IOA escalates judaization of holy city, plans demolition of 88 Palestinian homes

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority is planning to demolish 88 Palestinian homes in Bustan suburb south of the Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem and to dislodge its 1,500 inhabitants. Secretary general of the Islamic-Christian authority to support Jerusalem and holy shrines Hassan Khater said in a statement on Sunday that inhabitants of the Bustan suburb were in real danger after the Israeli municipality adopted a scheme that envisages removing the biggest section of the suburb to convert it into public parks. He charged that the scheme falls in line with a bigger plan that aims at judaizing the vicinity of the Aqsa Mosque or the so-called "Holy Basin" area, which includes the demolition of the 88 homes in Bustan. The secretary general asked the inhabitants not to accept the Israeli-controlled municipality's attempts to persuade them to leave their homes and accept alternative houses in other Jerusalemite suburbs such as Beit Hanina or accept compensations, which would allow the opportunity for the IOA to tighten its grip on the Aqsa and the Old City of Jerusalem from the southern side. He noted that similar activity is noticed in the northern area of the city such as Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in addition to digging a tunnel in the Old City to link the Buraq Wall to the Jewish suburb.