JERUSALEM, July 20, 2025 (WAFA) – In a dangerous escalation, outgoing Israeli Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Jewish Heritage, Meir Porush, has issued an order to seize Palestinian-owned properties in the Bab al-Silsila (Chain Gate) neighborhood, one of the main entrances to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.
The decision targets homes and commercial shops along the historic Bab al-Silsila Road, though no specific details were released regarding the number of properties or the identities of their owners. The area is part of Jerusalem's Old City and is home to longstanding Palestinian properties dating back to the Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman eras.
Israeli media reports indicate that Porush’s decision was issued on the eve of his resignation, which stemmed from political rifts between ultra-Orthodox parties and the Israeli government over military service exemptions for religious Jews. Observers believe the move was politically motivated, aimed at appeasing far-right religious constituents.
Porush defended the order by referencing what he termed the “return of the Old City to the people of Israel in 1967.” He claimed that properties in the Jewish Quarter were previously seized for rehabilitation by a government-affiliated company. However, he acknowledged that the current order has not yet been implemented on the ground, although it appears on an Israeli seizure map.
The Palestinian Authority's Jerusalem Governorate condemned the decision as a “colonial, Judaizing step” that threatens the very heart of the occupied city and its historical and religious character. In a statement issued Sunday, the governorate warned that the seizure paves the way for systematic forced displacement and the legal theft of Palestinian properties.
The statement emphasized that Bab al-Silsila, rich with Islamic landmarks and heritage buildings, is central to Israel’s broader strategy to alter the identity of Jerusalem by enforcing demographic and territorial changes. This includes forced evictions, settlement expansion, and infrastructure projects such as the Israeli rail line that cuts through Palestinian neighborhoods.
The governorate warned that the planned seizures could turn Bab al-Silsila into a closed settler corridor, exclusively used for settler incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque. This would severely restrict access for Muslim worshippers and effectively impose a blockade on Islamic and Christian presence in the Old City.
According to the governorate, the current plan to seize approximately 20 properties is likely just the beginning of a broader scheme aimed at linking the Jewish Quarter with surrounding settler outposts—an effort to isolate the Old City from its Palestinian surroundings and permanently alter its character.
The Jerusalem Governorate called the order a “dangerous political declaration” and urged immediate Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic action. It called on the United Nations and UNESCO to uphold their responsibilities and intervene to halt Israeli policies that violate international law and UN resolutions on the status of Jerusalem.
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