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Israel Plans To Expel Al-Quds Palestinian Natives
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"Israel
is resolved to Judaize Al-Quds," said Sabri
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By
Hanadi, Dewikat, Samer Khuwaiyra, IOL Correspondents
OCCUPIED
JERUSLAEM, June 2 (IslamOnline.net) – Palestinian leaders warned
Wednesday, June 2, that Israel’s plan to strip the Palestinian
natives of occupied East Jerusalem of their blue residence identities
is yet another attempt to Judaize the holy city.
They
added that the move is part of a phased plan dating back to 1967,
which is aimed at swallowing the Palestinian lands.
Israel’s
Haaretz daily recently reported that the Israeli interior
ministry would launch a massive campaign by next year, when the
construction of the
separation wall is completed, to withdraw the blue IDs from
more than 230,000 Palestinian natives of occupied East Jerusalem and
give them Israeli passports instead.
The
campaign will also target tens of thousands of Palestinians who do not
carry such identities, triggering a Palestinian mass exodus.
Under
Israeli laws, Arabs carrying the Israeli passports can visit occupied
East Jerusalem, but are banned from residing in the holy city.
This
simply means that Palestinians who replace their blue IDs with the
Israeli passports would be obliged, under the Israeli law, to leave
the city.
According
to the Israeli plan, Palestinians who refuse to replace their blue IDs
with Israeli passports will have their IDs withdrawn which, again,
under the Israeli law would force them out of occupied East Jerusalem.
Old
Schemes
Ziad
Al-Hamouri, the director of the Al-Quds Center for Economic and Social
Rights, told IslamOnline.net that the move is part of a pre-arranged
scheme drawn up in 1967 and implemented in a piecemeal fashion.
He
said it started with demolition of large parts of Al-Maghariba gateway
area in the old town, expelling its citizens and annexing 86 percent
of Palestinian land in occupied East Jerusalem.
Hamouri
further noted that Israel has laid many obstacles before the
Palestinian natives to have a building permit, which costs between
35,000 to 40,000 dollars.
Sky-rocketing
apartment prices are high on the list with the rent of a two-room flat
running at between 500 and 700 dollars.
Owning
an unequipped and unauthorized apartment, yet, is something of an
extravagance when one speaks about 120,000 dollars for a meager 120
square meters.
"Add
to that, any Palestinian native who leaves for a long period can’t
come back and if he does, he is stripped of his blue identity,"
Hamouri said.
He
asserted that Israel is fully aware that Al-Quds natives are
increasing in number and represent 33 percent of the population of
East and West Jerusalem, and see this as a demographic threat.
Al-Quds
Mufti Sheikh Ekrema Sabri said Israel is resolved to Judaize the
entire holy city.
He
said such moves unmask Israel’s intentions and refute its peace
clichés, holding the Arab and Islamic regimes responsible before God
for their apathy.
Sami
Abu Zahri, the spokesman for the Islamic resistance movement Hamas,
said Israel is pressing on with its schemes, making use of the highly
publicized Middle East turmoil and the United States’ preoccupation
with the November presidential elections.
According
to Palestinian statistics, Israel demolished earlier last year some 35
homes to force the Palestinians to flee their native city compared to
41 houses in 2002.
The
Palestinians natives, however, are determined to stand up to the
Israeli plans.
Al-Quds
Center for Research reported last March, that some 300 aboriginal
Palestinians of Al-Quds return
to the old town on a weekly basis to avert Israeli bids to
obliterate the city’s identity by its Wes Bank separation wall.
Israel
began
work on a 42-kilometer (25-mile) section of its controversial
separation wall last February, prompting daily Palestinian protests
and clashes with occupation soldiers.
The
Palestinians see the wall as an attempt to entrench
the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and preset the boundaries of a
future Palestinian state.
Condemning
the wall, a U.N. report said it would lead to severe
humanitarian consequences for more than 680,000 Palestinians.
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