Israel threatens deportation for Jerusalem protesters
Ma’an – 21/06/2010
Jerusalem – Israel is set to take action against the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, sources told Ma’an, as media reports claim municipal officials will soon begin mass demolitions of Al-Bustan homes.
Hebrew media quoted Israeli security circles in Monday morning reports, recommending the municipal and federal government give directives to the interior ministry and National Insurance Institute to use their weight to impose sanctions on Jerusalemite families whose children partake in protests against Israel.
Punishments, the sources said, will include the revocation of Jerusalem residency rights, re-evaluation of taxes owed and reduction in welfare benefits to the tax-paying residents of Palestinian neighborhoods.
The Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights said in a statement released the same morning, that several complaints from Jerusalemites had already been received, as families were threatened with deportation. At least two teenagers known to have been involved in protests against Israeli settlers, home evictions and planned demolitions, received unofficial warning from Israeli intelligence officers.
The two were told they would be deported if they continue to “incite” against the state of Israel.
Four Palestinian lawmakers affiliated with Hamas’ Change and Reform bloc were given notice that their Jerusalem residency was being revoked, while Director of the Palestinian prisoner’s society in Jerusalem Nasser Qaws and senior Fatah official Hatim Abdul Qader were also put on alert by Israeli forces.
In 2008, Israel revoked 466 Jerusalem residency cards, with the number expected to skyrocket for 2010.
Silwan demolitions
A news conference for Israel’s Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barakat is set to announce the construction of a national park on what will be the ruins of at least 88 homes in the Al-Bustan area of Silwan, in East Jerusalem, as plans to start demolitions will be authorized on Monday, Israeli media reported.
Palestinian residents of the neighborhood plan to hold a news conference of their own, and continue to push the municipality to accept an alternative city planning initiative, that would see the area “greened” and involve zero forced home demolitions.
Under the Israeli plan, families in the western half of Silwan must move into the homes of families from the eastern half as theirs were set for demolition under the city planning guide. Residents of the eastern section who refuse to accommodate families, alternative planner Youssef Jabareen told Ma’an, will also face home demolitions.
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