It's about the usual demolitions of Palestinian home, because Israel needs the space on the outskirts of Jerusalem for parks and open spaces, which, on top of the human rights aspect, also promotes urban sprawl (keep your urban areas urban and your rural areas rural, or we'll lose all real open space forever). Also, of course, Israel points out that these Palestinian homes are illegal. Not the Jewish settler homes down the block, just the Palestinian homes. I don't know for sure, but after the family I visited in Jerusalem in December, I'm inclined to believe these Palestinian homes were built without Israeli permits because they predate the state of Israel. Also, this quote disturbed me a bit "[T]he local imam, Sheikh Mousa Mahmoud Odeh...believes there is a systematic plan to remove Palestinians from areas close to the Old City and redevelop the area for Jewish residents and the tourism industry.
'I see a black future," said Sheikh Mousa. "The Jews are trying to displace all the Palestinians – from Silwan and from Jerusalem itself – so they can build a so-called 'holy basin'. They consider all places overlooking Al-Aqsa mosque to be part of that holy basin. I think that we have lost Jerusalem.'"
If the Arabs lost Jerusalem completely, what would happen to the mosques on the Temple Mount? Will Muslims still be able to get in? I don't like the sound of that "black future."
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