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Kyrgyzstan mayor wins
stand-off with president
Bishkek, 21 August 2010: In a setback to Kyrgystan's interim government, the powerful mayor of the nation's second largest city successfully resisted presidential pressure to resign from his appointed post. Kyrgyzstan's split between south and north widened yesterday as Melis Myrzakmatov returned in triumph from Bishkek, the nation's capital. He told his cheering supporters that he would remain Mayor of Osh, the capital of the nation's restive south.

On 19 August, Kommersant, a Russian newspaper, published an interview with the mayor who said he would refuse to recognize the interim government's authority and would not acknowledge the legitimacy of its decrees. For 24 hours the mayor's fate seemed to hang in the balance as Osh swirled with rumors that he had been arrested or was negotiating his resignation with envoys of Roza Otunbayeva, the interim president.

Immediately increasingly angry crowds gathered outside the mayor's office, a white Soviet era building facing a massive statue of Lenin. The mayor is seen as a hardline Kyrgyz nationalist, and crowds were swollen by relatives of Krygyz victims in the inter-ethnic violence that swept Osh in mid-June. Young men roughed up the only two foreign cameramen to venture onto the square.

Abdieva Turgunai, a protest organizer, said that Kyrgyz turned out to support their mayor because he will continue to stand up to the Uzbek community.  Hundreds of people were killed here in the inter-ethnic violence following the overthrow in April of former Kyrgyzstan president Kurmanbek Bakiyev. In the middle of the afternoon, the crowd of 3,000 roared its approval as Myrzakmatov appeared in front of City Hall. The mayor said: 'I am going nowhere. I am with the people. I am with you." The crowd, bolstered by the presence of horsemen from the countryside, started to chant: "Victory, victory."

Trying to bridge the north-south divide, Azimbek Beknazarov, deputy leader of the interim government, also appeared before the crowd. He gave a brief speech, saying: "Myrzakmatov is still the mayor of Osh, even though he was offered other jobs in the interim government.But some men in the crowd heckled him. Then others hit and kicked him before he was able to escape in his car.

Supporters of the Mayor say he will block the arrival of 50 European police trainers, who were to come here this month to observe procedures by the overwhelmingly ethnic Kyrgyz police force.

The stationing of the trainers, under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, is widely seen as one price Kyrgyzstan has to pay to receive $1.1 billion in international reconstruction aid over the next year. But, the Mayor of Osh opposes the stationing of foreign police observers as interference in local police procedures. (Report by James Brooke, VoA News)

Hong Kong goes
green at the top
Hong Kong, 15 August 2010: As Hong Kong struggles to build an environmentally friendly city, one professor is studying ways to help cut carbon emissions and lower electricity usage by covering the city's rooftops with plants. Jim Chi Yung, a geography professor at the University of Hong Kong, set up his first green roof in 2006 on top of one of the buildings at the university. He wanted to research how plants and grass covering a roof affect heating and cooling.

The roof was divided into four parcels: one is bare concrete, and three others are covered with different plants. The first is grass, the second, a perennial that produces yellow flowers and the third, a shrub. "So far I have been able to figure out quite a significant difference between the three vegetation type in terms of ecological and environmental benefits," Jim said.

Using infrared sensors between the plant layer and the roof, Jim found that the planted areas lowered the roof's surface temperature by as much as 26 degrees Celsius. Bare roofs can reach temperatures as high as 50 degrees on a hot summer day because of all the solar radiation they take in, while planted surfaces stay closer to air temperature. In the winter, Jim found, the planted area helps the roof below stay warmer. For building owners this means the top floors of a building remain cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter so less money is spent on heating and cooling.

The green roofing industry is well established in Europe, Germany in particular, and in Asian countries such as Singapore and Japan. North America is also catching on. Studies throughout the world show similar results to Professor Jim's. While the temperature reductions vary, all indicate that plants act as added insulation, reducing a building's energy demand. Studies show that can mean savings of 25 per cent in cooling costs. (By Bettany Matta, VoA News)

Hiroshima mayor clashes
with Japan prime minister
Hiroshima, 8 August 2010: Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba clashed with Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan over nuclear weapons on the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. The mayor demanded that nuclear arms should be eliminated during the lifetime of some of the Hiroshima survivors. He also called for Japan to leave the US nuclear umbrella.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who spoke at the ceremony, maintained that a degree of nuclear deterrent was necessary. The Prime Minister was obviously referring to North Korea when he said the region faced uncertain and unclear developments. Kan’s remarks were criticised by Hiroshima survivors who replied that so-called rogue states would continue to aspire to nuclear weapons as long as the super powers and countries like Israel, India and Britain insisted on holding on to the nuclear option.

This year’s Hiroshima ceremony marked two firsts. For the first time the US government was represented and also for the first time a UN general secretary took part. The presence of US ambassador John Roos was criticised by the son of the pilot who dropped the bomb on the city. "It's an unsaid apology. Why would he go? It just doesn't make any sense," Gene Tibbets said on television. UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon promised to accelerate the implementation of a nuclear test ban treaty by 2012.

During the Hiroshima ceremony it was also announced that Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba was to receive the 2010 Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia's equivalent to the Nobel Prize. The mayor was cited for his “principled and determined leadership in a global campaign to mobilise citizens and pressure governments to create a world free from the perils of nuclear war.”

The bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 killed some 100,000 people and completely destroyed the city. On 9 August the US dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, which killed an estimated 70,000 people.

Taliban and power vacuum
blamed for Karachi violence
Karachi, 5 August 2010: Police in Pakistan say at least 80 people have been killed in the country's commercial capital of Karachi since Monday's assassination of Raza Haider, a senior leader of the city's dominant political party, the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM). Politicians blame inter-party rivalry, groups linked to the Taliban and the power vacuum that exists in the city since Mayor Mustafa Kamal had to step down earlier this year.

Haider was attending a funeral in Karachi late on Monday when unknown gunmen riding motorcycles attacked and killed the lawmaker along with his bodyguard. Police say an outbreak of violence following the deadly attack left dozens of people dead and scores of others wounded. Angry protesters also set fire to a number of vehicles and private and government properties across Karachi.

In Islamabad, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik told lawmakers that the assassination of the politician in Karachi could be the work of Taliban-linked militants. Malik said they have received information that a network of Taliban and other militant groups, including Sunni militant Sipah-e-Sahab Pakistan, is trying to fuel political tensions by carrying out such attacks. He said that police have detained more than 20 people in connection with the violence.

But leaders of the MQM, which represents the city's majority Urdu-speaking community, blamed the attack on a rival political force, the Awami National Party, or ANP, which is a representative of Karachi 's ethnic Pashtun population. The two major political forces have routinely blamed each other for deadly attacks on their activists. Politically motivated violence so far this year alone has left nearly 200 people dead in Karachi.

Both the MQM and the ANP are part of the ruling coalition in the federal government led by the Pakistan Peoples Party or PPP.

Karachi is currently without a mayor after Mustafa Kamal had to step down earlier this year to make way for local government elections. Although in May elections were promised within “90 day”, no actual date has been set yet. It is thought that while the PPP wants to delay elections for as long as possible to avoid defeat in Pakistan’s economic and financial power house, the MQM is more interested keeping the government coalition together than pressing for early polls. (By Ayaz Gul, VoA News and local reporters)

Auckland to be given
powerful elected mayor
Auckland, 15 July 2010: On 1 November of this year Auckland's existing eight local councils will be merged into a single unit, the Auckland Council. The new ‘super’ council will consist of 20 councillors and a directly elected mayor. The first elections for the new council will be held on 9 October. The currently declared candidates for the office of mayor are Auckland City Mayor John Banks, Manukau Mayor Len Brown and North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams. Opinion polls give Len Brown a slender lead over John Banks. Andrew Williams, who originally opposed the merger, has been described as a maverick outsider.

The new mayor will be given powers unprecedented in New Zealand local government. He, if no successful woman candidate decides to join the race, will have a personal budget of NZ$ 3 million to set up and maintain a mayor’s office. Its staff will answerable to the mayor only and not to the council.

The mayor will also appoint a deputy mayor from the 20 city councillors and establish council committees as well as appoint the chairs. The mayor would be within his right to appoint himself to chair a committee. He is also automatically a member of every committee.

Urban population growth
will test Chinese society
Shanghai, 8 July 2010: More than 150 of the world’s 600 largest cities are already located in China. Now the government predicts that by 2015, 700 million people - or more than half the country’s population - will be living in cities. Greater Shanghai’s population is expected jump by 17 per cent to more than 20 million by 2020. The city’s metro population will grow from 19.2 million people at the end of 2009 to 21.4 million in 2015 and 22.5 million in 2020.

City Mayors was told that the rapid population growth would add to the city's challenges as it was already struggling with overcrowding and overloaded infrastructure. Shanghai and Beijing with populations of more than 10 million, are already megacities.

The rapid development from a rural to urban society will have implications for the government at a time when Chinese cities are already struggling to cope with overcrowding, overloaded infrastructure and a widening rich-poor gap. Li Bin, director of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, added that by 2015 the country's population would include 200 million people over the age of 60.

Demographers fear that over the next few decades, China's population will begin to shrink due to a government policy limiting many families to one child. “At that time, the country may find itself with too few young workers to support an aging population.”

Traditionally China has been an agrarian society, but rural poverty and a booming economy in the country’s coastal cities has led to millions of young people to search for factory jobs far away from their towns and villages.

Like father like
daughter, or not
Davao City, 2 July 2010: Sara Duterte-Carpio, the newly elected mayor of Davao City, Philippines, and daughter of outgoing mayor Rodrigo Duterte promised to continue her father’s tough policies on crime. Duterte senior, who was sworn in as vice mayor to his daughter, became known for his un-orthodox ways in dealing with criminals. On one occasion he offered plane tickets and pocket money to criminals, especially drug dealers, to leave the city.

Rodrigo Duterte has also warned in public that criminals were legitimate targets for assassination. During his time in office more than 800 suspected criminals were allegedly killed by the so-called ‘Davao Death Squad’. But the new mayor asserted that not all killings in the city were extra-judicial since even the police could not determine the nature of killings in the city.

The new mayor also said that the city would not embark on new building projects. Referring to the problems encountered at the Southern Philippines Medical Center, where nurses refuse to carry out orders of their superiors, Sara Duterte-Carpio explained that the city could afford to build a hospital, but it could not afford to run and manage it. The same applied to the proposed college and sports complex.

Tel Aviv mayor condemns
ultra-orthodox activities
Tel Aviv, 2 June 2010: Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai criticised the Chabad movement - ultra-orthodox Haredi Jews - over its attempts to recruit secular school children. The mayor said that he viewed the behaviour of Chabad members as irritating people. “They wait for children outside the schools. This is inappropriate behaviour, which should be condemned,” he explained. A month ago the mayor condemned the ultra-Orthodox education system over its failure to teach core subjects.

Mayor Huldai stressed that Tel Aviv was and would remain a free city for everyone. “It is my duty to allow all the publics to live together in this city and maintain their rights and ways of life," he pointed out.

After complaints from residents, Tel Aviv’s city council also debated the attempted ‘take-over’ of the city’s Ramat Aviv district by Chabad. According to some residents, ultra-orthodox Jews are planning to inflict their strict religious life style on the area by buying apartments, opening ultra-orthodox kindergartens and religious schools.

Councillor Reuven Lediansky from the Let Live group, who initiated the debate on the ‘haredisation’ of northern Tel Aviv, was accused of talking like an anti-Semite by members of the religious parties. “You are a Jew hater and the mission has massacred the Jews in the past. There's nothing easier than hating. Arabs buy apartments in Jaffa, and no one says anything about that," they shouted.

Earlier, Lediansky said Chabad had a strategy of occupation. "They have set up ritual baths, kollels (institutes offering advanced Judaic studies for married men), haredi kindergartens and religious girls' high schools. They force themselves on people shopping in the supermarkets and ask them to lay tefillin (phylacteries) and that’s what they do to schoolchildren as well, persuading them to attend Torah lessons," he explained in detail.

Mayor says Jewish building in
East Jerusalem will continue
New York City, 29 April 2010: Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who is currently in the USA, has said that he will go ahead with his plans to build Jewish homes in East Jerusalem, the Arab part of the city. He has recently been criticised, even by members of Israel’s right-wing government, over his order to demolish of ‘illegally’ built Arab homes while resisted enforcing a court order to remove Jewish families living in an illegally built housing project in an Arab neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

American journalists meeting the mayor during his US trip asked him whether he would take note of the Obama administration’s desire for a stop of controversial Jewish building projects in East Jerusalem. The mayor replied that Jerusalem would grow with or without him. “Jerusalem is a city that is developing. The city will have one million people in 20 years. The key question is: Are we going to manage it or not? It's very straightforward thinking. Nothing new. Nothing political. Very professional. My role and goal is to manage the growth process of the city,” he explained.

Barkat also said that he knew of no other city, even in the US, where the American government wanted to restrict development. The mayor also refused to see building in East Jerusalem as an obstacle to peace talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis, “If somebody wants to make this an issue, that's his problem. Never in the discussions between Israelis and Palestinians was continued building for all residents of Jerusalem an obstacle. It's not a condition that I will accept. And it's not a condition that the people of Jerusalem will accept nor public opinion in Israel. Jerusalem will not freeze,” the mayor made clear.

Hong Kong to present new
image at Shanghai Expo
Hong Kong, 23 April 2010: Following extensive consultations Hong Kong’s leaders have relaunched the city state’s brand as “Asia’s world city”. The exercise, spearheaded by financial secretary John Tsang, revolves around a new “Faces of Hong Kong” campaign aimed at showcasing its “warmth” and a multifaceted global image as an innovation hub. In recent years the former British colony has had to contend with the emergence of Shanghai as China’s commercial hub and has often competed with Singapore in the global rankings stakes.

The city brand was originally launched in 2001 to cope with the twin challenges of reincorporation into China following a century of British colonial administration and the onset of the Asian financial crisis. Hong Kong’s first branding account was handled by New York agency Burson-Marsteller, while its current dragon logo was designer by London’s Landor in 2005. However, in recent years, its brand has lagged substantially behind that of an increasingly confident and externally recognised Shanghai, although Hong Kong remains competitive ahead of Tokyo in many surveys of business leaders, vying alongside Singapore for the status as Asia’s business capital.

Financial secretary Tsang welcomed the relaunch and said: “The engagement exercise revealed the desire for Hong Kong to nurture and attract more creative and entrepreneurial talents to propel its development as a knowledge economy and a creative metropolis.” He said he hoped the twin values of the new brand, “quality living” and “innovative”, would become embedded in all future policies of the special administrative region. The exercise comes ahead of this year’s Shanghai Expo.

Kandahar’s deputy mayor
killed by Taliban gunmen
Kabul, 21 April 2010: Taliban fighters have shot dead the deputy mayor of Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan. A spokesman for the mayor’s office said Azizollah Yarmal was killed while praying at a mosque. In the city he was regarded as the least corrupt government official. Local people told reporters that he was probably killed because he was seen as honest and effective.

Claiming responsibility for the killing, a Taliban spokesman said:
“We have killed him because he was working for this puppet government. We will continue to target all those who are working for government.” Mark Sedwill, the top civilian NATO representative in Afghanistan and former British ambassador called the shooting cowardly. “This was a man who was simply seeking to serve his people,” he said.

During the Taliban’s rule from 1996 and 2001, Kandahar, with a population of some 470,000, was the designated capital of Afghanistan.

Former Jerusalem mayor
and city official arrested
Jerusalem, 15 April 2010: After the arrest of former Jerusalem mayor Uri Lupolianski, Israeli police have now also detained a ‘high-ranking’ official still serving in Jerusalem City Hall. The arrests were made in connection with the Holyland scandal, described by a judge as the largest bribery affairs in Israel’s history.

Uri Lupolianski, an orthodox rabbi, succeeded former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as mayor of Jerusalem in 2003, a post he held until 2008. Lupolianski is accused of taking bribes, money laundering, fraud, breach of trust, tax avoidance and conspiracy. The ‘high-ranking’ city official, who also manages a large construction company formerly involved in the founding of the Holyland project, was questioned yesterday night, Early this morning police arrested him due to information obtained from his interrogation.

Last week a long-time associate of Olmert and five others, connected with Holyland, were also arrested. Holyland was part of a real estate development of luxury apartments in Jerusalem, which required radical changes in zoning laws. Ehud Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem when the alleged briberies took place. Construction took place during Lupolianski's time in office.

Police said that during his time as deputy mayor from 1993 to 2003, and later as mayor, Lupolianski received more than eight million dollars in bribes from the developers in return for helping to advance the project by rejecting hundreds of objections. The former mayor rejects the allegations. In a TV interview he said: “This was 20 years ago. I don't know why everyone suddenly remembers now. A deputy mayor has no responsibility - it's merely a title. The mayor is the one who decides."

Former Prime Minister Olmert also denies the allegations.

Hindu nationalists
capture Bangalore
Bangalore, 10 April 2010: The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won local elections in Bangalore (Karnataka) for the first time and pledged not to allow new slums in the growing and crowded city which has become India's high technology capital. The party won 112 seats on the Greater Bangalore City Council, while the secular Congress party of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will only be represented by 64 councillors. The BJP now controls the State of Karnataka and its most important city.

The BJP pointed out that after New Delhi, Bangalore has the highest international profile of any Indian city. "We will not allow new slums to go up in Bangalore and will improve civic amenities in the existing slums. We will make Bangalore a world class city and invest Rs.250 billion in three years," a party spokesman promised.

There are an estimated 500 slums in the city, although officially only around 360 are recognised as such, entitling them to water, electricity and other civic amenities. About 600,000 people, of the city's population of around eight million, live in these slums.

Mayors call for stronger links
between Shanghai and Taipei
Taipei, 7 April 2010: Meeting in Taipei, the mayors of Shanghai and Taipei signed four memorandums of understanding. The documents call for greater cooperation between the two cities in areas such as culture, tourism, environmental conservation and science and technology. Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin described the signing as a historic event as it allowed the two leading cities on each side of the Taiwan Strait to share their development experiences and set a good example for forging closer cooperation among other cities in Taiwan and China.

Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng said he hoped that many Taiwanese people would visit this year’s World Expo, which will open in Shanghai on 1 May and run until the end of October. "I come to Taipei on behalf of 20 million Shanghai citizens who are all looking forward to welcome you this summer," the mayor added.

The visit of Mayor Han drew protests from members of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) who are opposed to closer links between Taiwan and mainland China. Several DPP members, who intend to run for a seat on the Taipei City Council later this year, checked into rooms at an airport hotel and hung a 100-meter long banner from the fifth floor denouncing the meeting between the two mayors.

Taiwan and China have been ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949 but Beijing still considers the island part of its territory. Ties between the two countries have improved markedly since May 2008 when the current President Ma Ying-jeou was voted into office.

Malaysia’s PM turns down
request for local elections
Kuala Lumpur, 12 March 2010: Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak turned down requests to hold local government elections, saying they were unnecessary. “Reviving local government elections will only give rise to politicking and not serve the purpose of improving service to the people,” he told journalists. Critics of the prime minister argued that local elections would stop the abuse of power that is rampant in many local councils.

The prime minister added that the focus should be on improving local services to people and not the selection of local councillors. His comments followed a request by the Penang state government to have local elections in Malaysia restored. It’s Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng argued that according to the country’s constitution, the Elections Commission was permitted to hold local elections in addition to parliamentary ones.

Opposition politicians condemned the prime minister’s refusal to allow local elections as undemocratic and cowardly. One commentator wrote: “The prime minister has got it wrong. Local government elections will not cause too much politicking. On the contrary, they will put a stop to the excessive politicking and gross abuse of power that is rampant in many local/municipal councils. We have heard and seen many cases of council 'chieftains' and members wielding extraordinary power and amassing wealth and living lavishly. The people must be given their democratic rights to purge these local warlords, and the only way it can be done is through the proper process of holding elections for local government positions.”

Bankrupt Japanese city
plans to clear its debts
Tokyo, 10 March 2010: Following its slide into bankruptcy in 2007, which was reported around the world, the Japanese municipality of Yubari now hopes to clear its piling debts.  The council, on the northern island of Hokkaido, holds the dubious honour of being Japan’s only bankrupt municipality.  The plan clears the way for the council to apply the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs to issue its own bonds for the first time since entering financial administration.  The ministry last year designated 21 municipalities as being in severe financial distress, with seven on Hokkaido alone, including the host city of the 2008 G8 Summit Toyako.

The city government received endorsement from its local assembly last week to put a new financial reconstruction plan into action. The plan aims to clear Yubari’s Y32.2bn (approx. $323m) debts over a period of 17 years.  Yubari’s previous financial plans have tried to reduce the city’s debts through measures such as cutting the government workforce and increasing income tax. The new reconstruction plan will build on these measures by continuing to reduce the municipal workforce and streamlining administrative services.

With a population loss of 10% over the past three years, Yubari will have to work hard to pull itself back from the brink while trying to look after its 12,000 citizens, 43% of whom are 65 or older.  The city elected a new mayor, Hajime Fujikura, in 2007, hoping his business acumen would lead to a turnaround in its fortunes.  The mayor has spearheaded a comprehensive city branding exercise aimed at capitalising on its famous international film festival, which has so far led to a 10% increase in visitor numbers, generating $31m in revenue.

Korean local government
riddled with corruption
Seoul, 24 February 2010: In three months South Koreans will go to the polls to elect new mayors, municipal councillors and regional government leaders. But public interest has been subdued because of corruption in local government. The ministry responsible for local and regional government said that in the Seoul metropolitan area of the 66 heads of municipal and provincial government elected in 2006, 28 were prosecuted for corruption and electoral law violations.

While many instances of corruption remain unreported, the conviction of the head of the Seodaemun District Office of Seoul caused public anger. He, together with three chiefs of staff, was found guilty of accepting large bribes in return for preferential treatment in development projects. After being charged, he gave up his position as Seodaemun chief but immediately prepared to run for governor of Jeju Island. He was eventually arrested on 10 February.

Political observers believe corruption is rampant throughout South Korea’s municipal and provincial government. They say the root of the problem is the large sums of money political candidates have to spend on their election campaigns. “Someone who has spent thousands of dollars to get elected is looking for some kind of payback.”

Tehran mayor calls for
an end to street protests
Tehran, 11 February 2010: Tehran’s mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who 18 months ago was put forward as a credible rival to Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been remarkable quiet since last’s year’s presidential elections and the subsequent opposition protests in his city. Political observers remarked that the mayor still saw himself as someone who, should the president fail, could be a candidate acceptable both to the opposition and the country’s supreme leader Ayatholla Ali Khamenei. Now however, Mayor Qalibaf has abandoned his neutrality and sided with the government.

In a speech in the holy city of Qom, the mayor called the opposition demonstrators anarchists who sought to destroy the Iranian Islamic Republic. “If people chant slogans that they do not want an Islamic Republic but an Iranian republic are they really supporting the revolution and the system?” he asked. “Definitely those who propagate an Iranian republic are outside the domain of the revolution,” the mayor added.

Qalibaf called on the opposition to abondon street protests and engage in dialogue. “Only anarchists prefer street protests over law, logic and dialogue for resolving problems,” he told his audience.

Mayor threatens demolition
of homes in East Jerusalem
Jerusalem, 5 February 2010: After Israel’s attorney general has ordered Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat to evacuate a Jewish settlers' house, which was built illegally in the centre of a predominantly Palestinian neighbourhood, a spokesman for the mayor said Palestinian houses built without permission would also be demolished.

Israel claims the entire city as Israel's eternal capital while the Palestinians insists that East Jerusalem will the future capital of any Palestinian state.
Mayor Barkat is opposed to sharing Jerusalem with Palestinians in any peace agreement.

Rafiq Husseini, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the possible destruction of up 200 Palestinian homes a move, which could seriously undermine the peaceful coexistence of Palestinians and Israelis in Jerusalem. "No peace process can survive and no negotiations can begin while people's homes are being demolished," he said.

US foreign minister Hillary Clinton described the threat to Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem as provocative.