by Hillel Fendel and Chaim Silberstein, www.KeepJerusalem.org
Why does Israel destroy eastern-Jerusalem Arab homes, as it did earlier this week? Because they are not only illegal, they are also a bona fide security threat.
On Monday of this week, 16 buildings in various stages of illegal construction were taken down by Israeli security forces. As opposed to what some news reports may have implied, only a few were populated – illegally. The razing occurred just outside the south-eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sur Baher, in an area called Wadi el-Humus – practically adjacent to Kibbutz Ramat Rachel and the Jerusalem neighborhood of Talpiyot Mizrach.
Terrorist attacks originating in Sur Baher have not been uncommon in recent years. The perpetrator of one of the tractor-attacks in downtown Jerusalem (three Israelis were killed, 42 wounded), was from Sur Baher. Last year, for another example, a Hamas-trained terrorist cell was uncovered in Sur Baher; this was a cell that had carried out terrorist attacks in the past and was in the midst of planning additional ones.
The now-destroyed buildings were built alongside the anti-terrorism wall, leaving no room for Israel’s anti-terror forces to safely patrol the area. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan explained that the structures were purposely built in this manner, and presented a security danger to the residents of Jerusalem.
The razing was even affirmed by Israel’s Supreme Court, which heard, and dismissed, a suit against it.
Their Own Fault
Somewhat ironically, the buildings would not have had to be destroyed, had the Arab residents not insisted on moving the anti-terrorism wall to include more of their houses on the Israeli side. To explain:
In 2002, Israel began building the anti-terrorism barrier, for the purpose of blocking terrorist access from the Arab areas of Judea and Samaria into Israel proper. It was considered essential to the security of Israeli civilians, in light of the rampant Palestinian suicide bombing attacks and the like. In the vicinity of southeastern Jerusalem, the barrier was originally planned to cut across Sur Baher. The Arab residents turned to the Supreme Court on the matter – and Israel agreed to move the wall and thus include more Arab homes on the Israeli side. Some Arabs thereupon took advantage of this gesture and began building just behind the barrier, thus giving them unsafe access to the Israeli side. Israel has now put a stop to this by razing the structures.
A particularly large force of 700 policeman and 200 soldiers took part in safeguarding the operation.
What made this operation extra significant was that the buildings were located outside Jerusalem-proper – even though they were on the Israeli side of the barrier – and inside PA-controlled territory. But as explained above, they were built so close to the “border” that they had to be removed.
The Palestinian Authority, of course, protested the destruction of the buildings – and sought to garner international support for the censure of Israel. It succeeded to some extent. France, for instance, under the leadership of President Emmanuel Macron, issued a statement of condemnations, saying that the destruction “directly shakes up and negates the two-state solution.” KeepJerusalem hopes that this is correct.
Let us take this opportunity to reiterate why any thought of “dividing” Jerusalem is pure folly at best, and existentially dangerous at worst. Dividing the city means handing over the Arab neighborhoods of the eastern part of Jerusalem [which includes areas in the north and south as well] to the control of a Palestinian entity. This will not only not solve the urban, demographic, or security challenges of the Israeli capital, it will worsen them.
Geographically, an Israeli withdrawal would strangle the city and stifle urban development. Jerusalem must be the center of the country – not surrounded on three sides by hostile and independent Arabs.
Demographically, a division of Jerusalem would cause an increase in Jewish emigration from the city, as happened during 1949-1967 – for who wants to live under the threat of Arab attacks just behind the wall down the street? At the same time, Arabs would continue moving westward to the Israeli side, in order to continue enjoying the benefits of Israeli democracy and full political rights.
From a security standpoint, an Israeli withdrawal would create a vacuum – which would quickly be filled by Islamic terror forces. Hamas has already created some strongholds in and around eastern Jerusalem, and this trend must be stopped, not encouraged! Israel’s ability to respond and thwart Islamic violence would be hampered by the presence of civilians and various “agreements.”
Religiously and culturally, history has shown time and again – especially in recent decades – that Islamic control over the holy sites of other religions does not bode well for them. Jewish sites were destroyed during the 19 years of Jordanian occupation of Jerusalem and the vicinity; Christian churches have been torched the world over almost wherever Moslems are in control, or seek to be in control; and Hindus, Buddhists – and even other Muslims – are at the mercy of extremist Muslims in their countries.
The only alternative is a program such as the Jerusalem Shield – an in-depth proposal presented to Prime Minister Netanyahu two years ago. Formulated by KeepJerusalem’s Chaim Silberstein and a team of experts, it is a political-urban action plan for the goal not only of preventing the division of Jerusalem, but also for strengthening united Jerusalem.
We have written in the past about this program in these pages, and it is in fact most worthwhile to read up on it. The three primary practical steps it recommends are: 1) the establishment of an umbrella municipality for Jerusalem and surrounding areas; 2) urgent proactive steps aimed at reversing the negative migration balance to and from the city; and 3) the detraction from the city boundaries of those Arab neighborhoods in northern Jerusalem that are “behind” the security barrier.
Concerned readers are invited to take part in KeepJerusalem.org’s activities designed to influence national and municipal leaders to the importance of our housing needs in Jerusalem.