Palestinian minister says Israel plan to sever 28 Jerusalem neighbourhoods as 'dangerous'

Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, Adnan Husseini has described an Israeli plan to unilaterally sever 28 neighbourhoods from the city of Jerusalem as “dangerous”.

“This is a very serious proposal, but it is undoable because we are talking about 28 Arab neighbourhoods and it will be very difficult to isolate them from Jerusalem through walls and barriers” Husseini told reporters at his office in Jerusalem on Thursday.

“I believe things are harder than what the Israelis imagine and certainly the people will revolt and will not allow themselves to be prevented from reaching their workplaces, places of worship, schools, hospitals and relatives” he said.

Husseini said he also believes that the scheme will have serious implications because it will push the Palestinian residents of Jerusalem to a dead-end, which would inflame the situation in the city.

The leader of the Israeli opposition, Yitzhak Herzog proposed last month to unilaterally sever 28 Arab neighbourhoods from Jerusalem, and annex them to the West Bank in order to achieve a Jewish majority in the city.