<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Jerusalem Municipality Approves Construction of Settlement Units in Sheikh&nbsp;Jarrah]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<div class="article-subtitledetails"><span class="article-details"> <span class="article-detail">Monday February 07, 2011 16:49</span><span class="article-detail"> by Circarre Parrhesia &#8211; IMEMC &amp; Agencies</span></span></div>
<blockquote class="article-intro"><p><em>The Jerusalem Municipal Committee for  Planning and Building have met, on Monday, to approve the construction  of two buildings in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.  These buildings will be for the exclusive use of Israeli settlers and  will require the eviction of Palestinian families in the neighbourhood  before construction can begin.</em></p></blockquote>
<p class="photo"><a name="attachment36504"></a> <a href="http://www.imemc.org/attachments/feb2011/5406758575_8982ab9cd2_z.jpg"><img class="summary-image" title="Click on image to see full-sized version" src="https://i2.wp.com/www.imemc.org/cache/imagecache/local/attachments/feb2011/460_0___10000000_0_0_0_0_0_5406758575_8982ab9cd2_z.jpg" alt="Nasser al-Ghawi leads a protest of Palestinians, Israeli &amp; Internationals in Sheik Jarrah, 21.01.11 - Photo by C. Parrhesia" width="460" height="305" /></a><br />
Nasser al-Ghawi leads a protest of Palestinians, Israeli &amp; Internationals in Sheik Jarrah, 21.01.11 &#8211; Photo by C. Parrhesia</p>
<p class="article">The  meeting was held two hours prior to the scheduled time, preventing the  residents of Sheikh Jarrah from raising their objections.</p>
<p>Sheikh Jarrah has been a site of conflict and tension between Israelis  and Palestinians, with the Jerusalem Municipality ignoring East  Jerusalem’s status as occupied territory following the State of Israel’s  military occupation of the West Bank, which East Jerusalem is a part  of, in 1967.</p>
<p>Under this designation, it is illegal, under international law governing  the rights of populations living under occupation, for populations to  be transferred, either by expelling those currently living in the area,  or moving members of the occupying power’s population into the  territory.</p>
<p>In the case of Sheikh Jarrah, three families &#8211; the al-Kurd family,  al-Ghawi family, and al-Hanoun family &#8211; have been evicted, and Israeli  settler families have been moved in to their homes.</p>
<p>Legal justification, from the Israeli Supreme Court stating that Jewish  families had owned the houses prior to the 1948 war that led to the  creation of the State of Israel and the annexation of the West Bank by  The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, has failed to redress the loss of  property by Palestinian families who had lived in West Jerusalem prior  to the war.</p>
<p>Following this war, Palestinian families were moved to the neighborhood,  having been left homeless, and were given legal entitlement to the  homes by the Jordanians.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the Shepherd Hotel was demolished on January 9, 2011.  Although vacant, the hotel held historical significance to the  Palestinian population of East Jerusalem. In 2009 the Jerusalem  Municipality approved construction of 20 apartments by the hotel, again  for use by Israeli settlers, and the demolition of the hotel will lead  to the construction of a three story parking garage and access road for  the settlement.</p>
<p>During the meeting, Israelis from the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement  protested, due to their expectations that the municipality would find in  favor of the construction plans. During this demonstrations four  Israelis were arrested.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/60586">Jerusalem Municipality Approves Construction of Settlement Units in Sheikh Jarrah &#8211; International Middle East Media Center</a>.</p>
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