by David Harris
JERUSALEM, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The latest building plans in a small Arab village in East Jerusalem, just outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, have left local Arab residents angry and the Israeli political left calling for their blockage.
The leftist Jerusalem lobby group Ir Amim published a report on Thursday decrying "Municipality of Jerusalem Construction plan 11555, which has never before been brought up for public discussion and calls for the destruction of an entire neighborhood in Silwan in Arab-dominated eastern Jerusalem, the transformation of a significant part of Silwan into a tourist park, and allows for massive private and public construction exclusively intended for Jews and tourists."
The organization insists in its report titled Shady Dealings in Silwan that "government bodies" are involved in improper proceedings in "cooperating and transferring control of public and Palestinian properties to settler organizations."
Jerusalem City Hall immediately dismissed the Ir Amim report as highly inaccurate.
Some 40,000 people live in Silwan, which was built on a site, which archeologists say was once the biblical Shiloah. Like much of the rest of Jerusalem, both Jews and Arabs lay claim to the area, in which many of the homes cling to steep valley walls.
Today, Silwan is not only the home to Arab residents but also a major Israeli tourist attraction. The City of David looks at the ancient history of the area and features a historic tunnel that brought spring-water to the Jewish residents of Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago.
Silwan lies in eastern Jerusalem, which the international community regards as occupied territory, but Israel insists is part of its indivisible capital.
Just two days before Ir Amim published its report, the Hebrew daily Ha'aretz reported what it said was the details of four new construction schemes for Israeli Jews in Silwan.
Tuesday' edition of Ha'aretz said Elad, the organization that runs the City of David, has applied to the local planning authority for permission to build "several apartment buildings, a 100-car-capacity parking lot, a synagogue, a kindergarten, roads and additional tourism infrastructure."
Residents say this is simply rubbing salt into their wounds as the report was published shortly after news came through of the planned house demolitions.
Part of Jamil Hamdan Masalme's home has already been demolished. He said he now lives in the one remaining room with his wife and children. He claimed that an Israeli Jew visited him and offered him 10 million U.S. dollars to sell his land. Masalme refused.
He said he did not need planning permission for internal changes to his house, which he said was built before the establishment of the state of Israel.
"We're in a very tough position. We have no money, no food, no work, no home. I don't know what to do," he said.
However, Jerusalem's municipality insists there is no plan to demolish houses wholesale and categorically denies being party to any plan to "Judaize" eastern Jerusalem.
City hall maintains it is trying to create better living conditions for all Jerusalem residents but especially for those in the east, where the housing stock is often in poor condition and infrastructure improvements are badly needed.
"Specifically regarding Silwan, the mayor has said very clearly that we need to better plan with better infrastructure -- parking, roads, public buildings, schools -- we need better zoning for more residential areas so that more legal construction can occur," said mayoral spokesman Stephan Miller.
Another move the municipality is planning is to change zoning laws so that some of the Arab homes in eastern Jerusalem currently deemed illegal will meet city guidelines.
Mayor Nir Barkat placed much of the blame for the housing problems in the east on previous administrations and said he is doing what he can to rectify the matter.
The municipality said it has not ordered the demolition of existing homes but only those under construction which are deemed illegal. Residents have the right to attend all planning meetings and their objections will be taken into consideration, the city hall added.
Ir Amim said on the basis of his comments and declarations, they see a major change in Barkat's thinking in comparison to all previous mayors. However, the organization said so far he has done nothing.
"The demolitions should have been stopped, if nothing else to build confidence with the Palestinian population, which has already lost so much that it feels it has nothing left to lose," said Ir Amim's Executive Director Yudith Oppeneheimer.
This latest controversy over building in the city comes a week after the United States Department of State demanded clarifications from Israel's Ambassador to Washington Michael Oren regarding another construction planned for the eastern side of Jerusalem.
A businessman intends building 20 apartments in two blocks in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Jerusalem's municipality said the entire application process was carried out in line with the law and approval was given earlier this month.
Washington voiced its objection to "all Israeli settlement activity" includes eastern Jerusalem. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that is unacceptable.
Meanwhile, in the neighborhood itself tensions are running high, with Israeli officials reportedly ordering the closure this week of an information booth operated by locals trying to explain their cause.
Oppenheimer said some in Silwan are scared to leave their homes in case they find a pile of rubble on their return.
The Jerusalem municipality insists it is doing nothing other than implementing planning laws and in no way acts against someone because of their ethnicity or religion.
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