PA stymies would-be upgrade of Arab neighborhood
Mayor Nir Barkat’s plans early this week to officially announce a new project for the Silwan neighborhood on the southern edge of the Old City were halted following international opposition and intervention by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Silwan, also known as the City of David, is an impoverished, mostly Arab neighborhood. Following complaints of municipal neglect by Arab residents and to reclaim the area’s historic glory, Barkat had planned to tear down one of its poorer sections and construct a new park with luxury apartment buildings surrounding it. The current residents of the area were to be temporarily housed elsewhere and moved back into the new apartments upon their completion.
But the Palestinian Authority took advantage of the planned upgrade to attack Israel, ignoring the benefit local Arab residents stood to gain.
“There is no way the Palestinians can accept the demolishing of houses in Jerusalem and the continuation of building settlements for the Jewish settlers,” Palestinian cabinet minister Mohammed Ishtayeh told reporters on Tuesday.
The UN was quick to back the PA.
“We’re trying to reduce tensions at the current time, not exacerbate them. Whatever the intentions behind such a project, Israel needs to understand that demolishing Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem demolishes confidence among Palestinians and frankly, also internationally,” read a statement released by the UN Special Coordinator’s Office for the Mideast Peace Process.
Following the harsh remarks Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu phoned Barkat on Tuesday to request that he postpone the official launch of the project. The call came just hours before the mayor had scheduled to hold a press conference to announce the project.
The Obama Administration expressed relief later in the day that Barkat had halted what it, too, viewed as a dangerous initiative.
Barkat told reporters that he is confident the Arab residents of Silwan will all sign on the project, giving him the backing he needs to finally rehabilitate this history-rich section of the capital.
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