<html>
<body>
<h1><font size=4><b>Tension builds in Jerusalem as settlers threaten to
invade the Al Aqsa
mosque</b></font></h1>
<img src="http://www.imemc.org/graphics/date.gif" width=12 height=10 alt="author">
</b></h1><font size=3> Wednesday April 15, 2009
17:00<img src="http://www.imemc.org/graphics/person.gif" width=14 height=12 alt="author">
by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies
<a href="http://www.imemc.org/report_posts?subject=Abusive%20Post%20Report:%20Story%2059964%20with%20title:%20Tension%20builds%20in%20Jerusalem%20as%20settlers%20threaten%20to%20invade%20the%20Al%20Aqsa%20mosque&message=Abusive%20Post%20Report:%20Story%2059964%20with%20title:%20Tension%20builds%20in%20Jerusalem%20as%20settlers%20threaten%20to%20invade%20the%20Al%20Aqsa%20mosque%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.imemc.org%2Findex.php%3Fobj_id%3D53%26story_id%3D59964%26%0A%0AEnter+your+reason+here+-+please+do+not+remove+the+above+link+as+it+will+allow+an+editor+to+easily+remove+the+offending+content">
<img src="http://www.imemc.org/graphics/report.gif" width=16 height=14 alt="Report this post to the editors">
</a><br>
<a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/59964" eudora="autourl">
http://www.imemc.org/article/59964</a><br><br>
<br>
</font>Tension is mounting in the old city of Jerusalem as Israeli
settlers and right-wing groups announced on Wednesday that they are
planning to invade the courtyard of the Al Aqsa mosque some time on
Thursday.<br><br>
Local sources in Jerusalem report that Israeli police and army have
brought reinforcements into the old city to deal with any
trouble.<br><br>
Palestinian NGOs and religious leaders have called upon Palestinians to
come to the Al Aqsa on Thursday to foil the settlers. <br><br>
The settlers say they will hold a rally in the old city on Thursday to
mark the end of the Passover holidays. Israeli media sources report that
the rally maybe the largest since Israeli occupied the city of Jerusalem
in 1967.<br><br>
Tension has been rising since Tuesday when Israeli police ordered two
Palestinian families to leave their homes in the Sheikh Jarah
neighborhood, near the old city. <br><br>
The homes are owned by the Al Ghawi and Hannon families. Sheikh
Jarah is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood. The Palestinians
living there were originally refugees from the 1948 war. During the 1950s
the Jordanian government granted them rights over the land.<br><br>
Israeli settlers claim the land was formerly owned by Jews before the
creation of Israel. In late 1970s settlers applied to the Israeli high
court which ruled in their favor. <br><br>
Palestinian families living there managed to acquire documents from the
Ottoman Archives in Ankara which show that the land was previously owned
by Palestinians. However the Israeli courts refused to recognize their
validity.<br><br>
Both the Al Ghawi and Hannon families appeared in court last week to
appeal the Israeli government's decision but were unsuccessful.<br><br>
Since Thursday, international and Palestinian supporters have gathered at
both the homes to show solidarity with the two families.<br><br>
<br><br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#008000">415 863-9977<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#0000FF">
<a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">
www.Freedomarchives.org</a></font><font size=3> </font></body>
</html>