Almanar
04/01/2010 The ongoing Israeli excavations have led to a landslide in a main street in Silwan district, downtown occupied Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Waqf and Heritage Foundation announced. “The landslide, which is two meters long, one meter wide and one and a half meters deep, took place some 700 meters to the south of Al-Aqsa Mosque – the Muslims’ third holiest site,” said a statement issued by the foundation.
Silwan is a Palestinian village on the hills south of the Old City of Jerusalem, captured in 1967 by the Israeli occupation army. It is one of several neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem where Isralei and settler organizations are forcing Palestinians from their homes. Almost 90 houses in the area are currently threatened with demolition, potentially displacing 1,000 – 1,500 residents and no construction permits have been issued for Palestinians in the area since 1967. Excavation works represent another threat to Palestinian residents; literally undermining their homes. Silwan has witnessed four landslides due to Israeli excavations in few months.
In an earlier statement the foundation cautioned that the network of tunnels, being dug by the Israeli occupation around and under Al-Aqsa Mosque under the pretext of archeological excavations, could topple the holy Mosque and the nearby homes.
“These activities have rendered most of the buildings in Salwan area unsafe and liable to collapse at any moment. They are part of the designs of the Israeli occupation authorities to force the local Palestinians to leave their homes for Jewish settlers as a prelude to judaizing the holy city,” according to the statement.
The foundation appealed to the Arab and Muslim nations to step in immediately to save the endangered Mosque.
Residence of Wade IL Hilo, in Silwan reported that they were surprised Saturday evening when a large collapse occurred in the main street to a depth of four meters and a length of three meters. According to residents loud noise was heard at six in the evening yesterday, an explosion rocked nearby homes, and were surprised that the cause of the explosion was due to the collapse of the main street in Wade Il Hilo near the Muslim child kindergarten, and also close to a mosque named Ein Silwan which is only twenty meters away from Al-Aqsa Mosque in a tunnel four meters deep and a length of three meters.
Fakhry Abu Diab, a member of the Committee for the Defense of the Busman territory neighborhood said that “in 2009 there were more than five landslides in Wade Il Hilo, and in the main street there were three landslides, suggesting that the excavations beneath is continuing day and night, which reflects a real threat to passers-by children and to the lives of students.”
Abu Diab also added that the occupation authority aims at opening more tunnels, especially down the main street of Al Hilweh Valley in order for the main street to fully collapse as planned so that the entire region would be closed.
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