© Electronic IntifadaMany of the historic homes in Haifa’s al-Mahatta neighborhood have already been demolished.
An Israeli municipality plans to demolish al-Mahatta, a historic Palestinian neighborhood in
Haifa.
It will be replaced by the expansion of an existing railway, new housing units, nightclubs and restaurants, among other venues designed to bring in increased tourist revenues.
"Since I was five years old, I've been hearing that al-Mahatta is going to be completely destroyed ... but today, I can't imagine that we have more than two or three years left in our homes," George Eskandar, chairman of al-Mahatta's neighborhood committee, told The
Electronic Intifada.
Around 160 people from more than 30 families are facing eviction. All of them carry Israeli citizenship.
Eskandar, 34, lives with his wife and four-year-old son in his family's home. He and his wife also work as actors. "This is where I was born and where I've spent my whole life," he said.
The program to demolish al-Mahatta is part of an already approved national plan to develop coastal areas up and down present-day Israel. Haifa's municipality has until the end of 2014 to decide the local details of the plan for al-Mahatta, and another five years to fully implement it.
Only two of the remaining structures - one of which is a local church - will be left standing once Israel's plans for al-Mahatta are carried out.
Until now, the plan has only been implemented in the form of individual
housing demolitions and evictions on a home-to-home basis.