Israeli Mayor of occupied Jerusalem Nir Barkat threatened Monday to demolish thousands of Jerusalemite homes in case any of the West Bank settlements was evacuated.
Barkat’s statements came after the Israeli High Court issued a decision to evacuate dozens of Israeli settlers living in Amona settlement illegally built on a Palestinian-private land in West Bank.
“Jerusalem faces a situation similar to that of Amona but with the roles of Arabs and Jews reversed. This is especially true in eastern Jerusalem where there are many areas of Jewish-owned land which are currently encroached on by Arab squatters” Israeli radio quoted Barkat as claiming.
“If Arabs living on Jewish-owned property were to be treated the same way the residents of Amona are being treated for living on property allegedly owned by Arabs the city would be obligated to evict thousands of Arabs from their homes” according to his statements.
The Israeli High Court had earlier ordered that the entire outpost of Amona be dismantled by Dec. 25 this year.
In this regard Barkat contacted Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to ask him “to examine the consequences of the High Court decision to demolish the settlement of Amona on property in Jerusalem.”
The Israeli-controlled municipality in occupied Jerusalem had escalated since the beginning of 2016 its demolition policy against Palestinian properties under the pretext of being built without Israeli permit.
