Israeli decision to seize properties in Bab al-Silsila in Jerusalem

The outgoing Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage in the Israeli government, Meir Brosh, issued a decision to seize Palestinian properties in the Bab al-Silsila neighborhood, one of the most prominent entrances to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is a new escalation targeting the Palestinian presence in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem.

The decision includes homes and shops located on Bab al-Silsila Road, which leads directly to Al-Aqsa Mosque. No specific details were provided regarding the number of properties or their owners, even though field evidence confirms that the targeted area is part of historical Palestinian property dating back to the Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods.

According to Hebrew media, the decision was issued on the eve of Brosh's resignation, which came amid disagreements between the Haredi parties and the government over exemptions for religious men from military service. This suggests the decision was politically motivated to appease the extreme religious right.

Brosh justified his decision by citing what he called "the return of the Old City to the people of Israel in 1967," claiming that all the property in the so-called "Jewish Quarter" had been seized at the time for an Israeli government company tasked with rehabilitating it. However, he acknowledged that the current decision has not yet been implemented on the ground, despite its inclusion in the Israeli seizure map.

Jerusalem Governorate: A colonial Judaization move that affects the very essence of the Palestinian existence.

The Jerusalem Governorate affirmed that the decision constitutes a new colonialist step targeting the heart of the occupied city and its historical and religious landmarks, opening the door to systematic forced displacement and theft of property and assets under a false legal cover.

The governorate said in a statement issued Sunday that targeting Bab al-Silsila Road, including its Islamic landmarks and historic buildings, comes as part of intensive efforts to resolve the issue of Jerusalem by imposing Judaization facts on the ground and emptying the passages leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque of their original inhabitants.

The statement added that this decision cannot be isolated from the accelerating Judaization policies, which include settlement expansion, infrastructure projects such as the Israeli train line that cuts through Palestinian neighborhoods, and plans to register land and convert it into so-called "state property" that serves the colonial project.

The governorate warned that implementing the seizure order would transform Bab al-Silsila Road into a closed settlement corridor used exclusively for settler incursions, threatening freedom of access to Al-Aqsa Mosque and imposing a de facto siege on the Muslim and Christian presence in the Old City.

The governorate explained that the so-called "Jewish Quarter" was originally built on Palestinian lands seized in 1968. Before the Nakba, it did not exceed five dunams, but later expanded to approximately 130 dunams, most of which were confiscated from properties belonging to prominent Jerusalemite families, including the Nimri, Ghunaim, Bashiti, Jaouni, Al-Alam, Sharaf, and Burqan families.

She also considered that talk of an intention to seize approximately 20 properties at this stage constitutes a prelude to a broader phase of displacement and control, as part of an Israeli plan to connect the "Jewish Quarter" to neighboring colonial outposts, with the goal of changing the identity of the Old City and separating it from its Palestinian surroundings.

The governorate emphasized that this decision constitutes a dangerous political declaration of intent, requiring immediate Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic action. It called on the United Nations and UNESCO to assume their responsibilities to halt these policies, which violate international law and international legitimacy resolutions pertaining to the city of Jerusalem.

The governorate called on the city's residents and its national and religious institutions to unite and confront this escalation through all means of popular and legal resistance, adherence to rights and identity, and intensive diplomatic efforts to confront this attack targeting one of the most important pillars of the Palestinian presence in occupied Jerusalem.