The 1967 destruction of the Maghrebi quarter in Jerusalem planned by Israel, according to a historian

The Wailing Wall, January 27, 2022. AP - Mahmoud Illean

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Israel “planned” the destruction of the Maghrebi quarter in Jerusalem in 1967, reveals a French historian.

Vincent Lemire, director of the CRFJ, French Research Center in Jerusalem, has just published a new book.

Entitled

, it tells the exceptional story of the Maghrebi quarter, located in the old city of Jerusalem, and destroyed by Israel more than fifty years ago.

Its demolition allowed the creation of the esplanade of the Wailing Wall, the holiest place in Judaism.

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From our correspondent in Jerusalem

, 

According to the official account of the Jewish state, the North African district was destroyed on the initiative of fifteen Israeli contractors, the day after the Six Day War in 1967. The Palestinians never believed this version. .

Today, the historian Vincent Lemire abounds in this direction, supporting evidence.

The French historian has meticulously gone over the past six years, the local archives, but also Ottoman and French, to retrace the history of this district.

A real investigation, a historical account that brings life to this Muslim quarter of Jerusalem, founded by Saladin, after the Crusades.

Internal memo

Its 135 intertwined houses were razed to the ground by order of the Israeli authorities at the time.

In his book, Vincent Lemire provides "

" by Israel.

This is evidenced in particular by an internal note from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It lists language for the planned destruction of the neighborhood, aiming to make people believe that it was “

”.

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