Jerusalem: The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate warned on Saturday of an Israeli plan to seize approximately 20 properties near the Al-Aqsa Mosque, describing it as a "new colonial escalation."
According to Anadolu Agency, the governorate issued a statement indicating that Israeli authorities are preparing to approve a plan aimed at seizing Palestinian properties in the Bab al-Silsila neighborhood adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque. The plan includes displacing residents and evicting Palestinian commercial shops to facilitate settlement expansion.
The governorate highlighted that the targeted area encompasses between 15 and 20 Palestinian properties, including buildings and Islamic endowments dating back to the Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods. The Bab al-Silsila neighborhood, being one of the primary entrances to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, holds significant importance, and targeting it is perceived as an effort to impose a Judaizing reality within the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem, effectively emptying the area surrounding Al-Aqsa of its Palestinian inhabitants.
The act is viewed by the governorate as a "dangerous colonial escalation" aimed at the heart of the Old City, potentially leading to a new phase of forced displacement and increased control over historic Palestinian properties. The Al-Aqsa Mosque, located in Jerusalem's Old City, is recognized as Islam's third holiest site.
In recent years, the seizure of Palestinian properties in East Jerusalem by Israel and settlement associations has intensified, particularly in the Old City, Sheikh Jarrah, and Silwan neighborhoods, through eviction orders and ownership claims. The United Nations considers settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as "illegal," warning that they undermine the chances of a two-state solution.
Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations have accused Israeli authorities of pressuring them to restrict Palestinian construction in East Jerusalem while simultaneously expanding illegal settlements in the city. Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, whereas Israel insists on Jerusalem, in its entirety, as its unified capital.