Daily Star - Palestinian Refugees

By Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star staff

SIDON: Palestinian refugees in the south protested on Tuesday against Israel’s decision to rebuild the Hurva Synagogue near Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, and students from the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Sidon marched to show their anger.
Israel reopened the twice-destroyed Hurva Synagogue on Monday, sparking a wave of criticism and protests, both in Palestine and among refugee communities abroad.
“Israel’s latest announcement to place the cornerstone for the Hurva Synagogue is a huge confrontation that will cause explosions and will aggravate the situation,” said the Fatah faction in Lebanon in a statement.
Students from United Nations Relief Works Agency schools held Palestinian flags and maps and shouted slogans expressing their anger toward Israel and its “theft” of occupied Jerusalem’s history.
They marched through the main street of Ain al-Hilweh holding banners with photographs of Jerusalem.
Palestinians from refugee camps near Tyre also protested the synagogue’s reconstruction while Hamas official Jihad Taha called on all Palestinian factions to unite in responding to “Israel’s arrogance.”
Sheikh Ahmad Mrad also delivered a speech on behalf of Hizbullah. He called on all Palestinians to unite and said the Resistance was the only way to liberate Palestine.
Israel made another controversial decision earlier this week when it announced its plan to build about 1,600 new Jewish settlers homes in the Arab sector of Jerusalem.
“Israel insists on its policy of Judaization and settlements. Its announcement to launch the construction of thousands of housing units is an insolence that even embarrassed the United States,” Fatah’s statement said.
The statement also criticized the absence of any real pressure from the international community and from the Security Council on Israel as well as the weak Arab and Islamic stance on the issue of Judaization.
“The Palestinian people in Lebanon are angered by the Arab and Islamic silence toward this issue. This silence is becoming a cover, whether we like it or not, for the domination of occupied Jerusalem,” it added.