The Los Angeles Times said 88 Palestinian homes in the village of Silwan, on the steep slopes below the Old City, received demolition notices from the Israeli authorities, in the largest swath of demolition in the occupied holy city, under claims of being illegally built.
Hashem Jalajel, a Silwan Palestinian resident, was one of those who received such a notice from the Jerusalem Municipality.
"I can't read it," the 76-year-old patriarch said, passing the Hebrew-language notice to one of his grandsons to read aloud. "But I've memorized everything it says."
Jalajel has lodged a complaint with an Israeli courts challenging the demolition order.
"The Israeli judge told us, 'You are not on trial here, but your house is,' " said Ahmed, his eldest son, whose home is also targeted. "Who ever heard of such a thing?"
Palestinians see districts such as Silwan as key political battlegrounds in the conflict with Israel over the future of the occupied holy city as they form a shrinking corridor of access between the West Bank and Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine.
Israel captured Al-Quds in 1967 and later annexed in a move not internationally recognized drew condemnation and outrage from many Muslim groups.
War Declaration
Mohammed Qadi, a 35-year-old Palestinian from an old Silwan family, said they had tried to keep the news of the Israeli eviction orders from his 90-year-old grandmother.
An acquaintance had let slip that their home was on the demolition list, he said.
"She said, 'Let them try, but I'll never leave this place,' " Qadi added.
"That's how we all feel — that this will happen, literally, over our dead bodies."
Jamal Zahalka, an Israeli Arab Knesset member, warned that moving ahead with the Israeli demolition plans could trigger an explosion of violence.
"It's a declaration of war," he said.
Archeological Park
Israeli municipal authorities say the area will be an archeological park devoted to Jewish history and sites associated with the biblical King David.
"This area is the cradle from which the City of David sprang," said Uri Shetrit, Jerusalem's director of planning, urban design and architecture, who has spearheaded the demolition drive.
"Historically, this valley was an open space, a green space full of archeological treasures, and I consider it my professional duty to protect them."
Shetrit cited a 1974 zoning regulation declaring the area an open parkland in which no building was permitted.
However, Palestinian residents maintain that many of the targeted structures predate the statute.
Some of them still have original property deeds dating back to 1920.
Israeli human rights groups believe the demolition plans only serve to deny the Palestinians access to their future capital.
"It's a very, very dangerous proposal," said Meir Margalit, a former Jerusalem city councilman who is helping lead the opposition to the Israeli demolition plans.
"In addition to putting 1,000 people out of their homes, we believe the aim, ultimately, is to deny Palestinians access to what will be their capital. And that would undermine any future Mideast peace solution."
A protest tent was set up by the rights groups in Silwan where activists gather daily, distributing maps and pamphlets and offering neighborhood tours.
Margalit hoped that a combination of Western diplomatic pressure and legal strategy would derail the Israeli demolition plans.
Israeli housing demolitions have increased in Al-Quds since the start in 2000 of the Palestinian Intifada, said the Israeli human rights group B'tselem.
Al-Aqsa Intifada erupted in the wake of the provocative visit of then Israeli opposition leader Sharon to Al-Aqsa mosque.
In October, 2004, a UN report accused Israel of severe human rights violations against Palestinians, including "wanton" destruction of infrastructure.