Content about Jerusalem Governorate

Israeli forces on Feb.

Municipality officers escorted by Israeli soldiers issued demolition warrants for thousands of Palestinian homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ras Khamis and Ras Shahada on Oct.

Israeli forces razed several structures in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of al-Tur and Eisawiya Aug. 27, under the pretext that they were built without a license. Locals told Ma'an News Agency that a large number of Israeli forces—including special forces troops, police horsemen, and border guard officers—raided Khallat al-Ein neighborhood in al-Tur district.

Such a perverse historical irony.

Israel's Supreme Court on April 29 ruled that buildings of the Givat HaUlpana settlement outpost at Beit El on the West Bank, ordered destroyed because of a claim by Palestinian land-owners, would receive a 60-day reprieve. The State Attorney's Office had filed the appeal on two days before, asking for a three-month delay in the scheduled demolition of the Ulpana outpost.

On March 26, the US Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in MBZ v. Clinton that the ability of a US national born in Jerusalem to list Israel as place of birth on a passport is not a political question, but remanded the case for a ruling specifically on the issue.

An Israeli government plan to create a greenbelt around Jerusalem is fueling opposition among Palestinians and their supporters. Mayor Nir Barkat's hopes the plan, which focuses on archeological preservation, will boost tourism in Jerusalem, but critics say the parks amount to a land grab that consolidates Israel's grip on occupied East Jerusalem.