Official Condemns Statement by Israeli Mayor of Jerusalem
Date : 24/12/2011 Time : 11:54
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http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=18476

JERUSALEM, December 24, 2011 (WAFA) - Ahmad Rwaidy, an advisor on Jerusalem
affairs in the office of President Mahmoud Abbas, Saturday condemned
statements by West Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat who called for ceding
municipal control over some Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.

Rwaidy told WAFA that Barkat’s “racist and political” statements aim to
cancel residency in Jerusalem for tens of thousands of Palestinians living
within the municipality border, and therefore decrease Palestinian presence
in Jerusalem by 15%.

He condemned an Israeli plan, known as E1, to build a settlement linking Ma’aleh
Adumim settlement to Jerusalem, which will effectively separate the north of
the West Bank from the south, as well as isolate Jerusalem from its Arab
surroundings with a ring of settlements.

Israel already started infrastructure preparations to implement E1 project
and plans to expel Jahaleen Arab Bedouins who live in the area to start the
construction.

R.Q./M.S.