Now the city has come up with another plan. Under the new plan, 66 of the homes will be allowed to stay and the other 22 squatters groups will be given (at city expense) new homes in the part of the park that has now been cut off to allow the other 66 squatters groups to stay. And the world is seething again.
Of course, the city is Jerusalem. My town. And the mayor, who loves Jerusalem despite having run on the Kadima party's ticket, is under attack from all sides.
After nearly a year of planning and almost four months of delay, and despite numerous legal and diplomatic concerns, two plans to radically redevelop sections of the Silwan neighborhood in east Jerusalem are expected to gain preliminary approval from the municipality’s Local Planning and Construction Committee on Monday morning, The Jerusalem Post has learned.The city has even reached agreements with an undisclosed number of the to-be-displaced residents.
A spokesman for Mayor Nir Barkat told the Post on Sunday that the projects were designed to improve the quality of life of Silwan’s Arab residents and that they would not “surprise” the international community.
Yet the move had already sparked a backlash in Jerusalem on Sunday night, with members of the Meretz faction at City Hall threatening to resign over the matter, and the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), labeling the move the “forced displacement” of the local residents and calling for a demonstration to be held outside the committee meeting on Monday morning.
The first plan, which deals with a section of the neighborhood known as El-Bustan or Gan Hamelech (the King’s Garden), includes the demolition of 22 structures that were built without the proper permits in an area beneath the Old City walls currently zoned as “green.” In fact, all 88 structures inside the El-Bustan section of Silwan were built in this green area and, as such, are considered illegal by the city and subject to demolition orders.
Pending Monday’s deliberations, however, the eastern section of the green area – which includes 66 structures – will be completely rezoned as residential, and residents will then have the ability to apply for the retroactive legalization of their homes.
Additionally, the plan stipulates that the 22 families displaced from the western section of El Bustan will be included in the zoning of the eastern side, where new homes will be built to accommodate them.
While residents of El-Bustan have in the past claimed that they refused to agree to a single demolition in the neighborhood, a municipality source involved with the management of the plan told the Post on Sunday that “what the residents say to the press and what they say to us are two different things.”And there was another carrot for the 'Palestinians.'
“There are different interests among different residents,” the source added. “Today, basically everyone understands that some houses will need to be demolished, and not for the goal of demolishing houses but for the goal of redeveloping and improving the standard of living in the neighborhood.”
The source also said that the municipality was continuing negotiations with the residents, but that since the mayor shelved the plan in March, one major, tangible step forward was that city negotiators had reached “specific, individual agreements” with a number of residents. He was unwilling to disclose how many such agreements had been reached.
The second item concerning Silwan is a proposed change to the current zoning laws that would allow for the retroactive approval of structures in the “central” section of the neighborhood that have been built up to four stories.Keep in mind that Silwan is literally a few meters outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City.
Current zoning in that area of the neighborhood permits structures to be built up to two stories, rendering nearly half of the area’s 657 buildings illegal and vulnerable to demolition orders.
If approved, this new zoning would also give residents of central Silwan who are currently in violation of the height restriction the ability to apply for retroactive legalization of their homes as well.
Those plans passed the planning council on Monday. And the world is seething. Here's 'Palestinian' chief bottle washer Saeb Erekat.
Chairman Saeb Erekat of the Palestinian Authority's diplomatic negotiating team said Monday that the Jerusalem local planning commission's decision to destroy 22 illegally-built Arab homes as part of the King's Garden reclamation project "proves that Israel has decided to destroy the indirect talks with the Palestinians." Dr. Erekat also called on the international community "to stop these dangerous steps."And then there's State Department spokesman Phillip Crowley.
The authority issued an announcement condemning the decision in addition to construction plans for the capital's Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, stressing that "these arbitrary and dangerous steps demand American and international involvement to stop them."
The US is "worried" about Jerusalem's Silwan building project, the US State Department said on Monday according to AFP.Jerusalem is not a 'settlement.' It's our capital city. It's time for Prime Minister Netanyahu to tell the Obumbler to butt out of Jerusalem. But don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen.
"This is expressly the kind of step that we think undermines trust that is fundamental in making progress to the proximity talks and ultimately in direct negotiations," said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley.
"We're concerned about it. We've had a number of conversation with the government of Israel about it."
Municipality hits back after defense minister slams scheme to demolish 22 Palestinian homes, saying it 'shows lack of common sense and poor timing'.
Barak, who is in the United States for a series of meetings with top officials, faced criticism and demands for explanations after the Jerusalem municipal planning committee decided to destroy 22 houses in the Arab neighborhood of Silwan, which it says were built illegally.
"Instead of helping the municipality strengthen the city and confront the serious neglect inherited over many years in the eastern part of the city, the defense minister acts without checking the facts," said a statement from the mayor's office.
"The new plan for Silwan allows for the addition of thousands of housing units for the Arab sector and the resolution of hundreds of construction violations. Barak should be one of the primary supporters of the plan," the statement continued.
Earlier Tuesday, Barak criticized Jerusalem authorities, saying they "have shown a lack of common sense and sense of timing – and not for the first time."
The city's plan would raze 22 Palestinian homes and construct a tourism center in their place. An additional 66 homes built without the proper permits would receive approval retroactively.
The tourism center for the area, which is called Al Bustan in Arabic and Gan Hamelekh (King's Garden) in Hebrew, is to include restaurants and boutique hotels.
The city said it would help residents of the 22 homes due for demolition to move to other areas of Silwan.
A U.S. spokesman said on Monday that the decision threatened recently restarted peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, under American mediation
"This is expressly the kind of step that we think undermines trust that is fundamental to making progress in the proximity talks," said State Department spokesman Phillip Crowley.
Mayor Nir Barkat said on Monday he would banish the left-wing Meretz party from the municipal council coalition for voting against the project.
Local residents oppose the plan, claiming its purpose is to increase the hold of Jewish settlers over the neighborhood. They have submitted an alternative scheme that does not involve the demolition of homes but still includes the park proposed by the city.
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu June 22, 2010 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/138203
He released a statement Tuesday that the proposed park and tourist center, which would require wreckng 22 illegally built Arab homes while making legal 66 others, lacks “common sense” and "a sense of timing."
He added, “The plan to make room for an Israeli tourist center could raise tensions in the divided city and deepen a conflict with the Americans. The Obama administration has already condemned the plan.”
The U.S. State Department told reporters Monday afternoon that the proposal “undermines” American efforts to mediate talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel for a new Arab state within Israel’s borders. The proposed park is located in the Silwan Valley, part of the area that the PA demands as being under its control for its desired new Arab state where it wants to divide Jerusalem and place its capital.
Barak’s statement that the plan could easily be postponed ignored the Israeli government’s statement Monday that the proposal needs to mount a long bureaucratic process that precludes any work beginning in the near future.
This is a preliminary planning procedure and it still gives time, more than enough time, for dialogue to continue between the municipal authorities and residents of the neighborhood in the hope that an agreed solution can be found,” said Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev.
Tuesday morning’s statement by Labor party chairman Barak is the second time in three months he has opposed the Netanyahu government while winning points with a cooperative U.S. President Barack Obama.
During his visit to the White House in April, President Obama warmly received Barak, in direct contrast to the chilly reception given Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who was denied the traditional lunch or dinner with the President and an opportunity for media photos.
Barak, whose divided Labor party holds only 13 seats in the Knesset, immediately called for a wide coalition after returning from Washington, meaning that the center-left Kadima party should be included.
The Obama administration’s feeling of comfort with Barak was indicated in a report Monday by Laura Rozen, writing for Politico.com, where she wrote that, “officials suggested that the Obama administration might try to use the quiet visit of Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to Washington this week as an opportunity ‘to try to patch things up, if possible, between Israel and Turkey, which have had strong defense ties."
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