The Islamic-Christian Commission, a Palestinian institution, has exposed an Israeli project to Judaise 6,000 Islamic and Christian-Arab landmarks in Jerusalem's old city. Hassan Khater, secretary-general of the institution, said that Israeli authorities have started the implementation of a project which would see Islamic and Christian landmarks refashioned and presented to the world as Jewish ones. This would be done, states Khater, by creating an image of Jerusalem where traces of Jewish history abound, threatening the city's historical and cultural identity. Khater said that the commission gave many Arab leaders copies of the Israel's plans, among them the head of the Jerusalem Committee, King Mohammad VI of Morocco, and Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League. Khater clarified in a press conference in Jerusalem that the commission has responded by launching a project to document all of the old city's historical sites and sacred landmarks in a technical and scientifically accurate way. This initiative is meant to halt the plans to erase the heritage of Arab civilization in the city. Khater explained that the repressive Israeli practices towards Palestinians in Jerusalem has led to a transformation in the economic importance of Jerusalem residents outside the city and across the wall the occupation had built, warning that the continuation in this direction will lead to a serious disaster that threatens Arab presence in the holy city. He mentioned that Israeli authorities had recently spiked taxes on Palestinians in Jerusalem while neglecting infrastructure projects in East Jerusalem, as well as expanding their destruction of Palestinian houses.
