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Jerusalem Mayor Revives East Jerusalem Housing Plan

   VOA News 21 June 2010
   Mayor Nir Barkat (file photo)

Photo: AP

   Mayor Nir Barkat (file photo)

   Jerusalem's  mayor  pushed  ahead Monday with a construction plan that
   would   involve   demolishing  about  20  Palestinian  homes  in  East
   Jerusalem.
   Mayor  Nir  Barkat has asked the Jerusalem municipal planning board to
   approve the King's Garden project.
   Prime  Minister  Benjamin  Netanyahu  had  pressured Barkat to put the
   project   on   hold   in  March,  expressing  concern  about  Israel's
   international image.
   Palestinian  leaders  have described the project as another attempt by
   Israel  to cement its claim to all of Jerusalem.  Israel annexed East
   Jerusalem after capturing it from Jordan in a 1967 war.
   Israeli  officials  say  the project is designed to improve the King's
   Garden  area,  a section of the neighborhood of Silwan.  They say the
   plan   calls   for   demolishing  homes  that  were  built  illegally.
   Palestinians  argue  that they have a hard time obtaining permits from
   Israel.
   Any step toward home demolitions seems likely to bring more diplomatic
   pressure  on Israel, which was strongly criticized for its deadly raid
   last month on a flotilla of aid ships seeking to break the blockade of
   the Gaza Strip.
   The Israeli Cabinet approved measures Sunday to ease its land blockade
   of Gaza, pledging to allow practically all non-military items into the
   Palestinian territory.
   Israel  said  it  will  create a new list of banned items.  A list of
   previously  banned  dual-use items, such as cement, which Israel fears
   could  be  used  by Hamas for military purposes, will be restricted to
   projects   approved  by  the  Palestinian  Authority  or  those  under
   international supervision.
   Both  the  Palestinian  Authority  and  the  Hamas rulers of Gaza have
   dismissed the new policy and say the blockade must be lifted entirely.
   In  Washington  Sunday,  White  House  officials  welcomed the Israeli
   decision,  saying  the  new  arrangement  should significantly improve
   conditions for Palestinians while preventing the entry of weapons. Â
   White  House  spokesman  Robert  Gibbs  said  Israeli  Prime  Minister
   Netanyahu  will meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on July
   6,  and that another key regional ally, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia,
   will visit the president for talks on June 29.

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