Erdan
ErdanFlash 90

Internal Security and Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) on Thursday extended an order barring the reopening of the Orient House and other activity in east Jerusalem due to their affiliation with the Palestinian Authority.

The Orient House, a property in eastern Jerusalem owned by the Al-Husseini clan, was used by pro-Palestine Liberation Organizations in the 1980s, and in the 1990s as the PLO's de facto headquarters. In 2001, during the Second Intifada, Israeli police closed the Orient House.

The order signed by Minister Erdan limits the activities of Orient House a number of other east Jerusalem Arab institutions including the East Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce, the Supreme Council for the Arab Tourism Industry, the Center for Palestinian Studies, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, and the Office for Social and Statistical Studies.

After President Donald Trump's Jerusalem declaration in December, the PA increased efforts to renew operations in Jerusalem, and transferred funds to its representatives there. The PA still sees the Orient House as the linchpin of its plans to control eastern Jerusalem.

Minister Erdan said that "the struggle for sovereignty over all parts of Jerusalem continues all the time, and the Palestinian Authority is trying to undermine Israel's sovereignty in our capital consistently. I will not allow it."