Halabiya: Jerusalem faces the most serious stage in its history

GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Ahmed Abu Halabiya, the rapporteur of the Quds parliamentary committee, warned that the city of occupied Jerusalem is going through the most serious stage in its history, adding that the Israeli occupation authority is waging a relentless war on the Palestinian people everywhere. Dr. Abu Halabiya's remarks came during a cultural meeting entitled "The risks that threaten Jerusalem and the holy places" held by the Hamas public relations office in the Daraj area in Gaza city. The lawmaker stressed that at least 60 thousand dunums of Palestinian lands had been seized and 30 settlements had been established since 1967. He noted that the IOA handed demolition orders for 134 Jerusalemite families living in 88 homes in the Bustan neighborhood in the Silwan town, south of the Aqsa Mosque, and issued other orders for the demolition of 55 apartments in the Ras Khamis area in the Shafat refugee camp, in central Jerusalem. Abu Halabiya said that the goal of this Israeli policy is to tighten the screws on the Palestinians in Jerusalem in order to force them to emigrate from their city and change the demographic map dramatically in favor of the Jews. The lawmaker pointed to what had been revealed by the Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage about the Israeli intents to dig two new long tunnels under the Aqsa Mosque as a prelude to demolishing it. Palestinian sources reported Saturday that the IOA handed during the past 24 hours demolition orders for 21 Palestinian families in Jerusalem. The sources said that the IOA handed two Palestinian families living in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, north of Jerusalem's old city, orders to evacuate their homes in order to give them for the society of oriental Jews which is active in seizing Jerusalemite real estate.