WEST BANK: Fall of Jerusalem hotel brings down hopes for revival of peace process

As the Israeli bulldozers began to demolish Shepherd Hotel in the Palestinian Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem on Sunday in order to build a new Jewish settlement in its place, Palestinians warned that not only the hotel has fallen, but also the entire peace process and U.S. efforts to revive it.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, strongly reacted to the hotel demolition. Its fall, he said, “has brought down with it all U.S. efforts (to revive the peace process) and ended any possibility to return to negotiations.”

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat added, “East Jerusalem and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in particular have been targeted by Israel in a campaign to forcibly remove Palestinians and supplant them with Jewish settlers. Such actions are unlawful and undermine the two-state solution and the negotiations process.”

A part of what was the Shepherd Hotel was once residence of the mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin Husseini. After that it was turned into a hotel and later added to it during the Jordanian rule between 1948 and 1967, when Israel occupied East Jerusalem.

Israel took control of the building in the 1980s on the grounds that it was absentee property, meaning the owner did not live in Jerusalem or was a member of an enemy state. It later sold it to Irving Moskovitch, an American multimillionaire and strong supporter of the Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. Moskovitch applied to build 20 housing units for Jews on that lot as a prelude to building a much bigger settlement in the area and got approval from the Jerusalem municipality, whose mayor and most members share his beliefs on settlements.

Inheritors of the Husseini family said they petitioned the Israeli high court to block the takeover of the hotel and property on the grounds that they are the legal inheritors and that they are Jerusalem residents. The court issued an order preventing carrying out changes on the property, which expired on the day before the bulldozers had come to demolish the hotel.

The Palestinians want to make East Jerusalem the capital of their future state, which is supposed to be established in the West Bank and Gaza on the pre-Israeli occupation lines of 1967. Israel also says a united Jerusalem is its eternal capital and that its future is not up for negotiations.

To make sure East Jerusalem will remain under its control and to offset the demographic balance of the city, Israel had built settlements for Jews only all around the occupied sections of the city and even in the heart of the all-Palestinian neighborhoods. Sheikh Jarrah is one of these neighborhoods, where in some places Israel has removed Palestinians from their homes and replaced them with Jews under the pretext that Jews once owned that property.

Israel “does not have a right to build anywhere in East Jerusalem or in any part of the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967,” said the presidential spokesman, calling on the U.S. to put a stop to this Israeli behavior if it wants to be a credible broker.

Erekat said Israel was demolishing Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem in an effort “to cleanse Jerusalem of its Palestinian inhabitants, heritage and history.”

Israel, he added, “continues to change the landscape of Jerusalem aiming to change its status and turn it into an exclusive Jewish city. This process of cleansing and colonization must be stopped to change the dark reality of Israeli occupation into a free and sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

-- Maher Abukhater in Ramallah, West Bank

Photo: A Palestinian woman looks on as Israeli bulldozers demolish the Sheperd Hotel in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheik Jarrah on Jan. 9. Credit: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images

Comments

[geo88a]

@ABG........FYI>>>>>>>>
The alleged shooter is also Jewish.

[geo88a]

ABG
Your usual rants: who are you exactly blaming for the unfortunate shooting of congresswoman Gifford, huh?
I strongly suggest you seek professional help:
"Groundless and baseless allegations are genuinely lame and empty bits of anger that mean nothing except to the crazies." BINGO........

Close my case!

[Yesh Prabhu]

Hi Onboard Skeptic,
Thank you very much for your comment regarding what I wrote.
Yesh Prabhu

[ABG]

Skeptic and his AIPAC. Meanwhile, it's OPEC that controls the gas pump.

But, really, let's keep blaming the Jews. What's the worse thing that can happen? A Jewish congresswoman who is pro-Israel getting shot while meeting constituents at a supermarket on a Saturday morning?

Groundless and baseless allegations are genuinely lame and empty bits of anger that mean nothing except to the crazies.

Stay classy, B&B.

[ABG]

Right Woobie. Zero homes have been demolished by Palestinians, but that doesn't include the coffee shops, the discotheques, the pizzerias, the school yards, the bus lines.... Need one go on in pointing out the continued fallacy of your so-called in depth analysis of the oldest battle on Earth?

Oh, and those 10,000 missiles shot over the past decade including the 20 shot since the turn of the year.... I do believe they are meant to cause damage and harm people.

[Onboard Skeptic]

@Yesh Prabhu..........

Your position re: Obama & Clinton is quite right but having continued with the long standing, ossified tradition of previous administrations being so cowed under by AIPAC, they just don't have the "Chutzpah" to break from this and quite likely never will. Interestingly enough, were they to do just as you suggest, they would then succeed in establishing a genuinely balanced perspective for that region(because it's unbalanced as it is now).

[woobie]

Zero Israeli homes have been demolished by Palestinians and 24,145 Palestinian homes have been demolished by Israel since 1967.

“Any humanitarian looking at the sheer number of innocent civilians who have lost their homes can only condemn Israel’s house demolition policy as a hugely disproportionate military response by an occupation army... It is a policy that creates only hardship and bitterness, and in the end can only undermine hope for future reconciliation and peace.”

– Peter Hansen, Commissioner General of UNRWA

[Joe]

Lets hope EU Envoys recommendations will be adopted by EU and eventually by the rest of world, few notable recommendations are,
"Treat East Jerusalem as Palestinian Capital, EU officials and politicians should refuse to visit Israeli government offices or facilities located in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers who forcibly move into Palestinian areas of Jerusalem could be refused entry into EU countries, A boycott of Israeli products from East Jerusalem, Ensuring an EU presence when there is a risk of demolitions or evictions of Palestinian families, and at Israeli court cases on demolitions or evictions, Ensuring EU intervention when Palestinians are arrested or intimidated by Israeli authorities for peaceful cultural, social or political activities in East Jerusalem."
These findings are right start for making Palestinian state a reality, unfortunately Israel government indifference toward a Palestinian peoples leave the world community with only one option, boycott of Israel government in line with previous Apartheid South Africa!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12150792

[Heartbeatt]

"Erekat said Israel was demolishing Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem in an effort “to cleanse Jerusalem of its Palestinian inhabitants, heritage and history.”
People I know coming from jerusalem or those documenting Israel's unceasing attempts to make life impossible for Palestinian families who have lived in East jerusalem for centuries confirm the above. It is indeed much worse that one can imagine.
The Shepherd Hotel is only one of the many historical buildings in the city that have been torn down in order to construct the buildings that Irving Moskovitch is responsible for. There is a whole story there: Moskovitch, the construction industry, government subvention, all of whom need the settlers - in other words fat cats and extremists, who want Palestinians out of their way.

[Dean Blake]

The article is inaccurate as the historical portions, where the Nazi supporting Mufti of Jerusalem lived, the original mansion, is going to be preserved, according to the NYT today. Moskowitz owned the property for the last 26 years and was prevented from making good use of his private land over Arab objections to Jews living in their neighborhood, this despite the fact it backs up to the Xtian British Embassy compound. Arab religous prejudice at its most demonstrative. Likewise the 'pretext' of Jews owning Jerusalem property and having been displaced; why else were there 43 synagoguges and other religious institutions torn down by the prior King of Jordan? It was a predominantly a Jewish populated city prior to the Jordanian invasion in 1948. The Silwan Arab population of over 1,500 homes (hovels)is built on top of a Jewish graveyard. Arab predominance in parts of the City since 1948 was at the expense of the jewish population. This article is tainted with Arab propoganda.

[ABG]

Shouldn't there be a logical effort on behalf of Abbas to revive the peace talks beore you blame a previously scheduled action (in this case, the demolition of an empty building) as to the reason for the failure to revive peace talks?

Of course, it's the Jews who speak in gibberish. Like citing history and fighting wars of survival with the sole purpose to maintaining a legal, sovereign nation that is constantly attacked by racists, bigots, and general know-nothings.

It's nice to know that the Times employs journalists who don't bother to interview anyone of a dissenting opinion than what is written in the article. It's called Journalistic Integrity, something that B&B tends to lack.

[jane]

Israel is a small country...about the size of New Jersey

Arab/muslims have 56 countries with Mecca as a capital and all they do is scream about war with Israel

[me.yahoo.com/a/OdYMp9d2q5dlq9G1Lkg_U1KFd0xTr9edV9Lt]

"Settlements for Jews only." Strange behavior surely, for the shining beacon of the Middle East, the United States' only ally, the Middle East's only democracy. The really sad thing is that a) the U.S. taxpayer is giving Israel money while it builds these settlements and b) the landowner is getting a U.S. tax break for its purchase and development.
All of this is so wrong on so many levels it's hard to know where to start. But the U.S. needs to stop drinking the koolaid and detach from Israel.

[Jehudah Ben-Israel]

Let us set the record strait:

The empty structure in question has not been as a hotel, or for that matter for any use, for many years! And initially, when it was constructed as a large residence, it was the home of no other than the Mufti of Jerusalem, haj amin al-husseini, the same person who collaborated with Nazi Germany in its efforts to bring about the "final solution" of the Jewish people.

The property, acquired for money, fair and square, is privately owned. And as such, the owner who set out to construct on the lot 20 apartments went through the entire process of planning and approval required by the municipality of Jerusalem. And eventually, when objections were raised and the matter was brought to the Israel Supreme Court, the owner received a clean bill of health and proceeded with his plans.

Demanding that a Jew, only because he is a Jew, not use his privately owned property to construct apartments is clearly a form of racism, anti-Jewish racism, something that here in America, formally, ceased in the middle of the previous century, but some, here in America, expect to apply in the Jewish people's homeland and nation-state of Israel...

[Yesh Prabhu]

In case anyone is still wondering why the US insists on continuing the unproductive farce, the "peace negotiation", the reason is becoming clearer by the day. The purpose is to give Israelis more time to build as many houses in the illegal settlements and outposts, and change the facts on the ground, to make the two state solution impossible to achieve. In spite of the world wide condemnation, Israel has demolished the Shepherd Hotel in East Jerusalem, and is going ahead with the construction of a new settlement in the predominantly Arab part of East Jerusalem, because it knows very well that all the criticisms are only hollow words with no real meaning, and certainly no bite. Israel knows too, that there will be no consequence in this instance too, as before, to its latest settlement expansion, and that no matter what it does, President Obama will shut his mouth and kneel down before AIPAC and ask for its blessings.

If President Obama wishes to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict and bring peace to the region, he should declare that his entire administration unanimously recognizes Palestine, and ask Congress and the Senate also to recognize Palestine as a state bound by the pre-1967 border, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and ask our European allies, especially France, Germany, and the UK, to follow the Brazilians’ lead and recognize Palestine.

If President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton are truly interested in the establishment of Palestine – they have said repeatedly that they are in favor of the two state solution - all they need to do at the Security Council is to remain quiet, not utter a word, or speak only a few words if necessary, and smile, and not use their iron fists of veto.

Yesh Prabhu, Bushkill, Pennsylvania

[Steve S.]

Actually the Sheik Jarrah neighborhood was a mixed community of Jews and Arabs before the war of independence in 1948 and became the first neighborhood in Jerusalem that was ethnically cleansed of Jews, when they fled Arab riots and murder in the events leading up to the British exit from the territories.

And Mullah Husseini, who supposedly owned the Shephard Hotel property, was a close ally of Adolph Hitler. He was exiled from Jerusalem by the Brits for being a known Nazi sympathizer and was known internationally for advocating the genocide and extermination of the Jewish people. He later lived in Germany and personally organized the formation of Muslim SS fighting battalions in the Balkans during WW2, where he was responsible for war crimes committed against Jewish, Serbian and Gypsy civilians.

[geo88a]

The status quo suits Israel just fine.
The world is watching and is very critical of this latest development.

[warchela]

Haj Amin Husseini was given a fortune, 50,000 marks a month by Adolph Hitler
and was promised to be appointed leader of Palestine after the Jews there were exterminated by the Nazis.

The losers of the 1967 war of aggression have no right to the territory they lost and neither do their Arab brethren, the Palestinians.

The countries attacking Israel: Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, and Sudan.

Most recently the PA has published a Muslim study saying the Western wall is actually part of a mosque and the Jews have no historical ties to Jerusalem.

The peace process will forever be stalled until the Palestinians can decide that they really will settle for less than all the pieces of Israel.