Netanyahu's government tries to save settler house

<snip>

"The Israeli government has stepped in to save a house built illegally by Jewish settlers in a volatile Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem, complicating already troubled U.S. efforts to renew Mideast peacemaking.

The move is meant to skirt a court order to evacuate and seal the house, thus easing settler anger over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to slow Jewish settlement construction.

But it is likely to fuel new friction with the Palestinians, who hope to establish a future capital in that sector of the holy city."

<snip>

"The latest controversy surrounds a seven-story building built by the ultranationalist settler group Ateret Cohanim in 2004 in the Silwan neighborhood. After years of legal battles, a court last July determined the structure was illegally built and ordered residents to leave.

Jerusalem's Mayor Nir Barkat, who opposed the ruling, caved in last month and agreed to evacuate the building where eight families have been living under 24-hour government guard.

But the evacuation orders were abruptly canceled Monday after Netanyahu's interior minister reportedly decided to give the house - named for Jonathan Pollard, the American Jew convicted of spying in the U.S. for Israel - retroactive approval."

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/1470900.html

<snip>

"Could a planning row in East Jerusalem be about to scupper the renewal of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians? Quite possibly.

Here is how:

In the heart of East Jerusalem a white and blue Israeli flag hangs the length of a tall white building. A seven storey symbol of the double standards and injustice of Israeli occupation, according to its Palestinian neighbours.

When Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem are declared illegal they are often visited by council inspectors handing out fines, followed by bulldozers. Despite court orders for its demolition the house with the flag has hosted nothing more threatening than cabinet ministers burnishing their Zionist credentials during election time.

The ‘House of Jonathan’ was built illegally by radical Jews. Their right-wing organisation, Ateret Kohanim, promotes the judaisation of occupied East Jerusalem, claiming parts of the disputed city as Jewish forever. They hope to undermine the possibility of dividing Jerusalem between Jews and Palestinians in any future peace settlement

Its members also have more radical religious aspirations. They will openly tell you they hope for a third Jewish temple to be built on the site of the first and second. The problem is the site is already occupied, by the third most holy shrine in Islam, the Dome of the Rock.

Palestinians regard these settler activities as highly provocative in the city, part of which they also want as their future capital. They have also been critcised by Israel's US and European allies. Despite this, successive Israeli governments have supported Ateret Kohanim and similiar organisations and their work in the Old City of Jerusalem, and its surrounding area."

more


Jerusalem: Demolition orders for Arab homes within days

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3847320,00.html

Jerusalem mayor raises stakes in Beit Yonatan affair, plans to issue demolition orders for illegal Arab homes in east Jerusalem within days. Opposition slams decision

<snip>

"Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who has made the evacuation of the disputed Beit Yonatan dependent on the demolition of illegal Arab buildings in east Jerusalem, is forging ahead with his plan.

Sources in Jerusalem City Council said that Barkat is attempting to apply pressure on everyone involved in the affair, in order to gain support for his plan raze Arab houses in east Jerusalem. They added that city officials will start distributing demolition orders to Arab homes in the coming days, at the same time as posting the evacuation order on the walls of Beit Yonatan.

Beit Yonatan, which houses Jewish families in the heart of east Jerusalem's mostly Arab Silwan neighborhood and was constructed without a building permit, is slated for evacuation but the court order has yet to be applied.

Meanwhile, MK Eli Yishai (Shas) continues in his attempts to retroactively obtain building permits for the house.

Associates of Barkat said that the mayor was feeling wounded by the affair, especially by the angry letter sent to him by State Prosecutor Moshe Lador.

"Barkat is trying to provoke a storm," one source said, adding, "He hopes to go back to Lador and say, 'see what you've done?'."

Nasty hypocrites