02/03/2010 About an hour before Israeli mayor of occupied Jerusalem Nir Barkat intended to present his full plan for the al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan, which is in the city's east, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked him Tuesday to allot more time to try and reach an understanding with the Silwan residents regarding demolishing their houses for the project.
"The prime minister asked me to speak and negotiate with the residents," Barkat told reporters. "I of course agreed, and I am delaying submitting the program to the planning committee while we continue to talk to residents," he said.
Netanyahu emphasized to Barkat that he does not intend to intervene in the management of the city's affairs, nor in the jurisdiction placed in the hands of the law enforcement and building and planning officials.
Netanyahu warned that, while the city should do as it sees fit, going ahead with the project now would serve "interest groups that want to cause disputes and show Israel in a distorted light at home and abroad."
If the project goes ahead it could fuel further outrage following clashes in occupied Jerusalem earlier this week between Palestinians and Israeli police in and around the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
Israeli media reported that the plan calls for the destruction of dozens of houses built without Israeli permits, some of which are decades old, and for their owners to be compensated with businesses inside the new park.
The project was also expected to legalize a seven-storey building constructed by Israeli settlers without a permit in 2004 in the same neighborhood. An Israeli court sealed the building last month.
At the time Barkat protested the order to seal the building, saying it would require him to carry out some 200 demolition orders in the same neighborhood.
Many Palestinians in occupied east Jerusalem risk having their homes razed because they were built or expanded without the necessary permits which are nearly impossible to obtain from the Israeli occupation authorities.
Sources from the municipality said many have expressed consent to the proposed plan, but Attorney Ziad Kawar, who represents the residents, paints a different picture. "Yesterday I sent Barkat a letter and I made it clear that we are against this. There is not a single resident that agrees to the plan," he told Ynet.
"These are 20 houses that house 40 families who will have to rebuild their homes elsewhere, at an estimated cost of some NIS 2 million (roughly $500,000) per family, and they cannot manage that. Barkat is asking the residents to 'demolish and move, because I want to rebuild the 'king's garden' with religious, political and historic symbols.' This is a very sensitive site, very close to the Western Wall and al-Aqsa (mosque).
MK Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List – Ta'al) also expressed concern over the plan. "Barkat is acting like a pyromaniac who ignites fire and strife in east Jerusalem," the MK said, "He must be stopped in time to prevent violence."
Earlier Tuesday, the Palestinian Authority warned against implementing the plan. Hatem Abdel Kader, who holds the Jerusalem portfolio in the Fatah movement, said to Ynet, "Nir Barkat will bear responsibility for the outbreak that will take place in the city I his plan is carried out."
The United Nations also expressed concern, saying the move could jeopardize attempts to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to long-stalled peace talks. "If this turn out to be true, it's a matter of serious concern. We are trying to reduce tensions at the current time, not exacerbate them," said Richard Miron, a spokesman for UN Middle East envoy Robert Serry.
"Whatever the intentions behind such a project, Israel needs to understand that demolishing Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem demolishes confidence not only among Palestinians but frankly also internationally," Miron told AFP.
Several Western countries including the United States, have urged Israel to refrain from such demolitions, to avoid further harming the already hobbled Middle East peace process.
In the past, when individual illegal structures were razed in Silwan, the issue even reached US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, who said the move was "not helpful". Clinton has said the US administration was following up on the matter with the Israeli government and the occupied Jerusalem Municipality.
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