Tag: Jerusalem

Protest against the apartheid wall in Beit Hanina

On Friday 11th of July, the people of Beit Hanina marched to the settler road where Israel is about to build the wall. About 100 Palestinians and international solidarity activists participated in the demonstration.

Israeli soldiers and border police came to dissolve the demonstration. They were shouting and yelling at the demonstrators, eventually forcing them to leave the spot.

On the other side of the road, another demonstration with people from the cut off part of Beit Hanina took place. The two demonstrations weren’t able to meet up because of the settler road which is surrounded by fence and watched by soldiers.

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Beit Hanina gathered in protest, 9th of July

About 300 people from Beit Hanina and villages close by joined in a demonstration against the wall on the 9th of July. The people marched along the wall next to the settler road which divides Beit Hanina in two. They marched for about one hour until they reached one of the gates in the wall. That gate blocks a tunnel which if there was no wall could combine the two parts of Beit Hanini under the highway. About 300 people from the “new” Beit Hanina, (the Jerusalem side of Beit Hanina), were supposed to meet the demonstration from their side of the gate, but they were stopped by roadblocks put up by the army before they reached the gate.

When the “old” side of Beit Hanini reached the gate after a completely peaceful march the soldiers opened the gate and yelled at the demonstration to step back, be quiet and to scatter. When the demonstration didn’t do so the army started to shoot tear-gas grenades and throw sound bombs at the demonstrators.

Beit Hanina used to be the largest village in terms of total area in the West Bank. But it isn’t any longer due to the occupation. Israel started to confiscate land to build seven settlements. After that land was taken to build the highway from the settlements to the center of Jeruselem in 2003. The highway separated the village in two, new Beit Hanina on the Jerusalem side and old Beit Hanina on the West Bank side. Before the highway it took about two minutes to go from one side of Beit Hanina to the other. The gate under the highway isn’t opened under any conditions, except for the Israeli army, which means that it now takes about one hour and a half to go between the two parts of the village. Many villagers have family and friends on both sides of the highway.

Now the occupation is taking another 55 500 dunums to build the wall so that the “old” Beit Hanina is surrounded by the wall except for one small road to Ramallah. The wall is planned to be built like a hook around the village. The work with the wall started the 16 of june and ever since bulldozers have destroyed the land. Up to 2,000 year old olive-trees have been cut to prepare the ground for the wall. Almost the entire village depends on the olive trees for their income. After the wall is complete the villagers will lose access to roughly 2000 trees.

J-Post: Court to hear petition on Silwan digs

By Elana Kirsh

To view original article, published by the Jerusalem Post on the 18th June, click here

The High Court of Justice in Jerusalem will hear a petition on Wednesday on the issue of archaeological excavations being carried out in tunnels under the village of Silwan.

According to Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR), the National Parks Authority gave almost all control of one of the most important and sensitive archaeological sites in the area to the non-profit organization Elad, a group which operates exclusively at the City of David archaeological site. Technically, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) carries out excavations at the site; however the Elad group organizes and finances them.

The IAA excavated a tunnel under land and houses of residents of Silwan in recent months, and RHR claims that the digs were carried out without residents’ awareness, causing damage to houses and roads, and disregarding residents’ rights.

The Jerusalem Post was unable to obtain a comment on the claims from Elad.

Residents of Silwan will tell the High Court that that the excavations are against the law and request that the IAA desist from further excavations until an appropriate solution is found.

The central question, according to RHR, is whether the High Court of Justice will authorize a decree to freeze the digs.

RHR stressed in a press release that specialists inspected the site, and confirmed that damage to houses was caused as a result of the excavations.

J-Post: Ofra rabbi permits Shabbat construction

To view original article, published in the Jerusalem Post on the 12th June, click here

In a dramatic halachic ruling, the rabbi of Ofra, a settlement in the West Bank northeast of Ramallah, has ruled that Palestinian construction workers can build houses in the settlement on Shabbat, in order to “establish facts on the ground” ahead of a Supreme Court review of petitions against building in the settlement submitted by human rights groups Yesh Din and B’Tselem, Army Radio reported early Thursday morning.

The ruling became effective last Saturday and also on Shavuot, which fell on Monday this week. Avi Gisser, the rabbi of Ofra, made the decision after consulting residents of Ofra. The Supreme Court discussion is slated for Sunday.

Yesh Din and B’Tselem seek to halt the building of nine housing units. In a petition against the defense minister and the military’s OC Central Command, the two organizations, acting on behalf of five Palestinians who claim ownership of the land where the housing units are being built, request to implement demolition orders issued in the past as well as prevent the houses from being occupied and hooked up to electricity, sewage and water, at least until the court rules on the matter.

The petitioners charged that the Civil Administration had admitted to them that the construction was illegal and that it had issued stop-work and demolition orders against the project last year.

According to the petitioners, in addition to the nine houses, work is being done to level Palestinian-owned land for the construction of an additional 15 to 20 units in the same area.

Following the petitions, residents in Ofra held an emergency meeting where they decided to allow continuing construction on Shabbat, and the matter was announced to the community during Friday prayers. Residents praying in the synagogue were asked to show tolerance towards the construction workers.

Dan Izenberg contributed to this report

Alt-arch: Hearing in the Supreme Court

Update ‘From Shiloah to Silwan group’. To view website click here

On Wednesday, the 18th of June at 11 a.m., there will be a hearing in the Supreme Court in Jerusalem regarding the archaeological excavations under the houses of the Silwan village in East Jerusalem. Your presence is important!

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) financed by Elad organization is excavating a tunnel under the houses of Silwan residents, without informing them about it and ignoring their property rights.
The residents of Silwan filed a petition to the Supreme Court concerning the illegality of this excavation; demanding that the IAA will halt the excavation under their homes until a better solution will be found based on an agreement with the residents.

Silwan residents would appreciate if you could attend the hearing as a demonstration of support in their plight and in demand that the court instructs the state and its institutions (IAA and National Parks Reservation Authority) to cease their slanted use of archaeology as a political tool, and will mark a begging to an end of the existing cooperation of the state with ELAD’s expansionist agenda.

Supreme Court address: Sha’arey Mishpat Street, Kiryat Ben-Guryon, Jerusalem

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International petition signed by academics:

In recent weeks, university professors and lecturers from all over the world have been signing a petition aiming to stop using archaeology against the residents of Silwan. Since our last update, many scholars have added their signature. The petition calls to prevent the ELAD organization from running the National Park “City of David” and from using archaeology for their political needs. It is still possible to sign the petition. You can find it at our website: http://www.alt-arch.org/petition.html

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New Media Information:
Islamic-era skeletons ‘disappeared’ from Elad-sponsored dig:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/988803.html
For more media: http://www.alt-arch.org/articles.html

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Invitation of Mr.Shlomo Gronich to a tour:

On June 2nd, Shlomo Gronich, a prominent Israeli music artist, performed in the “City of David” as part of the Erwin Moskovic award ceremony and the Jerusalem Day. Our group, “From Shiloah to Silwan”, has decided to send an open letter to Mr. Gronich and invite him to participate in our alternative tour in “the City of David” and Silwan village.
If you wish to add your signature to this open letter, please reply to this email with your name.

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An open letter to Mr. Shlomo Gronich
Dear Mr. Gronich,
We write you in regard to your performance on June 2nd during the Erwin Moskovic award ceremony and the Jerusalem Day in the “City of David”, an area managed by the settlers association Elad. It was published that in response to Gush Shalom’s condemnation of your decision, you replied that “This is a shock to me. I know that I’m performing in a ceremony and hear for the first time that this event is associated with one side of the political map…”
We, hundreds of civilians who are not affiliated with any political body, have participated in the weekly archaeological tour “From Shiloah to Silwan” in the “City of David”. In the tour you can learn about the problematic aspects of the archaeological research that Elad is sponsoring, and the ramifications of Elad’s presence on the lives of the local residents in Silwan. We heartily recommend you to follow this tour in order to learn more about the forces that operate behind the scenes in one of the most sensitive and disputed places in Jerusalem.
For more information and registration, please see: http://www.alt-arch.org

Sincerely,
From Shiloah to Silwan group

Haaretz: Israel to build over 800 new homes in East Jerusalem areas

By Nadav Shragai, published in Haaretz. To view original article click here

Israel announced plans on Sunday to build more than 800 hundred new homes in eastern parts of the Jerusalem municipality, despite U.S. and Palestinian calls to halt settlement expansion.

The announcement was issued two days before Prime Minister Ehud Olmert embarks on a three-day visit to Washington.

The 2003 peace road map, reaffirmed by Israeli and Palestinian leaders at a conference hosted by U.S. President George W. Bush in November, requires a halt to all settlement activity on occupied land where Palestinians seek statehood.

Housing Minister Zeev Boim instructed his office to publish a tender to build an additional 763 housing units in Pisgat Zeev and 121 housing units at Har Homa, an area Palestinians refer to as Jabal Abu Ghneim.

Both sites are located on lands captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War, and were incorporated into the municipal borders of Jerusalem in an act not recognised internationally.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Olmert’s government “talks about peace while at the same time works on undermining the basis of peace by increasing settlement activity in Jerusalem and around it.”

A Boim spokesman said the new tenders were a part of steps the government was taking to “strengthen Jerusalem.”

However, Olmert, in keeping with the previous government’s policy, has vowed to keep West Bank settlement blocs, including enclaves near Jerusalem, under any future peace accord.

Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its capital. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of the state they hope to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Last month Boim instructed his office to publish a tender to build 286 new homes in the settlement of Beitar Illit, near Jerusalem.

Palestinian leaders say settlement expansion around Jerusalem could cut off Palestinians’ access to the holy city and carve up the West Bank in a way that would deny them a contiguous state