JERUSALEM Feb. 15 (JMCC) - Illustrating that no fight is too small in Jerusalem, Israeli municipal officials wrecked five peddler's stalls in a corner of the contested city Sunday.

The Palestinian owners refused to move their rented stalls just inside the Old City walls, despite an order from the city government.

Hatem Abdel Qader, Jerusalem representative of Fateh, said the stall owners would file a petition protesting their removal with the Jerusalem central court.

The owners rent their makeshift stalls from a middleman who in turn rents the area from the city, said residents. They fear that a recent decision to remove the peddler's market - inside Damascus Gate - is a precursor to plans to close the area for two years while excavations are carried out in the quarter.

No official announcement of pending excavations has been made, but residents say they were tipped off by employees of the city government.

Palestinians have boycotted local council elections in the Jerusalem municipality since Israel took occupied its eastern half in 1967, and refuse to recognize many city decisions.