Israel to revoke 230000 Palestinians' residency permits
Date
12/20/2015 6:08:36 AM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula) File photo of Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli authorities are poised to strip tens of thousands of Palestinians in Occupied Jerusalem of their residency rights as the Tel Aviv regime’s aggression against Palestinians in the occupied territories continues unabated.
The move proposed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a cabinet session last month targets 230000 Palestinians who hold residency permits in East Jerusalem and live in Shu’fat refugee camp as well as Kafr Aqab and Sawahra neighborhoods Israeli Channel 2 television network reported.
Kahil Tufakji a Palestinian settlement affairs expert said Netanyahu’s proposal also affects the Arab neighborhoods of Jabel Mukaber al-Issawiya at-Tur and Beit Hanina.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics there are 350000 Palestinians and 200000 illegal settlers living within the municipal borders of East Jerusalem.
A total of 145000 Palestinians live outside the separation wall which snakes across the occupied West Bank and isolates large swathes of Palestinian lands while 195000 others are encircled by the construct.
Tufakji further argued that Israel is seeking to change the demographic patterns of East al-Quds.
The report comes as a Palestinian human rights group has censured the Israeli regime over its attempts to clear Jerusalem of Palestinians saying Tel Aviv is committing "ethnic cleansing" against the oppressed people in the occupied city.
"Since Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967 it has implemented a comprehensive policy to deepen its control over the city by weakening Palestinian presence and ties there. In Jerusalem a policy of ethnic cleansing was pushing Palestinians out of the city. Since September the situation has erupted" said Shawan Jabarin director of the Ramallah-based al-Haq rights group.
Jabarin also urged the international community to sever cooperation with Israel ban settlement products and implement sanctions against the regime.
Meanwhile UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has slammed "Israeli occupation" as the root cause of ongoing tensions in the Palestinian lands.
"The anger we are witnessing is bred from nearly five decades of Israeli occupation. It is the result of fear humiliation frustration and mistrust" the UN chief said.
Tensions have dramatically escalated in the occupied territories since August when the Israeli regime imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem.
Nearly 130 Palestinians have been killed in the recent escalation of violence since the start of October.
QNA