Representatives of millionaire Erwin Moskowitz, who has construction rights on Ras el-Amud, met last night with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jerusalem mayor Ehud Olmert. During the meeting the representatives asserted their right to exercise their property rights and build a Jewish neighborhood on Ras el-Amud.
In the meeting in the Prime Minister’s Office, the parties tried to reach a compromise concerning Jewish settlement of the neighborhood, but without success.
IDF Radio has learned that Moskowitz last night participated in a religious ceremony in which the doorposts of the houses taken over by three Jewish families were marked as Jewish homes. Moskowitz also toured the controversial neighborhood secretly.
Yossi Kaufman, a leader of the Ateret Cohenim organization financed by Moskowitz to buy property in East Jerusalem, told an IDF Radio reporter about the ceremony. "We affixed a mezuzah. This is the custom upon entering a new house or a house that did not have a mezuzah previously. Certainly as these home were Arab-owned, they did not have mezuzahs. It is the Jewish sign which protects the home."
(Mon. 6:00 pm)Netanyahu: Settling Ras el-Amud Bad for J’lem, Bad for Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defined the settlement in Ras el-Amud as "bad for Jerusalem and bad for the State of Israel."
Netanyahu, speaking to a United Jewish Appeal delegation, noted that although the houses were acquired legally by Jews, it should be emphasized that only the government can decide on Jewish settlement.
The critics were joined this morning by Minister of Foreign Affairs David Levy, who called the Ras el-Amud settlement "unnecessary". The settling families claimed they acted with the full knowledge of the Prime Ministers Office.
Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein announced he would examine the issue of "danger to public safety" caused by the Ras el-Amud settlement. This could be the decisive issue in determining whether to evict the settlers, despite the fact that the property was acquired legally by Jews.
The affair began Sunday night, when three Jewish families settled on property owned by Jewish tycoon Erwin Moskowitz in East Jerusalem’s Ras el-Amud neighborhood. Moskowitz plans to build a Jewish neighborhood on the site, and has stated in the past that he will do so even if this leads to violent confrontation between Israel and the Palestinians.
During the morning, Palestinian youths continued to throw stones at the Ras el-Amud settlement. They vowed to amplify the violence by evening and not give up until the Jewish settlers are evicted from the site.
The police reinforced its forces in the area and prevented contact between the settlers and the Palestinians. The police also deployed forces at major junctions in Jerusalem in addition to the state of alert in the defense forces declared last night, due to fears of rioting in the Territories.
Minister of Defense Yitzhak Mordechai was surprised by the Ras el-Amud settlement. Mordechai revealed this morning at a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense committee that he was informed of the events late at night and plans to examine the decision-making process.
Mordechai warned that the settlement could easily lead to a violent flare-up.