THE LATEST on the Silwan land controversy:

Palestinians dig in their heels in face of demolition

By Richard Boudreaux (LA Times)
March 7, 2009

[...]

The dispute is an early test for the Obama administration as it tries to foster peace in the region. Visiting Israel and the West Bank this week, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the demolition plan was "unhelpful" and a violation of Israel's international obligation to refrain from encroachment on disputed land.

If carried out, the plan would cause the largest swath of demolitions in East Jerusalem since its postwar annexation by Israel, which has not been internationally recognized.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat called Clinton's criticism "a lot of hot air" and said the U.S. was trying to interfere with his authority to control zoning and his plans to promote tourism.

"If you build illegal houses, you pay the consequences," he told a group of American correspondents, saying he had expressed that view personally to Clinton. "I expect people to obey the law."

The experience of three generations of Jalajels, however, sheds light on the complex and volatile realities that make any Israeli-Palestinian turf battle here much more than a legal issue. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of an independent state for them; the mayor and the right-wing Likud party, which is expected to lead the next government, insist on keeping all of Jerusalem under Israeli control.

[...]

Background here.