Israhellies conspire to cause Palestine heritage buildings to collapse

[yankeedoodle]

Ancient Building Collapses After Israeli Local Council Conducts Unauthorized Construction 
The head of the Western Galilee local council says earthworks near ancient buildings slated for preservation, including two churches used by Palestinians pre-1948, were part of an approved plan to widen a nearby road. The Israel Antiquities Authority says no approval or coordination was given
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A local council in the Western Galilee two weeks ago carried out unauthorized earthworks around a complex of ancient buildings slated for preservation that included two churches used until 1948 by the residents of the Palestinian village of Al-Bassa. A few days later, the Beit al-Khouri building in the complex collapsed.

While head of the Shlomi local council Gabi Naaman claimed that the earthworks were carried out according to an approved plan and alongside the Israel Antiquities Authority, the authority's director general denies these claims and asserts that the authority did not accommodate or approve any such plan.

The Western Galilee district planning committee expressed outrage towards the conduct of the Shlomi local council, with officials saying that the construction was carried out in violation of the plan to preserve and develop the region, which is known as ancient Shlomi. They emphasized that "the matter has been brought to the attention of the national unit for enforcing planning and construction laws."

The descendants of the displaced Palestinians of Al-Bassa filed a police complaint against the council on the suspicion that the earthworks caused the collapse of Beit al-Khouri, endangered other nearby buildings including the Maqam al-Khadr Mosque which is holy to Christians and Muslims, and two other churches at risk of collapse.

Naaman said that the earthworks were part of another plan to widen the nearby road by an additional four meters (13 feet), which had already been approved.

"It seems like a conspiracy, and it worries us," said Wakim Wakim, a member of the Al-Bassa general assembly, who, like many of the displaced Palestinians of the region and their descendants, lives today in the Christian village of Mi'ilya in the Lower Galilee near the city of Ma'alot-Tarshiha.

"The building of Beit al-Khouri, which is the hallmark of Al-Bassa, survived right between the churches and the mosque. It was a magnificent building with arches on the second floor that was built at the end of the 19th century. It symbolized the village's building culture that we all grew up on," Wakim says.
"The demolition [caused by the earthworks] endangers the churches. We need to check if the cracks in the nearby buildings worsened as well. At first, the local council called this plan, which it itself is promoting, the "Peace Compound," but it's far from peace as they refuse to let us maintain the place and pray in it. The council's actions aren't coordinated with us, and their goals aren't good nor kosher."

From the file prepared for the Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel, the Palestinian village of Al-Bassa was the largest Western Galilee community in the 19th century, and by 1948 approximately 4,000 residents lived in its 700 households. Jewish settlements were built on the village's grounds after it was abandoned, with Shlomi being the central one among them. Today, eight buildings remain on site as ruins of Al-Bassa. All but the Greek Catholic church and the Orthodox church are owned by the Israel Land Authority.

In 1998, the two churches and the mosque were marked as sites for preservation. Last November, the "Comprehensive Plan for Shlomi" was approved, designating the entire complex a site for preservation. The new plan determines that until the so-called "ancient Shlomi plan" is approved and preserves the specific ancient buildings onsite, they must not be damaged.
In recent years, Al-Bassa's displaced descendants, who live today in different Galilee villages, have sought to restore the site's neglected Catholic Church. "When the representatives of the [church's] owners attempted to stabilize the building, the local council stopped them. The buildings are in a poor state without maintenance or protection, and the descendants are very sensitive to any intervention in their close environment," said conservation architect Ruth Liberty-Shalev who surveyed the Catholic Church and Al-Bassa's displaced descendants who live in Mi'ilya.

In the discussion that took place in the District Committee for Planning and Construction last April regarding the approval of the preservation plan for the buildings and the site's development for tourism and commerce, it was determined that "protection and stabilization actions that would prevent any damage to the buildings are a condition for starting any earthwork at a distance of up to 20 meters (65 feet) from all structures marked for preservation. [All work] must be carried out following detailed planning and under the supervision of an expert conservation engineer."

However, as stated before, this plan has not yet been approved and therefore, Gabi Naaman, the head of the Shlomi local council, claims that he is not yet legally obligated to it.

According to Naaman, several days before the collapse of the Beit al-Khouri building, the council carried out earthworks on-site "with a tractor and a small excavator," six meters (19 feet) from the church and 15 meters (49 feet) from the building. He added that the construction was carried out under the supervision of an inspector from the Israel Antiquities Authority and its sole purpose was to check if there were antiquities at the site.

However, the director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Eli Escozido, claims that the council's construction work was carried out without coordinating it with them. "They worked without our permission and our supervision, so the Israel Antiquities Authority stopped them instead of calling the police," he said.

Escozido explained that the reason for stopping the work was because "[The council] damaged antiquities, and that was enough for us. And this is regardless of other things they did, such as carrying out earthworks only a few meters away from buildings that are designated for preservation."

Another onsite project by the council is the construction of a parking lot adjacent to the complex of ancient buildings. According to Naaman, the parking lot's construction was carried out at the same time as the earthworks nearby to prevent vehicles from parking on the sides of the road. "I'm working with an approved plan to widen the road and I followed all instructions. With all due respect, this road will be used by both the churches and this whole tourist complex," he said. "Secondly, why should I be so cautious? The buildings are here and there's no problem with that, but you must remember that they are very old and in danger of collapsing. They could collapse every day or in a year or five years."

The director of the Haifa and western Galilee district for the Council for the Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites, Guy Shachar, was outraged by Naaman's claims. "In the instructions of the plan approved on November 22, it's written that until the plan of ancient Shlomi is approved, no damage is to be caused to the artifacts on the complex. This is the relevant section according to which they [the council] were supposed to be careful," he said. "Even if the [ancient Shlomi] plan hasn't been approved yet, it contains decisions that have very significant consequences for the site." The officials of the Council for the Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites added that all the relevant parties are now investigating the circumstances of the incident.

According to the transcript of the discussion held at the district planning committee, Naaman demanded that designating the buildings as sites for preservation is to be conditioned on the prohibition of prayer in churches.

"I'm unequivocally opposed to turning these churches into a place for Christians to pray in. There aren't any Christians in Shlomi and having them gather here will be taken as a provocation the same way as they did in the past when they baptized here," said Naaman, who is set to run in the upcoming local elections for a sixth consecutive term.

"We initiated and submitted the plan, and I'm all in favor of preserving [the buildings] and making the churches part of the tourism route. But with all due respect, I oppose any religious worship here. I have an agreement with the Orthodox Church that they won't worship here, but I can't reveal it as it hasn't been approved yet."

Naaman argues that all the buildings in the vicinity are in danger of collapsing, therefore his refusal to the request of the descendants of the displaced Palestinians to restore and maintain them originates only from his concern for public safety. "I and the council's engineer have personal responsibility if – God forbid – someone gets hurt. Once our plan is approved, they are welcome to present us with their own plan," he added. The district planning committee rejected Naaman's request to ban prayers on the site and ordered this provision removed from the plan.

The district planning committee stated that it "considers very seriously the fact that the local council did not carry out earthwork to preserve the historic building that collapsed even though it was designated as a building for preservation in the approved plan. The committee's chairman has also expressed this position in an official letter sent to the head of the council. The issue has been brought to the attention of the National Unit for Enforcing Planning and Construction Laws."