Amman, Aug. 27 (Petra) — Secretary-General of the Royal Commission
for Jerusalem Affairs (RCJA) Abdullah Kanaan on Thursday said Israeli
measures targeting the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem were
escalating by demolishing and razing Palestinian properties and
facilities, citing new demolition and confiscation orders.

In remarks to Jordan News Agency (Petra), Kanaan said the escalation
coincided with intensified attacks on the United Nations Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), its facilities and
staff, as part of continued efforts to impose a new reality on the
ground and undermine the Palestinian presence in the city.

Kanaan noted that the committee views evacuation of the UNRWA
compound in Qalandia and the expulsion of agency staff from its
training center as a part of a systematic policy targeting the
Palestinian presence in Jerusalem, referring to demolition and razing
operations in Kafr Aqab and areas near the separation wall in this
context.

On their goals, he said the measures seek to restrict the natural
growth of the Palestinian population and impose demographic and urban
changes on the city, constituting violations of international and
international humanitarian law and relevant international legitimacy
resolutions.

He stressed that attacks on UNRWA were inseparable from efforts to
undermine the Palestinian refugee issue and erase international
testimony to their rights.

Kanaan said continued demolition, confiscation and eviction
operations in Jerusalem constitute an attack on the city’s identity
and its Arab, Islamic and Christian character, while threatening its
historical and legal status.

He urged the international community to assume its legal and moral
responsibilities, take a firm stance against the practices, halt
Israeli violations, protect the Palestinian people, their property
and institutions, and preserve the historical and legal status quo in
Jerusalem and its holy sites.

Jordan, under King Abdullah II’s leadership, will continue its
“historic” role in protecting Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian
holy sites under the Hashemite custodianship, according to the
committee.

As for its significance, the committee said the custodianship remains
a “key” pillar in protecting Jerusalem and its holy sites, defending
the rights of the Palestinian people and supporting their right to
establish an independent state on their national territory, with East
Jerusalem as its capital.

//Petra// NQ