Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, the preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque and head of the Higher Islamic Council in Jerusalem, has warned of growing Israeli settlement plans targeting the Silwan, Batn al-Hawa, al-Bustan and Wadi Hilweh neighbourhoods in occupied Jerusalem.
Sabri said in press statements that the plans form a rapidly expanding settlement belt aimed at emptying the areas immediately surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque and reshaping the area demographically and geographically by imposing what he described as a biblical settlement reality.
He said the Israeli authorities were seeking to dismantle the Palestinian population living closest to the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, using demolitions, evictions and restrictions on construction by Jerusalem residents, while allowing settler groups to take control of properties and land. He said the area was being cleared to make way for archaeological and tourism projects promoting what is known as the City of David.
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Sabri stressed that the struggle in Jerusalem went beyond targeting individual homes or properties, saying it involved completely reshaping the city’s historical and cultural landscape and turning Palestinian neighbourhoods into isolated enclaves surrounded by settlements.
