Palestinians clash with Israeli police in east Jerusalem

(28 Jun 2010) SHOTLIST
Silwan, east Jerusalem - June 27, 2010
++NIGHT SHOTS++
1. Israeli policemen running along street
2. Top shot from stairwell, pan to people in street
3. Top shot of stones being thrown
4. Israeli policeman speaking through loudhailer
5. Explosions in street, tear gas rising in doorway, rocks being thrown, pan to Palestinian protester
6. Gun used to fire tear gas canisters being pointed out of window
7. Israeli police jeep arriving at the scene
8. Wide of police in street
9. Wide of Israeli police and Palestinians in street, tilt-up to police arguing with Palestinians on stairwell of building
Jerusalem - June 28, 2010
++DAY SHOTS++
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Nir Barkat, Mayor of Jerusalem:
"The Silwan plan is for the benefit of the residents of Silwan and indeed that is what we put on the table, it is brought to the government and (if) the government likes the plan then it will be discussed in the future."
11. Wide of Herod's Gate
STORYLINE
Palestinians clashed with Israeli police in east Jerusalem on Sunday night, near an enclave of Israeli settlers in the neighbourhood of Silwan.
Police said around 150 protesters threw stones, slightly wounding six policemen.
There were no immediate reports of injured protesters.
Palestinians have been protesting against last Monday's approval of a plan to raze 22 Palestinian homes in Silwan's al-Bustan neighbourhood to make room for an Israeli tourist centre.
"The Silwan plan is for the benefit of the residents of Silwan," Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said on Monday.
Back in March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pressured Barkat to hold up the plan so authorities could consult with Palestinians who would lose their homes - a delay that appeared to be aimed at fending off criticism from the US.
Jerusalem's planning body approved the plan earlier this month but final approval, which would require an Interior Ministry green light, could take many more months.
Palestinians believe Barkat's plan is a way for Israel to cement its control over east Jerusalem, the section of the holy city Palestinians claim as their capital.
The contested site is a section of a larger neighbourhood called Silwan, which is home to some 50-thousand Palestinians and 70 Jewish families.
Demolitions elsewhere in Silwan have made the neighbourhood a hub of tension between Palestinians fearful of eviction and Jews determined to ensure the holy city remains Israel's undivided capital.
It's also become a flashpoint of potential friction between Israel's right-leaning government led by Netanyahu and an international community seeking to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Jerusalem is the most divisive issue between Israelis and Palestinians.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem after capturing it from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war and nearly 200-thousand Jews have moved there since, living alongside 250-thousand Palestinians.
Palestinians hope to build the capital of a future state in east Jerusalem and see any Israeli construction there as undercutting their claim.
The international community does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over east Jerusalem.

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