JERUSALEM, March 29, 2007 (WAFA) - The Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem has recently served demolition orders on six houses and on recreation facilities for women and children at Burj Al Luq Luq Social Centre in the Moslem Quarter of the Old City, Burj Al Luq Luq Social Center Society said.

The Society said in a press release that these latest orders must be seen in the context of the ongoing policy of the Judaization of Jerusalem. The implementation of this policy relies on pressurizing Palestinian residents to leave their homes in the Old City. It seems clear that the demolition of these properties is designed to facilitate the introduction of ever greater numbers of Israeli settlers into the area. The demolitions have been ordered in flagrant contravention of International law and of UN resolutions on the status of East Jerusalem.

"Women and children will be the principal victims of these orders. Whilst the demolition of homes is always an appalling crime, this latest planned act of destruction is particularly abhorrent in that it includes a children's playground and a tent used by women for physical recreation," it added.

Burj Al Luq Luq Social Centre provides an invaluable resource to the residents of the Bab Hutta area who make up almost a third of the population of the Moslem Quarter.

With over eight dunams of land it offers the only open space for local children to play in. On part of this land is a large tent which provides essential privacy for Moslem Palestinian women attending keeps fit classes. Adjacent to the tent is a children's playground with a corrugated iron roof to provide shelter from sun and rain. The Israeli Municipality has ordered that both the tent and the roof be destroyed.

It added that this is not the first time the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem has attempted to move against Burj Al Luq Luq Social Centre. "In 1996 attempts by Atarat Cohanim to build thirty homes, a synagogue and a religious school immediately adjacent to the Centre were only defeated through the efforts of local people and Palestinian Parliament Members," according to the press release.

The pree release It would now appear that fresh plans are being made for the construction of the housing, synagogue and school. Burj Al Luq Luq Social Centre acts as a pair of lungs to the Moslem Quarter. These latest demolition orders are being seen as part of concerted Israeli efforts to suffocate the Palestinian residents.

The Board of Directors of Burj Al Luq Luq Social Centre appealed to the International Community to intervene on our behalf and to exert pressure on Israel to respect international law and to halt its policy of Judaifying Jerusalem.

"We would ask all NGOs working in the field of Child Rights to consider how the demolition of a children's Playground violates the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. We would ask people of all religions around the world to stand beside us in resisting this latest attack whose principal victims will be local women and children," it concluded.

A.D (23.15P) (21.15GMT)