Group decries plans for army college on Mount of Olives

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=530773

Israeli soldiers in a Memorial Day ceremony at the military cemetery on
the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, April 2012. (Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)

Published 21/10/2012

JERUSALEM (Ma’an) -- A Muslim-Christian group on Sunday decried an Israeli government plan to build a military academy in occupied East Jerusalem.

Peace Now settlement watch director Hagit Ofran said on Sunday that notices were hung around the Mount of Olives, giving the public 60 days to file objections to the building of the eight-story military college.

The Islamic-Christian Commission said the plan is part of Israeli authorities' efforts to erase the Palestinian identity of East Jerusalem.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in a 1967 war and later illegally annexed the city, a move never recognized by the international community. Palestinians insist East Jerusalem is the capital of their hoped-for state.

Israel approved some 800 new housing units in the illegal settlement of Gilo near Jerusalem earlier this week, drawing condemnation from the European Union.