The Israeli government yesterday approved a series of actions which aim to reinforce its occupation of Jerusalem as well as the Judaisation of the city.
The Israeli cabinet ministers decided to hand over the Jerusalem affairs portfolio to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The new Israeli government held a special meeting on the occasion of the 48th anniversary of Jerusalem Day, the day when East Jerusalem -including Al-Aqsa Mosque – was occupied by the Israeli army.
During the meeting, which was held in the Israel Museum, several files relating to schemes of Judaisation and settlements in Jerusalem were discussed. The meeting led to several decisions, the most important of which was the transfer of responsibilities of what was called the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
The responsibilities of projects, decisions and state companies working on the implementation of Judaization and settlement projects in Jerusalem will be transferred directly to Netanyahu, who will be directly responsible for implementing them in addition to the decisions taken in the past in this regard.
The meeting also approved the formation of a formal ministerial committee to prepare for the ceremony and the celebration of the jubilee event of the occupation of East Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque, or what it is called by the occupation as the anniversary of the “reunification” of the two parts of the city, which will be in 2017.
Among the decisions that were taken in the meeting is drafting a five-year plan (2016-2020) for the development of Jerusalem – a term usually used by the occupation to refer to Judaisation and settlement expansion – and will be presented to the cabinet for approval within two weeks. It was also decided that plans and programmes would be drawn up to improve infrastructure in order to increase the number of visitors to the area of Buraq – which the occupation calls the Western Wall – as well as the continuation of work in the tunnels and in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque.