CAIRO: Egypt and Jordan have strongly condemned Israel’s demolition of an historic hotel in east Jerusalem, warning in separate statements it could fuel unrest in the Palestinian territories.
The demolition of the Shepherd Hotel in annexed east Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to make way for Jewish homes will lead to "a new explosion of violence," the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement issued late Sunday in Cairo.
It accused Israel of attempting to "judaize the Holy City and empty it of its Palestinian residents."
Israel will be held responsible for its "provocative policies," it added.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh also issued a harsh statement saying the Amman government "rejects and strongly denounces" Sunday’s demolition work which could lead to "instability."
Jordan urged the international community to intervene and said Israel’s action undermines peace efforts.
Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab states to have signed peace treaties with Israel, which has also faced harsh condemnation from its key ally the United States as well as from the European Union.
Palestinian officials have accused Israel of destroying any chance of peace by demolishing part of the building, which sits on a plot of land in east Jerusalem where developers plan to build a complex of 20 luxury apartments for Jewish settlers.
The Palestinians regard east Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state and fiercely oppose any attempts to extend Israeli control over it.
Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move the rest of the world has never recognized. It considers the whole of Jerusalem its "eternal and indivisible" capital.
US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been on hold since late September, when an Israeli freeze on the construction of Jewish settlements expired.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has insisted he will not hold peace talks while Israel continues to build on land which the Palestinians want for their future state.
