Jerusalem police raided the Burj Al-Luqluq cultural center in the Old City of Jerusalem overnight late Monday night to Tuesday morning as part of the ongoing efforts to clamp down on incitement in the Arab sector and to assert Israeli sovereignty over all parts of the city.
According to reports by Arab media outlets, police seized computers and documents from the center’s offices during the raid.
The Burj Al-Luqluq center has close ties with the PLO and Palestinian Authority, according to the Lach Yerushalayim watchdog group, which monitors Arab incitement and law enforcement efforts in eastern Jerusalem. The center’s mission, say Lach Yerushalayim activists, is to strengthen Arab control over large swaths of the capital.
Lach Yerushalayim chairman Meor Tzemach reports that just before the police raid, the center held a youth event entitled “Jerusalem in 30 Years”. A week earlier, the center held a signing ceremony for its agreement with an east Jerusalem sports league – an event which included the Palestinian Authority Minister for Jerusalem Affairs. During the ceremony one of the speakers praised the center’s work, saying that “Burj Al-Luqluq strengthens our control of Jerusalem.”
The raid is just the latest example of increased enforcement efforts against Arab incitement in the capital, including the closure of a PFLP convention last Thursday.