PNN exclusive / Maisa Abu Ghazaleh - Director of the Jerusalem Center for Economic and Social Rights, Ziad Hammouri, said today that Israel has intensified the process of Judaizing the city of Jerusalem.

While speaking with PNN he described the creation of a conclave through building the Wall and closing its gates.

The Israeli administration is also moving towards full implementation of its Absentee Property Law.

"The practice for Jerusalemites in the West Bank will be along the lines of the permits of the Gaza Strip, practices at the barriers will be similar."
 
At the Jerusalem Press Club Hammouri said that "relocation plans" are in the works for 72,000 to 80,000 people in the city. "This adds to the problem of confiscation of property of those not present in the city."

Early this week the Israeli administration closed the final gate in the Wall in northern Jerusalem, rendering the town of Al Ram effectively cut off. Those Jerusalemites are threatened with the withdrawal of their identification cards.

Hammouri continued to address the Israeli control over Islamic holy sites in the city including cemeteries but specifically the Al Aqsa Mosque. Excavations underneath are increasing with damages being done to the Silwan neighborhood on the south side of the compound. A ring of settlements is developing around the Mosque as pockets of houses are confiscated for settlers dotting the area.

Access to Al Aqsa Mosque is increasingly difficult with closures of checkpoints and the imposition of age restrictions on worshippers. Israeli police also surround the Mosque with an increased presence on the eastern side. "They are controlling Al Aqsa from all angles, including underneath," added the Director of the Jerusalem Center for Economic and Social Rights.
The next step, described Hammouri, is garnering control of the remaining real estate. This will come in two ways: either through the activation of the Absentee Property Law or by demanding exorbitant taxes.

Palestinian merchants are prohibitively taxed which has driven many to abandon generations of work or the livelihoods for their families. Jerusalem was the center of commerce for thousands of Palestinians from Bethlehem and Ramallah until entrance to the city was blocked.

"The situation in Jerusalem is no less dangerous than that in the Strip and if the control and isolation continue there will be no solution to the Palestinian cause because Jerusalem is the heart of this issue."

Hammouri added that the international community must become involved as it is difficult for Palestinians to confront and resist the measures on their own. "Silence has greatly contributed to the rapid implementation of the scheme for the Judaization of the city."

The Judaization efforts have been pushed forward since the signing of Oslo with successive Israeli governments closing all Palestinian Authority offices and prohibiting all activity.

Hammouri asked for real help, saying, "What is happening is beyond the capacity of the city and the law is not working for Palestinians as the schemes of the Israeli political and judicial are linked."