No more Jews in holy city's eastern part

JERUSALEM – Jerusalem's city engineer yesterday canceled plans to build a Jewish neighborhood in the eastern section of the city, saying Jewish construction in the largely Arab neighborhood cannot continue – thus fueling further speculation Israel might withdraw from eastern Jerusalem in the future.

"It will not be possible to build new residential neighborhoods or to expand construction of Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem," Jerusalem's city engineer, Uri Shitrit, said yesterday. "It would not be right to build Jewish neighborhoods today, side by side with Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem."

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Shitrit was referring to plans, approved several months ago, to build a new area in eastern Jerusalem that would connect the city to Ma'ale Adumim, a nearby Jewish neighborhood.

The construction project drew criticism from the Palestinian Authority, which described the plan as an obstacle to the peace process. The PA urged the U.S., Russia, the U.N. and EU to demand Israel abandon its housing proposal.

Shitrit's decision to stop Jewish construction in eastern Jerusalem has renewed fears Israel might withdraw from the neighborhood as part of a future stage in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral separation from the Palestinians.

Justifying his decision yesterday, Shitrit said, "There is no more publicly owned land in the eastern city, other than in pockets within already existing neighborhoods. ... I am skeptical whether in the present geopolitical climate this is feasible."

Sharon, elected on the platform of an undivided Jerusalem, is forging ahead this summer with the evacuation of Jewish settlements from Gaza and parts of the West Bank, and there has been talk of further withdrawals, including from Jerusalem neighborhoods.

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Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose statements are considered closely aligned with Sharon's policy, said in June he is willing to cede Israeli control over at least six Arab neighborhoods that lie on the periphery of Jerusalem.

"Jerusalem is dear to me, but one must not lose sight of proportions over peripheral areas we do not need," Olmert said.

Also, as WorldNetDaily reported exclusively last month, the U.S. quietly approved a plan to relocate its consulate from the eastern section of Jerusalem to a western Jerusalem neighborhood, with construction of the new facility already beginning. Political leaders told WND at the time they were worried the move is related to the Jewish state withdrawing from eastern Jerusalem.

Moshe Feiglin, Likud member and leader of the Manhigut Yehudit nationalist party said, "It looks believable the U.S. would move the consulate to get out of that neighborhood ahead of a withdrawal."

Feiglin told WND last night he thinks Shitrit's decision to cancel Jewish construction is related to an Israeli withdrawal from Jerusalem.

"We know Israel would consider vacating parts of Jerusalem. Nothing is surprising these days. Sharon has stripped Israel of its ideals," said Feiglin.

Knesset Member Uzi Landau, one of the leading anti-disengagement forces within Sharon's Likud Party, said he suspects Israel will give large parts of eastern Jerusalem to the Palestinians.

Said Landau: "It is quite clear the disengagement policy will lead to the division of Jerusalem. This will be done under the auspices of Sharon, while Olmert is leading the political talk."

Mitchell Barak, a former aide to Sharon and managing director of Kidron Strategies, a political and business consulting firm, told WND: "As a Jerusalem resident, I am disappointed in Shitrit's decision to stop building Jewish homes in east Jerusalem. He doesn't think it's a good idea for Jews and Arabs to live together? What about all the talk about making peace and coexisting? Israel should promote the building of homes for both Jews and Arabs to live together, not separately."

The traditional Likud platform has always stood against concessions regarding any part of Jerusalem.

The city was first divided into eastern and western sections when Jordan invaded and occupied eastern Jerusalem and the Old City in 1947, expelling all Jewish inhabitants. Israel built its capital in the western part of the city.

Eastern Jerusalem remained under Jordanian control until Israel captured it, along with the Old City, in 1967 after Jordan's King Hussein ignored Israeli pleas for his country to stay out of the Six Day War.

In negotiations with the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat, Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 2000 said he would give eastern Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza, to the Palestinians in exchange for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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U.S. to move consulate from eastern Jerusalem

Sharon: We will never give up Jerusalem

Israel to give up eastern Jerusalem?