Jerusalem OKs plan to raze Palestinian homes to make room for Israeli tourist center

By Amy Triebel

JERUSALEM – A Jerusalem planning body on Monday approved a plan to raze 22 Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem to make room for an Israeli tourist center, a decision that could raise tensions in the divided city and deepen the conflict with the Obama administration.

Back in March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pressured Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to hold up the plan so authorities could consult with Palestinians who would lose their homes — a delay that appeared to be aimed at fending off criticism from the U.S.

“Now, after fine-tuning the plan and seeking more cooperation with the residents as far as their needs and improving the quality of their lives, the municipality is ready to submit the plans for the first stage of approval,” said Barkat’s spokesman, Stephan Miller, before the city’s planning commission agreed to the plan.

Final approval, which would require an Interior Ministry green light, could take many more months.

‘Adds to the risk of violence’
In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley noted that approval was preliminary but voiced concern. “This would appear to be the kind of action that undermines trust and potentially incites emotions and adds to the risk of violence,” he said.

Jerusalem is the most divisive issue between Israelis and Palestinians. Israel annexed east Jerusalem after capturing it from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war and nearly 200,000 Jews have moved there since, living alongside 250,000 Palestinians in an uneasy coexistence. Palestinians hope to build the capital of a future state in east Jerusalem and see any Israeli construction there as undercutting their claims to the land.

The international community does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over east Jerusalem and the U.S. wants Israel to freeze all Jewish settlement in Palestinian areas, including east Jerusalem, to facilitate Mideast peace talks. It also recently demanded that Israel lift its three-year old blockade of the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel strained relations with the U.S. in March when it announced plans for additional construction in east Jerusalem as Vice President Joe Biden was preparing to have dinner with Netanyahu.