Judaisation of Jerusalem continues

The ongoing process of Judaisation of Occupied Jerusalem and its surrounding areas is no less serious in its consequences than the hardships inflicted on the beleaguered Gazans by the Zionist war machine. Indeed, successive Israeli governments have always pursued a policy of encirclement of the Holy City, coupled with feverish efforts aimed at reducing the number of Arabs by any means possible.

The Israelis are going about "quietly" destroying Arab houses, neighbourhoods and sites in Occupied Jerusalem and its suburbs. The recent appeals of the Islamic-Christian Front in Defence of Jerusalem and Holy Sites and the Al Aqsa Foundation for the Reconstruction of Islamic Sites are the latest manifestations of annoyance at these Judaisation plots.

A careful look at Israeli policies and colonial designs in and around the Holy City makes the Zionist project crystal clear. It was started by Theodore Herzl, the founder the Zionism, when he said at its first conference in Basel, Switzerland, in 1897: "If we get Jerusalem while I am alive and am able to do anything, it would be the removal of everything there that is not holy to the Jews ..."

David Ben Gurion, the first Israeli prime minister, publicly claimed that "Palestine makes no sense without Jerusalem, and Jerusalem makes no sense without the Temple".

The top Jewish rabbi Shlomo Gorin followed suit when he said: "Zionism and its goals will always be vulnerable as long as the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock remain straight up before the eyes and in the hearts of Muslims. Hence both should be removed from the earth."

Definition of security

Even Yitzhak Rabin didn't forget to give us his definition of security when he said that "controlling the Jordan Valley and having an expanded and united Jerusalem as an everlasting capital of the state of Israel, are possible". Ariel Sharon whose visit to the Dome of the Rock complex ignited the second Intifada in 2000, and his successor Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, declared that "the battle of [Occupied] Jerusalem has started".

It's more than obvious now that a new Zionist "reality" has been developing in Occupied Jerusalem since 1967. The Israeli plans for the city are designed to besiege both Muslim and Christian Arabs alike, and stifle their lives in every way with a view to "quietly" expelling or enclosing them in certain parts of the (Arab) Old City and East Jerusalem, while expanding forcefully the borders of the Western (Israeli) part of the city.

In short, what Israel seeks is a "unified Jerusalem" which will remain its "everlasting capital".

There is no doubt that at the core of the Jewish-Zionist project is the plan to build the "temple" at the site of the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. The Israelis call it the "Third Temple". However, the "discoveries" of Israeli archeologists have given no proof of any Hebrew history at the site, but only of the Umayyads and Romans.

Some Jewish terrorists feverishly tried to burn down the mosque and build the temple in its place. Recently, the Israeli press released a report pointing to 25 extremist Jewish groups seeking to destroy Al Aqsa and build the temple there instead.

Unanimous

Events and attitudes show that all Israeli political parties - right-wing, centrist and leftist - are unanimously in favour of the Judaisation of Occupied Jerusalem by Israel. There have, however, been calls for calm by some Israeli writers/journalists who believe that no peace is possible without recognising the rights of the Arabs in Occupied Jerusalem.

This idea has been recently expressed by Gideon Levy, a human rights expert, in his article "Let's Start with Jerusalem if We Want Peace" (Ha'aretz, February 24, 2008), when he said "Jerusalem should be on top of the negotiation agenda".

If the two sides are unable to reach agreement on its borders what's the use of negotiations then?

The Israelisation and Judaisation of Jerusalem is being accelerated by the so-called peace process which has only resulted in the isolation of the Holy City from Palestinians.

In both its eastern and western parts, Jerusalem's fate should not be unilaterally determined. The Holy City is not only important to Palestinians, but also to all Muslims and Arabs.

The continued Israeli endeavours of creating new realities on the ground would only lead to unpredictable and catastrophic results and destabilise the whole region. It should be repeated once and again that Sharon's visit to the city had sparked the second major Palestinian uprising. Little wonder then that many Israeli politicians and journalists are writing about a third uprising if the current Israeli occupation policies continue.

Professor As'ad Abdul Rahman is the Chairman of the Palestinian Encyclopedia.