Jewish Settlers Move Into Arab Area

[Quetzal]

Jewish Settlers Move Into Arab Area

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Jewish settlers with assault rifles slung over their shoulders moved into two buildings in a crowded Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem on Wednesday, setting off clashes between Israeli troops and Arab residents.

Palestinians, who claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, said the incident showed Israel was more interested in expanding settlements than in making peace. The settlers said they want to re-establish a Jewish presence in the neighborhood.

Israel says it will never relinquish the sector of the city it captured from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war. In recent years, hawkish Jewish groups, with the backing of hardline governments and foreign investors, have bought several properties in east Jerusalem to strengthen Israel's hold there.

At daybreak Wednesday, a group of ultra-Orthodox Jews lugged boxes, chairs, tables and potted plants into buildings in the Silwan neighborhood of east Jerusalem. A van packed with sofas and couches arrived, and settlers hauled a water tank onto the roof of one building and set up a generator.

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Jewish Settlers Move Into Arab Area

[bluesoul]

1. Like a gang

of thugs...

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Carpetbaggers. Grand Ol' American tradition.

Any of the "settlers" from Brooklyn?

Definition: http://www.bartleby.com/61/42/C0124200.html

[tinnypriv]

3. Some interesting quotes/points from the Hebrew press

1. This not the first time that Jewish "right-wingers" have purchased homes in this particular district of East Jerusalem (Silwan). It's quite an old story.

2. Purchases are done by several groups. Ateret Cohanim, the 'Elad' foundation etc. The latter, headed by David Be'eri states proudly that it buys these Palestinian homes with the help of "generous contributors overseas".

3. The (admitted) intention is "to create Jewish territorial continuity between the City of David and the Jewish Quarter of the Old City" (quote from Be'eri). i.e. ethnically pure areas. Elad is Hebrew for "To the City of David".

4. Despite this, a recent Palestinian reaction to this activity was that "I don’t see any problem with living side by side ... the problem is between the leaders. Ordinary people can live in peace" (quote from a Palestinian building worker in the town).¹

The recent clashes are obviously due to the fact that the Palestinians are fully aware of the constant attempts to pry their land away from them by economic pressure and settler/military threats.

This is just the latest one, and clearly they have had enough. Either that, or the entrance was provocative ("M16's slung over shoulders"). Maybe both.

BTW, if anybody wants to claim that the Israeli government has nothing to do with this, the Housing Ministry Director-General Avi Maoz is a known activist in Elad, and purposely tries to divert additional Israeli government resources to it (and other groups) during budget requests ("while social security and unemployment payments were being slashed").²

p.s. Elad stated a couple of years ago that "the Arabs have lost all hope of keeping the Jews out". Perhaps they have, but that is for us to determine, since we're funding this behaviour.

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1. Uri Glickman, Ma'ariv, 7 Feb 2004 (Hebrew).
2. cf. Ha'aretz, 20 Feb 2004.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

4. Wow, if this isn't ethnic cleansing I don't know what is.

It may involve somewhat less killings than other ethnic cleansings we knew about, but ethnic cleansing it is.

[number6]

5. Like thugs

:( :thumbsdown: