ABBAS SAYS ISRAEL "ETHNIC CLEANSING" IN JERUSALEM

Abbas Says Israel "Ethnic Cleansing" in Jerusalem - Alistair Thomson
Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" in eastern Jerusalem at a summit of the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference in Dakar, Senegal. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert's spokesman, Mark Regev, said: "The peace process faces many obstacles and leadership should not be contributing to those obstacles through inflammatory statements." (Reuters)

See also U.S.: Abbas' Accusation "An Example of Overheated Political Rhetoric"
Asked about Abbas' comment accusing the Israelis of ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday: "Certainly we would not use that term to describe the situation. I think it is probably an example of some overheated political rhetoric." (State Department)

See also Construction in Jerusalem: Myths and Facts - Justus Reid Weiner

The city of Jerusalem has authorized more than 36,000 permits for new housing units in the Arab sector, more than enough to meet the needs of Arab residents through legal construction until 2020. Arab residents who wish to build legally may consult urban plans translated into Arabic for their convenience and receive individual assistance from Arabic-speaking city employees. Both Arabs and Jews typically wait 4-6 weeks for permit approval, enjoy a similar rate of application approvals, and pay an identical fee for water and sewage hook-ups on the same size living unit.

The same procedures for administrative demolition orders apply to both Jews and Arabs in all parts of the city, as a final backstop to remove structures built illegally on roadbeds or land designated for schools, clinics, and the like. The PA and Arab governments have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in an intentional campaign to subsidize and encourage massive illegal construction in the Arab sector, seeing this as part of their "demographic war" against Israel. The Arab population of the city has increased since 1967 from 27% to 32%. Moreover, since 1967 new Arab construction has outpaced Jewish construction. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)