AhlulBayt News Agency - The settlement organization Ateret Cohanim started on Saturday praying and teaching in the Jewish religious school in al-Qods (Jerusalem) in the old central post office building after buying the building from the Israeli telecommunications company Bezeq last year.
The school was established on the major commercial thoroughfare in Jerusalem; Salah al-Din Street, which will prop up the settlement in the city.
Dr. Jamal Amr, an expert in Jerusalem affairs and settlements, said: "Having this school at the entrance of Salah al-Din Street will disturb the commercial traffic which is already suffering as a result of the Israeli tax and security policies."
He added: "this is a strategic shift in the organization's policy, which is sponsored and funded by the American Jewish millionaire Irving Moskowitz, as it was focusing on the Old City, al-Aqsa Mosque, and Silwan but today it is establishing a Jewish religious school in alliance with the Israeli army.
An engineer working on the site affirmed that the organization is putting the final touches on the building so as to suit its objectives as a religious school as well as a preparatory school to prepare the religious Jews before the military service, the rabbis, and the military groups in the Israeli army.
The building is intended to be ready before the coming Jewish Passover Holiday.
Importance of the building
Amr clarified that the building is located on a vital and strategic street and it consists of four floors that overlook almost the whole city of Jerusalem.
Daniel luria, Director General of Ateret Cohanim, revealed in a letter on March 11 that the organization bought more than 1000 square meters of a building close to the Old City to achieve its objectives.
According to the website of the settlement organization, its budget has doubled more than once due to the "great successes" it has achieved over the past ten years in "unifying Jerusalem under Jewish sovereignty" in order to Judaize Jerusalem and the Old City.
Luria clarified his objective in converting the Old City of Jerusalem into a Jewish city with an Arab minority.
Amr pointed out that after occupying Jerusalem in 1967, the Israeli regime misappropriated the Jordanian government's properties under Custodian of Absentee Property law and it has converted many of these properties into police stations, courts, the Ministry of Justice, municipal buildings, and others.
Amr also warned of a similar project that is being planned to take place in the northeast corner of the Old City walls. He also unveiled an old-new Israeli project to build a hotel and a shopping mall to replace the vegetable market and Friday market within the framework of controlling and Judaizing the holy city of Jerusalem.
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