Reply #6: you'd think Israel would not let a 'PR' moment as good as this pass

[azurnoir]

from the article

"Many places in Israel were abandoned," says an official from the Israel Land Administration, pointing out that Jerusalemites are leaving the city in droves due to a shortage of housing. "If we waited for all the refugees to come back, we wouldn't have a country."

Some argue that Israel could nevertheless seize an historic opportunity by allowing a symbolic number of refugees to return to Lifta, a move that would create goodwill at little cost.

"If we do destroy it, this would send a very bad message on many levels to the Palestinians," says Eitan Bronstein of Zochrot, an Israeli organisation that has meticulously recorded all the pre-1948 villages. "It sends a message that we don't care and will continue with this plan to this country only for Jews."

preserving this village could be used as proof Israel is not at present trying to ethnically cleanse Palestinians