“Netanyahu and his partners consider every day in which they do not instigate a new provocation in East Jerusalem to be a lost day”, said Uri Avnery in response to the decision to expel Mohammed Abu-Tir from Jerusalem. (Avnery met Abu-Tir a few times in his home.)

“East Jerusalem is one of the most sensitive places in the world, and the ranting and raving of Binyamin Netanyahu, Eli Yishai and Nir Barkat may set a fire there, that will cause a national and international catastrophe”.

"Abu-Tir's only sin was being legally elected in free elections, supervised by the international community, to the Palestinian parliament. After serving a four year prison sentence without being charged with any crime, comes the attempt to expel him from the Sur Baher neighborhood, in which his ancestors had lived for many generations.

“This act proves again that Israel’s hold on East Jerusalem neighborhoods is nothing but a crude and cruel occupation, and that there is no moral justification to talking about a unified Jerusalem. Everybody knows we will end up talking to Hamas, and that Hamas will be part of the coming peace agreement, after this silly Netanyahu government will be ousted”.

In 2006 a formal Gush Shalom delegation met with Abu-Tir. The purpose of the meeting was to initiate contact between the Israeli public and the Hamas movement, which represents a large part of the Palestinian public. Abu-Tir said then that “we have no problem talking with Israel”, and agreed to hold a wider meeting with Israeli peace organizations.

Click here for some pictures made during that meeting