The Israeli government has advanced plans to confiscate Palestinian-owned property near Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, in a move Palestinians say is aimed at “Judaising” the city.
On Sunday, ministers approved the creation of an inter-ministerial team to examine the implementation of historic expropriation orders in the area around Chain Gate (Bab al-Silsila in Arabic), a main route leading directly to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israeli officials and Hebrew media described the move as part of efforts to strengthen Israeli sovereignty in the Old City and secure routes linking Jaffa Gate, the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall.
According to Israeli reports, officials also presented the decision as completing state ownership over properties confiscated after Israel’s 1967 occupation of East Jerusalem.
Government documents repeatedly refer to the “implementation” of historic confiscation orders in the Old City, saying the new committee will examine the legal and planning obstacles that delayed the process for decades.
