Syria's official Tishrin news agency opined this week that tensions "are likely to rise after the [Israeli] government gave initial approval for almost 3,000 more homes to be built at a Jewish settlement on the city's outskirts." According to Tishrin, the plan to approve the housing units in Har Homa is a move "likely to anger Palestinians." The paper quotes PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo as saying that Israel should not go ahead with the plans. "If Israel wants to put an end to this vicious circle of violence it should put an end to all its settlement activities," he said.
Commenting on the report, Arutz Sheva's Ron Meir observes that the PLO considers all major Israeli cities and towns "settlements" as well. Meir notes that Journalist David Bedein visited the PLO-run Orient House recently, where he was introduced by PLO officials to a brand new computer database, funded by the European Union. "Bedein reports that the system is designed to help Arabs who fled Israel in 1948 re-locate their former houses in Haifa, Jerusalem, and elsewhere throughout Israel. Names of Arab individuals and their families living in UNWRA refugee camps are matched with detailed maps of residential neighborhoods in major Israeli cities," Meir said, adding: "Abed Rabbo's threat regarding Har Homa must be understood, then, as a PLO threat to the continued existence of the State of Israel."
Commenting on the report, Arutz Sheva's Ron Meir observes that the PLO considers all major Israeli cities and towns "settlements" as well. Meir notes that Journalist David Bedein visited the PLO-run Orient House recently, where he was introduced by PLO officials to a brand new computer database, funded by the European Union. "Bedein reports that the system is designed to help Arabs who fled Israel in 1948 re-locate their former houses in Haifa, Jerusalem, and elsewhere throughout Israel. Names of Arab individuals and their families living in UNWRA refugee camps are matched with detailed maps of residential neighborhoods in major Israeli cities," Meir said, adding: "Abed Rabbo's threat regarding Har Homa must be understood, then, as a PLO threat to the continued existence of the State of Israel."