Romana Rubeo
The Palestine Chronicle / January 28, 2022
Israel had an official role in the destruction of Jerusalem’s historic Mughrabi neighborhood in 1967 but tried to hide it, a new book published on Friday, January 28, revealed, France24 news site reported.
The book, titled In the Shadow of the Wall: The life and death of the Mughrabi quarter of Jerusalem (1187-1967), will be translated into English later this year by Stanford University Press.
The book’s author, French historian Vincent Lemire, explains that, before the 1967 war, a Muslim neighborhood of about 135 homes was placed at the base of the Buraq Wall (so-called Western Wall) in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The neighborhood, which was established in the 12th century by Muslim leader Salah al-Din (Saladin), was the home of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat during his youth.
In his book, Lemire disputes Israel’s version, according to which “15 private Jewish contractors destroyed the neighborhood to make space for the Western Wall plaza”, France24 reported.
Despite Israel’s role having already been discussed in the past, Lemire told Agence France Presse (AFP) that his work offers “definitive, written proof on the premeditation, planning and coordination of this operation”.
Lemire makes reference to a meeting between then-Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek and the Israeli army commander on June 9, 1967, where “one of the items on the agenda is the destruction of the Mughrabi quarter.”
After the 1967 war, Israel occupied the remainder of historic Palestine in what Palestinians refer to as ‘Naksa’, meaning setback or defeat. Between June 25-27, Israel illegally annexed the Holy City of Jerusalem and many parts of the West Bank, in a move that was never recognized by the international community.
Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and the managing editor of The Palestine Chronicle
