News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Israeli authorities have placed several signs near the Atarot area in northern Jerusalem recently warning travelers, “You are entering territory under the control of the Palestinian Authority.  Israelis are absolutely forbidden to enter!”  Approximately 25,000 residents of Jerusalem, some of them Israeli citizens, live in the areas now designated as PA territory.

Jerusalem Forum chairman Aryeh King said Wednesday that approximately 1,200 dunams of property owned by Jews were located beyond the signs.  The government violated laws regarding Jerusalem by putting up the signs, King said.  The signs prove the government is acting to make its policy of splitting Jerusalem a reality, he said.

King said he plans to lead a tour on Thursday in areas that fall within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem but are in practice controlled by the Palestinian Authority.  The tour will begin at the Kalandia checkpoint at 12 p.m. and end in the biblical village of Mitzpa.