Mayor backs Jerusalem eviction plan

Israeli officials claim that all 88 Palestinian homes in Silwan are built illegally [AFP] The mayor of Jerusalem is pressing ahead with a plan to demolish 22 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem's Silwan neighbourhood to make room for a tourist centre. Mayor Nir Barkat asked the city's municipal planning committee on Monday to give initial approval to the controversial plan that Palestinians describe as "forced displacement". Barkat, however, insists the plan would revitalise tourism in the neighbourhood. Barkat first proposed the demolition months ago, but he shelved the plan in March under pressure from Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. Netanyahu asked Barkat to consult with the Palestinian families who would lose their homes. A spokesman for Barkat said on Monday that the municipality had finished those consultations. "Now, after fine-tuning the plan and seeking more co-operation with the residents... the municipality is ready to submit the plans for the first stage of approval," Stephan Miller, Barkat's spokesman, said. 'Fast-track Judaisation' Activists in Silwan denounced the latest move as another step in the "fast-track Judaisation" of East Jerusalem. Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland last year interviewed Silwan families with homes slated for demolition It pre-empts "the possibility of Jerusalem ever being a shared city, or indeed capital of a Palestinian state," they said in a statement. "This in itself precludes peace." Several members of Meretz, a left-wing Israeli political party, threatened to resign their seats on Jerusalem's city council over the announcement. Netanyahu's office issued a statement that expressed his hope "that the dialogue can continue". Barkat's plan has also been criticised in the past by the Palestinian Authority, the United States and the UN. Muhammad Ishtayeh, a PA cabinet minister, said after the plan was announced in March that there was "no way" Palestinians could accept it. The PA, US and UN have yet to respond to Barkat's latest announcement. The 'King’s Garden' The Palestinian homes targeted for demolition are in Silwan’s al-Bustan quarter, which Israel calls Gan Hamelech - the "King's Garden" - because the biblical King David supposedly wrote his psalms in the neighbourhood. The homes would be razed and replaced with a collection of shops, restaurants, art galleries and a large community centre. Israeli officials say the displaced families would be allowed to build new homes elsewhere in the neighbourhood - but haven’t said whether they will compensate those families for their losses. Israeli officials say that all of the 88 Palestinian homes in Silwan are built illegally. It is extremely difficult for Palestinians to obtain construction permits in East Jerusalem, so many families build their homes without the required paperwork. Barkat's proposal would allow residents of the other 66 Silwan homes - the ones not slated for demolition - to retroactively apply for construction permits, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post.