Israel closes Palestinian map bureau, arrests head
PHOTO: AFP
JERUSALEM,: Israeli military sealed on Tuesday a Palestinian investigate centre in Jerusalem and arrested a director, a distinguished cartographer, accusing him of operative for a Palestinian confidence services.
The bureau of cartography in assigned easterly Jerusalem was close down for 6 months, a military matter said.
Israeli officials indicted a conduct Khalil Tafakji of operative with a Palestinian Authority to guard a sale of land by Palestinians to Israeli Jews in easterly Jerusalem.
Israel seized easterly Jerusalem in 1967 in a six-Day fight and after annexed it in moves never recognized by a general community.
Israel sees a whole city as a joined capital, while a Palestinians perspective easterly Jerusalem as a collateral of their destiny state.
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Israeli inner confidence apportion Gilad Erdan pronounced Tafakji’s work had been “part of a Palestinian Authority’s devise to criticise a supervision in Jerusalem and threaten Arabs offered genuine estate to Jews in a city.”
“I’ll continue to act assertively to forestall Palestinian supervision in Jerusalem.”
Selling land to Israeli settlers is punishable by genocide underneath Palestinian law.
Senior Palestinian central Saeb Erekat cursed in a matter a “illegitimate” closure and arrest, job it partial of Israel’s attempts to “erase any Palestinian participation in a city.”
Several organisations compelling Israeli allotment in easterly Jerusalem have used supposed straw group to lift out transactions.
Palestinians credit a Israeli supervision of seeking to Judaise easterly Jerusalem.
Around 200,000 Israelis now live in settlements in easterly Jerusalem.
Tafakji has been mapping a Palestinian territories for decades and is frequently quoted by both general experts and a universe press.
He works within Orient House, that was prolonged a heart of Palestinian enlightenment in Jerusalem underneath a Palestinian Liberation Organisation though was sealed behind in 2000 by Israel.
Article source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/1355167/israel-closes-palestinian-map-bureau-arrests-head/