AhlulBayt News Agency - A report raised on Saturday alarm bells over the swift pace in Israeli illegal settlement projects across the occupied Palestinian territories as part of larger scheme of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians.
The National Office for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlement said Israeli illegal settlement activity has hit the peak with the advent of the commemoration of the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967 marked by Israelis on June 5.
According to the report, a meeting is to be held by the Israeli government on Sunday evening to mark the occupation of Jerusalem.
Among the files expected to be discussed during the meeting is a five-year plan to stimulate Jerusalem’s economic growth in an attempt to pave the way for asserting the city as "the capital of the Jewish State". A development budget of NIS 850 million (about $220 million) will be invested in five areas aimed at boosting the city´s tourism, advanced industry, academia, business development, and quality of life for settlers.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli Ministry of Education announced the launch of the Judaization of Jerusalem Week at all schools. The event is set to be concluded on June 8.
The Israeli planning and construction committee in Occupied Jerusalem also approved settlers’ confiscation of Palestinians’ demolished homes in Silwan.
Speaking ahead of the annual Jerusalem Day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “I support all efforts to maintain and strengthen a united Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel.”
Netanyahu’s claims come at a time when Israeli fanatic organizations have been inciting for mass break-ins at Muslims’ the holy al-Aqsa Mosque on June 5 to mark the occupation of the holy city of Jerusalem.
