JERUSALEM: Israel plans to demolish a building in Arab East Jerusalem that Palestinians say holds a newly refurbished mosque but which Israeli officials call an illegal structure they do not recognise as a house of prayer. The move angered Muslims who see it as an assault on Islam in the holy city. An Arabic sign outside the disputed building identifies it as the Badr mosque. Inside, Muslim prayer mats cover the floor of an open hall, fronted with domed windows. An Israeli spokesman said on Tuesday the building would be razed because it was built without a permit and denied it was a recognised mosque. "We are not going to demolish any mosque," he said, adding that a date for the demolition was not yet set. "We are going to demolish a structure that is not completed."
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ISRAELI officials yesterday confirmed plans to destroy an entire Palestinian neighbourhood in traditionally Arab East Jerusalem, a move certain to deal a further blow to hopes for Middle East reconciliation. Israel is invoking legality, history and archeology to defend the planned destruction of the Bustan neighbourhood beneath the walled old city and the sensitive Temple Mount/ al-Haram al-Sharif sacred site. The plan, which could be the largest demolition operation since the area was captured in 1967, will make more than a thousand people in at least 88 houses homeless. In March, Israel approved plans to build 3,500 new houses to connect Maale Adumim, the West Bank's largest settlement, to Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem, three miles away. That step was criticised by the Bush administration, but few objections are expected now against the demolition plans because of a perceived need to avoid troubling Mr Sharon as he wrestles with far-right opponents of the planned Gaza withdrawal, due to start in August. |