Settlers Seize Home in Jerusalem's Muslim Quarter

[dtotire]

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 29, 2010

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Filed at 2:45 p.m. ET

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Jewish settlers on Thursday took over a building in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City and evicted dozens of Palestinian tenants, residents and police said, prompting a sharp protest by the top regional U.N. envoy.

The takeover comes at a time when the U.S. is struggling to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks. The international community, led by the U.S., has urged Israel to refrain from any steps that could raise tensions in east Jerusalem, including evictions and house demolitions.

East Jerusalem's Old City was captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War. The Palestinians claim the eastern half of the city for their capital.

Over the years, about 2,000 Israeli settlers have moved into buildings Jews bought in established Arab sections of east Jerusalem, including the Old City, to make it harder to partition the city.

Before dawn Thursday, more than two dozen settlers from the Ateret Cohanim settlement group entered the building in the Muslim Quarter, said Nasser Quirresh, one of the evicted tenants. He said 90 members of his extended family live in the house, which is just a few dozen yards (meters) away from the main Muslim and Jewish shrines -- the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Western Wall.

more:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/07/29/world/AP-ML-Israel-Palestinians.html?ref=aponline

[sabbat hunter]

1. The home

should be returned to its proper owners. Did the settlers own it or did the Palestinians? It seems to be a bone of contention.

That all being said I see no reason why the old city should be part of a future state of Palestine. It was supposed to be an international city under the UN, but the UN abrogated that duty long ago. I fail to see why it should go to a Palestine. What gives them more of a right to the old city than Israel. Leave the old city as status quo. The Palestinians can have their capital in the new sections of Jerusalem outside the old city walls.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Part of what's going on is that money and deeds are being exchanged

after the Government has declared the property to be "abandoned" as it's in East Jerusalem. The "Purchasers" (read, Settlers) have the belief that the property is free and clear and evict their concept of squatters who have resided there for decades.