According to multiple outlets, the Israeli government has moved to establish an inter-ministry team to look into the possibility of confiscating properties in parts of the Old City of Jerusalem.
“The team will gauge how to expropriate dozens of properties along Chain Gate Street, which in Hebrew is called HaShalshelet Street,” The Times of Israel reports.
“The alley serves as the Jewish Quarter’s northern perimeter and ultimately leads to the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa compound,” it continued.
Jerusalem Governorate warns of Israeli plan to seize Palestinian properties near Al-Aqsa Mosquehttps://t.co/iIZoFQnxvI
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) May 18, 2026
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The inter-ministerial team, which will be led by the director general of the Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Ministry, has a year to submit an actionable plan to the government, Channel 12 reports.
ADVERTISEMENTThe decision is meant to further the “development and strengthening of the Israeli capital” and “exercise control over the [Jewish] Quarter in its entirety,” Levin’s ministry says in a statement.
According to Channel 12, the step could lead to the confiscation of roughly 50 buildings and the eventual eviction of the Muslim families residing there to make way for Jewish tenants.
The report notes that the prospect of seizing properties on Chain Gate Street — a sensitive area due to its proximity to the Temple Mount — encountered resistance from officials in the Finance Ministry, who argued the move could spark international opposition.
Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher for Ir Amim, an NGO that advocates for Palestinian Jerusalemites, says that the prospective confiscation of property on the street would be “an aggressive step.”
“Officially, on paper, this is territory that belongs to the state,” a source in the Jerusalem Affairs and Jewish Tradition Ministry told N12, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“The goal of the team that will be established is to study the issue and understand the gap between the decision that was made nearly 60 years ago and the reality on the ground,” the source reportedly added.
The Jerusalem Post shared further:
The Hamas terror organization issued a statement on Telegram on Monday denouncing the report.
“The occupation government’s decision to expropriate dozens of residential buildings in the vicinity of al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem represents a dangerous step that directly targets the Palestinian existence,” the terror group wrote.
ADVERTISEMENT“We call for strengthening the support for the people of Jerusalem, intensifying all means of resistance and confrontation against the colonial-settlement projects, and reinforcing presence in the Old City and in the vicinity of the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque,” the statement added.
