Israel demolishes hotel in East Jerusalem

Israeli bulldozers demolished part of a hotel in East Jerusalem on Sunday, prompting swift condemnation from Palestinians. Plans to demolish the Shepherd Hotel caused a diplomatic rift between Israel and the United States when Israel announced plans for it during Vice President Joe Biden's trip to Israel in 2009. Israel demolished part of the hotel as part of a plan to build 20 housing units for Jews in a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

The chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erakat, denounced the action.

"The state of Israel is demolishing one Palestinian property after another in an effort to cleanse Jerusalem of its Palestinian inhabitants, heritage and history," he said in a statement.

He said such actions "undermine the two-state solution and negotiations process."

The United States had called on Israel to halt the housing project, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by saying "our sovereignty (over Jerusalem) cannot be challenged". The project was given final approval last March.

The Shepherd Hotel was built in the 1930s by a prominent Palestinian family and was purchased from the state of Israel in 1985 by American millionaire Irvin Moskowitz , an avid supporter of Jewish building in East Jerusalem.

Moskowitz developed plans for the 20 housing units that sparked the hotel's demolition on Sunday.

From Shira Medding and Kareem Khadder, CNN

January 9, 2011 -- Updated 1425 GMT (2225 HKT)

William B. Robinson

Israel to UNRWA: No Schools in Proximity to Hamas Military Installation

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) recently failed to secure permission to construct several schools for children in the Gaza Strip. Such requests are usually approved by the Israeli Defense Ministry. However, in this case, Israeli objected to the placement of the schools:

"Since Israel eased the blockade on the Gaza Strip in July, the office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories has approved 70 international projects – including the renovation of a sewage treatment plant, the construction of 151 housing units and eight new schools.

But when the Defense Ministry received the UNRWA request for the new schools and checked their planned location, defense officials said they were alarmed to discover that the UN had planned to build the schools adjacent to a Hamas military installation."

Image credit: guardian.co.uk

Jacob Nelson