The Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and its Governor Adnan Al-Husseini warned against the extremist Israeli government’s escalating measures in the Occupied City of Jerusalem noting that the city is on the brink of explosion.
Al-Husseini said in an exclusive interview with the Palestinian Information Center that the city is subject to vicious retaliatory attacks by the Israeli occupation government. He stressed that these practices reflect the inability and despair of the occupation to control Jerusalem and its suburbs and villages 50 years after the occupation of the city. This pushed the political and security levels of the occupation to increase their use of force oppression and abuse against the Palestinians to cover this deficit.
Al-Husseini described the city’s reality as “on the brink of explosion as the extremist occupation government is pushing for more escalation. We do not see any light at the end of the tunnel.”
He said: “The visit of the Israeli president Rivlin to the Gate of Al-Amud days ago comes in the context of raising the morale of the occupation’s border guards and the security forces. Rivlin claimed that they suffer from security problems with the Palestinians in their city. But he overlooked that the Israeli occupation forces are occupiers in the city and that the Palestinians are the owners of the land. It is the right of thousands of Palestinians who come to Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem to pray at its sanctuaries.”
He added: “Israelis from the bottom to the top only care about themselves and their interests and do not consider others. In contrast the Palestinians for them are not there and do not exist. This puts Israelis in endless problems because Palestinians have firm rights. And Palestinians will not accept a solution in which Jerusalem will be non-Palestinian.”
Al-Husseini explained that the events unfolding the city prove that the myth of Israel’s security is a big failure. The city of Jerusalem is besieged and isolated and its indigenous inhabitants are suffering. This occupation must come to an end in order to bring about security and preserve the rights and dignity of Palestinians in their city.
Regarding the latest Israeli measures in the city including uprooting trees from Bab Al-Amud area by the Israeli occupation municipality Al-Husseini said: “This is something that could be done only by the occupying authorities which are hostile to Palestinian citizens their trees and stones. These trees decorate the Sultan Salim Street thus uprooting them is part of a military doctrine by the occupation authorities that destroys everything.”
Al-Husseini added: “Since its occupation Jerusalem has been subject to a fierce settlement and Judaization campaign in which Israeli occupiers focus on two areas; the Old City of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
He added “An ongoing struggle between Jerusalemites and the occupation is still taking place which is a struggle of identity and existence after 50 years of occupation and the failure of Israeli Judaization and settlements thanks to the steadfastness of Palestinian citizens and their protection of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City where most Islamic and Christian holy sites are located.”
He added “Today the occupation is trying to intensify its hidden campaign to erase the names of squares and streets as part of an open battle that takes a cultural aspect in an attempt to Judaize Jerusalem. This attempt is to keep people away from the reality which speaks of a different language history and geography that is authentic and unified in nature. On the other hand the Israeli occupation wants to promote its language history and geography which is false and foreign to the city.”
