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21 November 2010 By Stephen
Lendman
Jerusalem is the epicenter of a
decades long struggle. For Jews, it's politically
important as their capital, a national and religious
center, as well as symbolic of Judaism's revival and
prominence. For Christians, it's where Jesus lived and
died, and for Muslims, it's their third holiest site
(the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa
Mosque) after Mecca's Sacred Mosque and the Mosque of
the Prophet in Madina.
In June 1967, Israel occupied the
city. On July 30, 1980, the Knesset introduced the
Jerusalem Law, officially annexing it as Israel's
unified capital. However, on March 1, 1980, UN
Security Council Resolution 465 declared that:
"all measures taken by Israel to
change the physical character, demographic
composition, institutional structure or status of the
Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since
1967, including Jerusalem, or any part thereof, have
no legal validity and that Israel's policy and
practices of settling parts of its population and new
immigrants in those territories constitute a flagrant
(Fourth Geneva) violation....and also constitute a
serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just
and lasting peace in the Middle East."
On July 4, 2004, the
International Court of Justice (ICC) ruled that
"Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territory,
including East Jerusalem, are illegal and an obstacle
to peace and to economic and social development (and)
have been established in breach of international
law."
However, nothing thereafter
changed. Settlements expanded exponentially, including
on stolen East Jerusalem land. Israel plans to Judaize
it by replacing Arabs with Jews, law or no law,
because unenforced ones are meaningless.
On November 7, Haaretz writer Nir
Hasson headlined, "Full Haaretz expose/How the state
helped right-wing groups settle East Jerusalem,"
saying:
Israel "used a controversial law
to transfer East Jerusalem assets to the rightist
organizations Elad and Ateret Cohanim without a
tender, and at very low prices."
To date, Elad settled 500 Jews in
15 Silwan sites. Ateret Cohanim brought 60 Jewish
families and hundreds of yeshiva students to the Old
City's Muslim Quarter, an area they're determined to
control.
In support, Israel transferred
hundreds of assets to them, as well as millions of
shekels for security, including surveillance cameras
and fences that separate settlers from Palestinians.
Authorities also licensed Elad to manage the historic
City of David tourist site.
In 1992, the Knesset passed a law
requiring all state agencies to hold public tenders on
which any citizen may bid, with certain defined
exemptions, including expanding agricultural areas and
promoting tourism. However, Elad and Ateret Cohahim
were "exempted from tender" for all 11 assets they
got, authorities abusing the 1950 Absentee Property
Law to do it.
It pertains to persons "who, at
any time during the period between (November 29, 1947)
and (May 19, 1948) ceased to exist," and no longer
owned Israeli property legally. However, at least for
some of the 11 seized assets, owners live in the West
Bank, "which is not under the jurisdiction of Israeli
law."
Attorney Shlomo Lecker, involved
in one of the cases, said: "These are not people who
moved to an enemy country. Instead, these are cases in
which we've decided to annex property without annexing
the people who left it. Thus, two attorneys general
recommended that this law not be applied to East
Jerusalem."
Haaretz's full expose can be
accessed through the following link:
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/full-haaretz-expose-how-the-state-helped-right-wing-groups-settle-east-jerusalem-1.323312?localLinksEnabled=false&utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=a19fb514b1-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email
Ethnically
Cleaning Silwan
Silwan is an Arab village
adjacent to Jerusalem's Old City, extending along the
Kidron Valley alongside the eastern slopes of Jabal
al-Mukaber, another Arab community. Home to about
45,000 people, it's one of 28 Palestinian villages
incorporated into East Jerusalem. For years, settler
encroachment fueled controversy and conflict. So does
the area's historical importance, archeology used for
displacement to legitimize Jewish claims.
Excavations have already claimed
large tracts of Silwan land. The militant right-wing
settler group Elad, funded largely by US donors,
controls them. Its web site tells its own version of
history. It also conducts tours to convince visitors
of its Jewish origin.
For their part, Palestinians are
contesting, explaining their important history.
Different versions fuel conflict, Haaretz writers Nir
Hasson and Jonathan Lis, on October 12 headlining,
"Life in Silwan: Unbearable for Jews and Palestinians
alike," saying:
"The pattern of Jewish settlement
(there) is unlike anywhere else, with some 70 Jewish
families (around 500 people) in 15 locations, islands
among tens of thousands of Palestinians. The resulting
friction requires the presence of dozens of security
guards and surveillance cameras."
Palestinians complain about their
presence and heavy-handed police tactics. The
Association of Civil Rights in Israel said settlers
carry weapons, Jewish/Arab relations thus tense over
shootings, deaths and arrests. Moreover, Palestinian
homes are being demolished for planned parks, open
spaces, restaurants, boutique hotels, and Jewish-only
housing.
Al-Bustan is a Silwan
neighborhood, across from the Jerusalem's Old City.
Home to about 1,500 residents, they're threatened with
displacement, the Municipality of Jerusalem claiming
no permits were issued to build in areas designated
for open space and a archeological park.
On February 22, 2009, they were
ordered out in 72 hours to make way for expanding
Israel's City of David archeological site, a Jewish
heritage project involving removing Palestinians whose
history goes back centuries. Residents contested their
right to stay, the Al Bustan Popular Committee (BPC)
working with lawyers in Israeli courts. Nonetheless,
demolition orders are issued and in other city
neighborhoods, part of Israel's systematic Judaization
process.
In October, police posted notices
on five Al-Bustan homes, calling them illegal and
subject to demolition. In addition, BPC's leader,
Fakhri Abu Diab, said "a large force of Israeli border
guards ransacked the area, using homes as vantage
points to fire tear gas canisters, stun grenades, and
rubber bullets in all directions" after protests broke
out.
Many Silwan homes have been
demolished, many more threatened. Moreover, residents
are regularly attacked, prompting protests and
clashes. B'Tselem explained that East Jerusalem
Palestinians face discriminatory housing and
construction policies, forcing them to build without
permits (on their own land), thereby subjecting them
to demolitions. Protests, violence and arrests follow,
children affected like adults.
On October 25, Palestine Monitor
writer Charlotte Silver headlined, "Children The New
Target In Silwan Ethnic Cleansing Campaign," saying:
Daily, "Jerusalem police and
security forces have filled the streets of Silwan....patrolling
(them) on foot and in cars. This past week alone," 23
residents were arrested, including at least six
children, aged eight to 12. The charges are always the
same - stone throwing, whether or not true. Yet
they're arrested, detained, beaten, terrorized and
tortured like adults. In some cases, serious injuries
result, requiring hospitalization.
Defence for
Children International/Palestine (DCI) Section Report
In October, DCI issued a
Detention Bulletin headlined, "Mass arrests in Silwan,
East Jerusalem," saying:
Information on the arrest of 17
Silwan children was collected, "although lawyers and
fieldworkers for DCI-Palestine estimate that the
overall number of children arrested....in October is
considerably higher."
In recent weeks, confrontations
between Palestinians and settlers, their private
security guards, and police escalated. Further
tensions erupted over plans to displace Al-Bustan
residents for a recreation park. Children are always
affected. Hundreds are arrested annually, some as
young as or younger than 12. Nearly always it's for
stone throwing, yet they're detained in violation of
Fourth Geneva's Article 76, requiring minors be given
special treatment, besides other provisions to
safeguard protected persons.
In October, 256 children were
arrested, aged 12 - 15. Prosecutions and detentions
usually follow. Bara' R., aged 13, is typical. On
October 13, he was arrested in Silwan for throwing
stones.
"At around 5:00PM, (he) was
standing in front of his sister's house with some
friends when they were attacked by 10 men in plain
clothes, who were apparently Israeli security forces.
(He) then reports being dragged into a nearby mosque
by the men. (They) started firing weapons and tear gas
at people outside the mosque. Baha's hand were tied
behind his back and his shirt was pulled up over his
eyes to prevent him from seeing."
"A short time later, (he) was put
in an Israeli military vehicle and kicked and
slapped." He was then transferred to Al Mascobiyya
interrogation center in Jerusalem for questioning.
Baha confessed "because I was so terrified because
they beat me when they arrested me and because I was
alone in the interrogation room."
He was luckier than others. At
11:00PM, he was released and fined 5,000 shekels,
about $1,400, a huge sum for poor Palestinians,
perhaps too much to pay, meaning their property or
possessions may be taken instead.
DCI/Palestine covered several
other arrests. In all cases, children were accused of
stone throwing. Their hands were painfully shackled
behind their backs. They were dragged, beaten, forced
to confess and sign documents in Hebrew, denied food,
water and toilet privileges for long periods, and
overall terrorized during interrogations. Some were
fined and released, others detained.
On October 15, police and Silwan
residents clashed. About 15 Palestinians were injured,
including one child. Most were struck by rubber-coated
bullets, able to cause injuries and at times kill.
"According to local sources, the
confrontations took place after Israeli forces fired
tear gas canisters at worshippers" during prayer time.
Residents threw rocks in response. "In a related
incident, Israeli border police officers physically
assaulted and injured a man at a flying checkpoint
erected at one of Silwan's entrances." He was taking
his son to the hospital, suffering from pepper gas
inhalation.
On October 23, DCI/Palestine sent
a 14 page report to the EU Subcommittee on Human
Rights on how Palestinian children are treated in
detention. It highlighted "the continued use of
ill-treatment and torture during the arrest and
interrogation" process.
Other information included:
-- international law violations;
-- evidence that over 42% of
children are held with adults;
-- over half receive inadequate
food, water and shelter;
-- most are denied family visits
during the first three months of detention;
-- telephone privileges are
prohibited; and
-- most are subjected to torture
and other forms of abuse.
A Final
Comment
Israel's long range Jerusalem
plan is total Judaization, making the city its
exclusive capital, denying the Palestinians rightful
claim to its eastern portion for its own. As a result,
ethnic cleansing systematically continues, villages
like Silwan targeted by home demolitions,
dispossessions, and assaults against residents
defending their land and property.
In some ways they do it
creatively. In 2008 for example, when 88 houses were
ordered demolished for a City of David archeological
park, residents erected a large tent for prayer,
meetings, children's activities, and community events.
In October, Jimmy Carter met with village leaders in
it. Last year, the Wadi Hilwah Information Center was
established to counter settler propaganda with its own
historical narrative.
Determined, sustained, organized
resistance is the best antidote to repression and
injustice, what Palestinians have heroically done for
decades, including the men, women, and children of
Silwan.
In her August 18, 2010 Palestine
Monitor article, Elena Hogan's title described it
metaphorically headlining, "When David Becomes
Goliath." In fact, long struggles at times end that
way. Why not in Silwan, in East Jerusalem, the West
Bank and Gaza, occupation-free self-determination an
achievable goal.
Stephen Lendman lives in
Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and
listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished
guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the
Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central
time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs
are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
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