem detailing the areas he was forbidden to enter. He added that the order was signed by head of the Israeli army’s Home Front Command Major General Yair Golan.
The decision extends an order issued by Israeli authorities on 12 May which banned Abu Sheikha from entering the Al Aqsa mosque.
“We consider these decisions to be invalid and we do not recognize them. We have the full right to pray in Al-Aqsa when we want, and to enter Jerusalem when we want without asking permissions from the Israeli occupation,” the sheikh said.
He added that there are a number of decisions to keep Muslim leaders like Hatem Abdul Qader, Sheikh Raed Salah, and Sheikh Ekrema Sabri away from the Al-Aqsa compound, which he said suggested an Israeli plan to raid the mosque during the religious holidays.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=313915
10 sept 2010
Watch: A tour of Jerusalem's ancient Silwan Pool
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Abu Moussa was born in Silwan, once a village on a fertile valley, and established before the city of Jerusalem.
The village was founded around a spring, which the founding tribe, known as the Yabousites, dug into a stream with a collecting pool. The water from the spring, known as Ayin Silwan, was used to irrigate crops in the area, and later used by the Canaanites when they began to build Jerusalem.
(4:01) Ein Silwan: Living history of Jerusalem - Hay Baladna
Now considered a neighborhood of East Jerusalem, 88 homes in Silwan are threatened with demolition under an Israeli government plan to create a park in the valley.
Residents and a city planner joined forces and created an alternative development scheme based on the spring, which would be rehabilitated as a central promenade at the bottom of the green valley.
Filmed as part of a series by Ma'an Network, Abu Mussa appeared in September's Hay Baladna (This is Our Country) program, broadcast on MIX satellite, the only Palestinain station in Israel.
The story of Abu Moussa and images from the Silwan Spring were beamed out to Palestinians across the Middle East during the month of Ramadan.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=314364