in Jerusalem as Israel Blue Card holders, free to move about and work anywhere in Israel. Presumably they have places to live. On the other hand, structures which were built in an illegal fashion in violation of safety regulations and building codes, whether by Arabs, Jews, or others, are pulled down because they are a danger both to those who live in them and those around them. So it looks like this "human rights group" is - how shall I put it delicately - lying, distorting, or misleading. I am assuming that this "human rights group" also protests when the human rights of innocent Israelis are infringed by Israeli-ID-holding Arab terrorist bulldozers in Jerusalem

claiming that it will cause irreparable damage to the environment. On the other hand, they chastise Israel for demolitions of homes in East Jerusalem that are clearly and demonstrably unsafe structurally and ecologically harmful. And on other hand their silence is defeaning as the Islamic Wakf carries out illegal and dangerous digging on the Temple Mount that are not only harming ancient artifacts, but have transformed the entire Temple Mount into the equivalent of a mine. One seismic disturbance and everything comes tumbling down. On the one hand, they tell settlers to evacuate from the "occupied territories" and "come home to Israel". On the other hand, they try to prevent Israeli construction in the Negev and Galilee on the grounds it consitutes "racist Judaization". But on the other hand, having an artists' colony in former Arab quarters in Jaffa or Ein Hod is all fine and dandy. These Leftists are so transparent in their double standards against Israel, it would be humorous if it were not so deadly.

If anybody illegally constructs a building then tear it down period. The municipal government in Jerusalem needs to enforce building codes, zoning laws and end the lawlessness of the construction going on.

Barkat finally is tarting to rectify past lefest falsehoods and lies.He has taken the job seriously and cleaning Jerusalem Clinton must stop building in Washington It is the cause of much suffering to the poverty homeliss people before she tries to impose her bullshit here in Israel

The Mayor should enforce the laws.That has nothing to do whether he has or doesn't have experience, but it has to do with protection of the city. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and if the Arabs don't like the rules, they can build without a permit in Mecca.

All of Israel including Jerusalem has been the land of the Jews for centuries. The Lord promised this entire land to the Jews. I didn't hear about any part of the land being promised to another type of people. This land in its entirety has to remain in the hands of the Jews or The Lord will demonstrate His outright anger throughout the world.

If 60% of East Jerusalem's Muslim population lives below the poverty line then it should consider life in Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and other Muslim countries. Palestinians are living life like people in Palm Beach or Bel-Air when you compare it to other deteriorated Muslim countries that they could be living in right now. There is a very good saying in the United States, LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT.

Pay to Arabs and let theme move to their State Jordan

...capital city. Indeed, no other people has ever held Jerusalem as its capital city while for the Jewish people Jerusalem has been the "center of the world" for the past 3,000 years. For much of the time that the city was under European and Muslim control Jews were not permitted to step a foot in Jerusalem. Israel, by contrast, has enabled all, worldwide, to come, visit and worship in the city and its shrines. And as part of sovreign Israel, it is up to Jerusalem's residents, all of them, and the citizens of Israel to govern the city, and so we do.

This is a stupid act which is against the interest of the Jewish people. Are we fooling the international community by doing this? Do you ever wonder why anti semitism is on the rise world wide and why we are hated so much? We should care what the world think because we dont live in a world by ourselves and opinions of others do count.

The palestinians and their propoganda spokesman Olmert might want the city divided but they are not the Israeli people.one is a crook the others are terrorists. Yes construction permits are not being issued beause we don't want anymore arabs in the city I don't think thats a secret and some demolitions are unjustified but in general there are good reasons. As for destroying the homes of terrorists in palestinian controled areas the policy might not work and it may create sympathy to terror groups but all of Jerusalem is run by Israel. The relatives of the dead terrorists are not going to go running to the terror groups and Hamas won't be offering them any compensation money so in Jerusalem it works. Terrorist homes should be demolished, the land sold to jewish developers at a discount rate. If anybody was killed of injured in the attack the profits from the sale go to the family of the victim if nobody was hurt the profits go to the municipality. This will discourage terror and create land for needed housing in the city. This law should be applied to any potential jewish terrorist as well just to proove this is a law against terror not arabs only. The comparison of 17 demolition orders in the east since January compared to 11 in the west is hardly a huge difference This law would also apply to any potential jewish terrorist. Let the do gooder groups like ACRI shout and scream as loud as the like and Bakarat keep bringing down those terrorist homes. The man sounds like he has great potential as mayor i just hope he can also solve other problems like that white elephant they call the Jerusalem light rail.

Mayor Barkat hides behind the law to justify the house demolitions in Silwan, but he does not tell you that it is all but impossible for Palestinian Jerusalemites to get building permits. It has been Israel's policy for years to judaise East Jerusalem, which is occupied territory. In doing this it violates the Geneva Conventions. The Jerusalem municipality is following a vicious policy, where it uses discriminatory city planning and zoning regulations to achieve military, political and nationalistic goals. Palestinian communities are fragmented and then isolated through forced disposession from their houses and land, whilst the zoning and planning regulations are used to further restrict growth. A coordinated effort is used to build roads, establish settlements, create parks, and designate archaeological sites through Palestinian communities like in the al-Bustan area of Silwan, where the Israeli settler organization is literally undermining Palestinian homes. Of the 88 or so homes, that are under threat of demolition here, many have been built before the Israeli occupation in 1967 began and even during the British mandate. From Beit Hanina to Sheikh Jarrah to Silwan the Israeli municipality is destroying Palestinian homes. It is destroying an ancient muslim cemetary to build a so-called "Museum of Tolerance". Of course no one in the municipality would ever consider building on the site of a Jewish cemetary in East Jerusalem. The escalation of the home demolitions on land that belongs to Palestinians is nothing but outrageous ethnic cleansing. Just imagine for a few moments what it is like to have your home, that gives shelter and security to your wife and children, destroyed. It is not surprising at all that some Jerusalemites respond to Israel's violations of international law with acts of violence. The reason being that for a Palestinian there is no possibility to get justice under occupiers' law.

collapsed and killed an entire arab family. Of course we would be blamed for not tearing it down beforehand. The foreign ministry has a lot of nerve! Barkat probably has more executive experience than obama. Let hilary and obama keep their ugly noses out of our business. They will be gone in 2013!

Jerusalem simply never held any sanctity for the muslims themselves, but only for the Jews in their domain. It can be seen that significant Islamic interest in the Temple Mount does not precede the Six-Day War. The 13th century Arab biographer Yakut noted: «Mecca is holy to muslims; Jerusalem is holy to the Jews». PLO leader Yassir Arafat and the Arabs claimed the Holy Jewish Temple Mount and Jerusalem based upon one extraordinarily huge lie told over and over again. The truth is simple Jerusalem is Jewish and should never be devided again as described at : http://xrl.us/bjheo

The parallelism of Mecca and Jerusalem offers the basis of a solution, as Sheikh Palazzi wisely writes: Separation in directions of prayer is a mean to decrease possible rivalries in management of Holy Places. For those who receive from Allah the gift of equilibrium and the attitude to reconciliation, it should not be difficult to conclude that, as no one is willing to deny Muslims a complete sovereignty over Mecca, from an Islamic point of view -notwithstanding opposite, groundless propagandistic claims - there is not any sound theological reason to deny an equal right of Jews over Jerusalem. To back up this view, Palazzi notes several striking and oft-neglected passages in the Qur'an . One of them (5:22-23) quotes Moses instructing the Jews to "enter the Holy Land (al-ard al-muqaddisa) which God has assigned unto you." Another verse (17:104) has God Himself making the same point: "We said to the Children of Israel: ‘Dwell securely in the Land.'" Qur'an 2:145 states that the Jews "would not follow your qibla; nor are you going to follow their qibla," indicating a recognition of the Temple Mount as the Jews' direction of prayer. "God himself is saying that Jerusalem is as important to Jews as Mecca is to Moslems," Palazzi concludes. His analysis has a clear and sensible implication: just as Muslims rule an undivided Mecca, Jews should rule an undivided Jerusalem. Mor information at : http://xrl.us/bjheo

the homes destroyed belong to terrorists or their families! i wanna see a "rights group"-guy talking after his close one's die of a terror attack. until then it's hot air coming off ya mouthes! get a life.

I live in Jerusalem and I really want a big house with a big front and back yard. But guess what, I live in a 2 bedroom apartment (a family of 4) in an 8 story apartment building. So, since Israel is so small and there is not enough land for everybody to have a house, why dont the arabs build highrises just like the Jews? Why is it OK for the Jews to live in crampt apartment buidings and no OK for the arabs to do the same? I think this is absolute hypocricy and discrimination !!!

half of the palestinians buildings r ilegal non of them have any legal documantation or aproval from any athority, I can build a hous in meca but it's still will be illigal hous.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI)....... WHY DON'T THEY HELP THEIR FELLOW JEWS INSTEAD OF ARABS.... THEY ARE ALWAYS JUMPING ON THE ISRAEL GOVT. TO DO THIS OR STOP THAT IN REGARDS TO HELPING THE ARABS,.. ACRI.........WHY DON'T YOU GO TO SDEROT AND GIVE THE JEWS WHO SUFFERED HERE FROM ROCKET ATTACKS PSYCHOLOGICALLY AND PHYSICALLY AND DONATE YOUR TIME, KINDESS AND ASSISTANCE

You will give it back anyhow .... no way and sooner than any can imagin ... save your money and stop building .

Shame, this demolition order has nothing to do with the Law For some reason all demolition orders were happend in East Jerusalem. Barkat is another resict mayor who want to make the right wingers happy, because they help him to get elected.

How Jews can do it after all the suffering they had in other countries. You are creating the antisemitsiom by yourself.

Too bad ! Keep destroying the homes and if it has anything to do with Human "Blights" groups you know it is to be ignored and right what is being done. They think only of the perpetrators of evil- never the victims

Israelis are legally in Israel and territories are disputed. There is a significant migration of Palestinians to Europe.

...of Jerusalem as it relates to its Arab residents yet has nothing to say about the fact that during Jordanian rule of the city Jews were not permitted to visit, let alone to reside in this capital of the Jewish people. Indeed, to this very day, by law, Jews may not acquire real property and reside in Jordan and by extention in parts of Judea and Samaria fully controlled by the PA. In other words, when anti-Jewish racism is applied Europe has little to say, but when Jews properly govern their own capital city for the benefits of all its residents, Europe is not pleased. I wonder why.....???!!!

If you research this issue, you'll find out that many homes were built before 1067 making the J'lem Mayor's excuse pure racist BS.