The Jerusalem Municipal Planning and Building Committee
decided Wednesday at the last minute to pull from the day's agenda
deliberations on the construction of a nine-story structure for a yeshiva in
the predominantly Arab East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
Ohr Somayach, a yeshiva that has operated in Jerusalem for
decades and serves mostly newly religious students, recently submitted the plan
to the city’s local Planning and Building Committee, which initially decided to
put it on the agenda despite objections from some of the city’s own employees
who say the plan would not serve the area’s local population.
The building is planned for an empty lot, most of which
belongs to the Israel Lands Authority, and is located behind a neighborhood gas
station. In addition to the nine stories, the new yeshiva building would also
consist of three more floors underground, spanning a total of 9,615 square
meters.
The city was pushing the plan even though its own department
for planning policy has said, “The construction of the yeshiva in this area,
which is characterized by a population with different religious characteristics
and is close to hotels and the light rail line, is not the optimal use [of the
property].” The plan is also likely to raise serious diplomatic opposition from
the United States and other countries, which object to Israeli construction
beyond the Green Line, and to draw objections from local residents.
Sheikh Jarrah has become a symbol of the Palestinian popular
struggle in Jerusalem in recent years, and a flash point where local residents
and left-wing activists have protested the entry of Jewish settlers into the
neighborhood and the evictions of Palestinian families from their homes. About
10 families are now waging legal battles to overturn eviction orders against
them, which were issued at the request of Jewish building and land owners,
mostly the heirs of residents of the neighborhood who lived there before 1948
and were forced out of their homes. After a drawn-out legal battle, the Supreme
Court ruled against one of the families, giving it a year to leave the house.
Jerusalem’s local planning committee is expected to meet
Wednesday, and to discuss another controversial plan for a large construction
waste disposal site to be situated at the exit leading from Jerusalem toward
the settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim. This plan would require the evacuation of a
nearby small Bedouin encampment named Jadua–Kabua. A few dozen people live in
the village, most of whom are residents of Israel. According to the plan, the
disposal site would operate for 20 years and fill a large stream bed with
building waste and dirt from Jerusalem and the region. After those two decades,
the area will be landscaped and a park built on the site.
Yosef (Pepe) Alalu, a member of the Jerusalem city council
from left-wing party Meretz, responded to the plan, saying the local planning
committee and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat are doing everything to undermine the
peace efforts of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is working to reach a
framework agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
Alalu called the plan
a “provocation” that he said violates the understanding that Jewish
neighborhoods in Jerusalem would remain in Israel in the event of a deal, while
the Arab neighborhoods would become part of the Palestinian state when it is
established. Alalo also criticized the planned waste site, saying that the
Palestinian neighborhoods only come to city officials’ minds when they need to
build a garbage dump.
No comments:
Post a Comment