Jerusalem's Response to Hillary's Anger Regarding Demolitions

Jerusalem Municipality Responds to Disinformation Regarding East Jerusalem
(Communicated by the Jerusalem Municipality [can't find link at present] * )

The Jerusalem Municipality rejects many recent claims made in the media and would like to provide further information on the topic. A disinformation campaign took place recently, surrounding the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The Municipality of Jerusalem continues to exercise its rights and its obligations to the residents of East Jerusalem in complete transparency. Mayor Nir Barkat continues to promote investments in infrastructure, construction, and education in East Jerusalem, while at the same time upholding the law throughout West and East Jerusalem equally without bias.

According to administrative procedure, orders can be given to stop work on illegal construction at the beginning and throughout the process of construction. Often, illegal construction has come at the expense of public land designated for the residents themselves. Since January 1, 28 demolition orders have been carried out – 11 at structures in West Jerusalem and 17 at structures in East Jerusalem.

Further details:

1. Emek HaMelech

No new orders have been issued in the Emek HaMelech area and there is no change in the Municipal position on this issue. The area of Emek HaMelech is one of the most important areas with regards to the history of Jerusalem, with holy sites important to Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. Because its significant importance to the more than 3 billion people of faith around the world, it is also a tourist destination. It is important to the future of Jerusalem that this area be treated with the utmost strategic importance. Emek HaMelech is not intended for residential development but rather it is intended to be an open public space. This position is concurrent with positions taken during the British Mandate and going back to Ottoman control of the area. Most of the 80 illegal buildings were built within recent years without proper permits and are in different stages of legal proceedings. Residents of the buildings in question have turned to the District Committee of the Ministry of the Interior, which rejected their petitions and did not approve the illegal construction of the buildings due to the fact that the Emek HaMelech area is intended for public recreational use.

2. Jabel Mukaber

The most recent illegal building that was demolished was not in Silwan but rather in Jabel Mukaber. The illegal building was demolished following the Supreme Court’s rejection of the appeal filed against the demolition orders because it was built illegally without a permit in open space. The enforcement of this policy is completely equal between East and West Jerusalem. The Municipality operates in accordance with the law and with the rulings of the courts.

3. Shuafat

According to the Mayor of Jerusalem, administrative orders have been issued to unlicensed buildings continuing the process of construction throughout all of Jerusalem, West and East, without bias. Following procedure, administrative orders were pasted on five buildings Tuesday that are still under construction and are without residents. They had already been given instructions to stop construction, which were not honored. The orders pasted on the buildings also explain how the order can be appealed in the court of law if any injustice is felt. Due to the illegal construction in areas intended for public use in the neighborhood of Shuafat, a difficult situation has arisen in which almost no public areas remain for public construction for the residents of the neighborhood. The area of the illegal construction includes land reserved for public schools and institutions for the benefit of the residents of Shuafat and according to the Municipality’s obligation to the residents, the Municipality must stop the construction.

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Still searching.

Here.

And this:

Mayor of Jerusalem, Mr. Nir Barkat, met the American foreign minister, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, and asked her to consider relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem.

They've a bad translation: it's Secretary of State.