Agenda Jerusalem

8/14/2019 Agenda Jerusalem

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14. Jerusalem

1 4 . 1 H IS TO RY

Historical Significance: Linking Past to Present

Throughout its 5000 years of history, Jerusalem has continued to thrive as an important political and cultural center, and ahouse of faith for the three monotheistic religions. This city has withstood many wars and conflicts, and despite someturbulent events in the past, it has retained a peaceful image of unity and sacredness. However, due to its addedimportance as a political symbol and a geographic center in the region, it has aroused great struggle over who has theexclusive right of its possession. Its recent history, borne out of the Arab-Israeli conflict, has fueled a long conflict regardingits future, and has rendered Jerusalem a vital but unresolved question in Middle East politics. Till today, the city remains theheart of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The rulers of Jerusalem through history have employed continuous and well-plannedstrategies of territorial, demographic, religious, and property claims in order to maintain control over the citys sovereignty.

Jerusalem throughout the Ages

Throughout the ages, Jerusalem has had its prosperous times of co-existence and justice as well as somedark periods of oppressive rule and bloodshed. The earliest traces of permanent settlement in Jerusalemdates back approximately 5000 years. The first known tribes were the Caananites and the Jebusites.

Around 3000 years ago King David conquered the city from the Jebusites and this era constitutes thefoundation of the Jewish claim to the city. The Jews were later on driven out of Jerusalem by theBabylonians but allowed back by the Persian King Cyrus around 500 BC. A number of foreign rulersfollowed and in 63 BC the Romans gained control over Jerusalem. The city remained under the rule of the Eastern Roman Emperor until the 7th century until it opened its doors to the Caliph Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, to whom the keys of Jerusalem were handed over by the Patriarch Safronios in 638 AD. The

Arab Muslim Caliph granted the citizens of the city, the status of protected people or dhimis , whichgave them the freedom to practice their religion. This was a period in which harmony and tolerance

reigned. (Armstrong, 1996)

A darker period ensued at the beginning of the 11 thth Century, when theEgyptian Caliph Al-Hakim persecuted Christians and Jews, and destroyedthe Church of the Holy Sepulcher. A later conquest of the city by the Seljuk Turks caused manyoppressive reprisals on the inhabitants of the city. The city then remained under Islamic-Arabrule until it was captured by the Crusaders in 1099 AD. The Crusaders (Al-Firanja) massacredMuslims and Jews, and turned Jerusalem into a Christian city where non-Christians were notpermitted to live. Christian rule lasted until 1187 AD when Salah Eddin conquered the city.Salah Eddin restored Jerusalems true role; he left the Holy Sepulcher open to Christians andreopened the city in 1192 for pilgrimage. Again, following the fall of Jerusalem to Fredrick II in1229 the city was forbidden to Muslims and Jews, and in 1244 the city came under the rule of Egypt (the Mamluks). (PASSIA Archives)

The Mamluks governed Jerusalem from Cairo (1260-1516) and were followed by theOttoman empire (1516-1918). The Mamluks and the Ottomans transformed the citysphysical attributes, endowing it with splendid religious monuments. The Ottomansbuilt the walls and gates of the Old City (1537-1541) and renovated the Dome of theRock. Jerusalem remained in their hands until 1917. (Armstrong, 1996)

The British Mandate (1917-1948)Following the 1915 Hussein-McMahon correspondence and the 1916 Sykes-Picot

Agreement concerning the future political status of the Arab lands of the MiddleEast, General Edmund Allenbys troops and the Arab Revolt defeated the Turks.Jerusalem was captured on 9 Dec. 1917 and under the British Mandate (1917-1948), it was recognized as the administrative and political capital of Palestine. Amunicipality was formed with a balanced share of power between the threemonotheistic religions. In April 1920 , the San Remo Conference awardedadministration of the former Ottoman territories of Syria and Lebanon to France,and Palestine, Transjordan and Mesopotamia (Iraq) to Britain. Ronald Storrs became the first British military governor of Jerusalem. (1917-26) On 24 July1922 , the League of Nations Council approved the Mandate for Palestine without

the consent of Palestinians (the terms of the Mandate became official on 29Sept. 1923 ). General Edmund Allenby

Ibn Al-Khattab Covenant

Salah Eddin

Sir Ronald Storrs

Al-Aqsa Mosque


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Palestinian resistance against the British rule pressured the Mandate authorities to find a solution to the conflict in Palestine.

The British White Paper of 1922, limiting Jewish immigration to Palestine, infuriated the Zionist organizations in Palestine whoput pressure on the British through various means to allow more Jewish immigration. The Arabs continued to resist the BritishMandate policies and there were a number of uprisings and revolts against the British ( 1921 , 1923 , and 1936 ). The British,however, were not consistent in their restrictions of Jewish immigration, and in many ways supported Zionist groups in theirattacks against Arabs. Following the 1939 St. James conference, Britain issued a second White Paper, which put restrictions onJewish immigration and promised an independent Palestine within ten years. In 1946, the Morisson-Grady Plan provided for aBritish trusteeship over a federation of two autonomous provinces, one Arab and one Jewish. In 1947, the British Foreign Sec-retary proposed a unified state under temporary British trusteeship with autonomous Arab and Jewish cantons. (Abdul-Hadi, 1985)

In February 1947, Britain announced that is was not prepared to continue to administer Palestine and turned to the newlycreated United Nations for a solution. The Palestinians together with five Arab states called for an independent state inPalestine. The United Nations did not include this demand in its agenda and instead named in May 1947 a special committee(UNSCOP The United Nations Special Committee on Palestine) to study the question of Palestine. In the 1947 Partition Plan(Res. 181) UNSCOP recommended the partition of Palestine into an Arab State and a Jewish State, and that "The City of Jerusalem (extending to Bethlehem) shall be established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime andadministered by the United Nations. The citys boundaries were to include the 1947 municipality of Jerusalem plus thesurrounding villages and towns. [At the time, Jerusalem the Old City and Palestinian neighborhoods such as Talbiyeh,Baqa, and Katamon southwest of the city was surrounded by 66 Palestinian villages (e.g., Deir Yassin, Lifta, Malha, EinKarem), while the mainly ultra-orthodox Jewishpopulation was concentrated in part of the Old Cityand neighborhoods north-west of it.] The Jewishleaders accepted the plan but the Palestiniansturned the resolution down because they consideredit unfair. The partition assigned to the proposedJewish state 56% of the areas of Palestine, whileJews constituted only 33% of the population andowned only 6% of the non-urban land. The planwas thus never implemented.

Prior to the 1948 War, Palestinians formed the over-whelming majority in the Jerusalem district andowned most of the land. The last British Survey of Palestine (Dec. 1946) made the following demo-graphic estimates:

Property Ownership 1948:

West Jerusalem Jerusalem Sub-District Western Villages

(Source: A Survey of Palestine , Britain, 1946; Sami Hadawi, Palestinian Rights and Losses in 1948. London, 1988 .NB: Public includes land owned by Palestinian relig ious institutions and government land.)

Popu ationof Jerusalem in Sub-Districts

Palestinians 65,010 150,590Jews 99,320 102,520Other 110 160Total 164,440 253,270

UN Partition Plan, Jerusalem, 29 Nov. 1947 (Res. 181)


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The 1948 Arab-Israeli War - Al-Nakba

While Arabs refer to the 1948 War as Al-Nakba (the catastrophe), Israelis

call it the War of Independence.

On 14 May 1948 the Jewish Agency declaredthe establishment of the State of Israel in thepart of Palestine allocated to the Jews in UNResolution 181. This events was one of thestarting points for the first Arab-Israeli War.

The balance of power in the war was veryunequal, with a well-equipped and trainedZionist army fighting against poorly armedPalestinian resistance groups, and manyPalestinian civilians fled in panic after Jewishforces committed massacres in some villages.

Before the entry of the Arab armies, the Zionist forces launched two offensives one from Tel Aviv and one from Jerusalem itself (Dec. 1947-May 1948) whichresulted in the conquest of West Jerusalem and the corridor leading to the coast - inviolation of the UN Partition Resolution. Until today the international community,

including the US, has never explicitly recognized Israeli sovereignty over even West Jerusalem. During the course of the Warof 1948, Jewish forces captured much of the territory assigned to the proposed Arab state, including 85% of Jerusalem(mainly in the citys western part and surrounding neighborhoods). The Jordanian Arab Legion took control of the West Bank,including 11% of the eastern part of Jerusalem (including the Old City and adjacent villages).The remaining 4% of theJerusalem area was considered no-man's land in which the UN headquarters were established.

Some 64,000-80,000 Palestinians wereforcibly driven out of or left the westernpart of Jerusalem and the villages in theimmediate vicinity. In June 1948, theirproperty (including 10,000 homes, furnitureand businesses) came under the control of the Israeli Custodian of AbsenteeProperty (Cattan, H. Jerusalem , New York,1981) . Some 40 Palestinian villages in andaround Jerusalem were depopulated and many of them destroyed .

The 1949 ceasefire/armistice agree-ment between Jordan and Israel formallydivided the city into Jordanian-controlledEast and Israeli-controlled West Jeru-salem. In 1950, the Israeli governmentpassed the Absentee Property Law,which transferred the ownership of left property to the Jewish state. This eventmarks the first division of Jerusalem intoEast and West Jerusalem.

On 2 Feb. 1949, Israeli PM David Ben-Gurion unilaterally declared that Israeli-held (West) Jerusalem was no longer oc-cupied territory but an integral part of theIsraeli state, and on 13 Dec. 1949, WestJerusalem was illegally (according tointernational law) declared the capital of Israel.

On 19 Dec. 1949, the UN General Assem-bly voted for Res. 303 , restating itsintention to place Jerusalem under a per-manent international regime, whichshould envisage appropriate guaranteesfor the protection of the Holy Places, bothwithin and outside Jerusalem, andconfirm the provisions of the PartitionResolution 181 of 1947. However, thisplan was never to be implemented.

Partitioned Jerusalem, 1948-1967

Palestinian refugees crossing thedestroyed Allenby Bridge into Jordan


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Israeli Occupation 1967:

Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in the course of the June War of 1967. Eversince, Israeli objectives and policies regarding Jerusalem have followed a clear pattern: to establish irreversible facts in thecity that allow Israel to secure and maintain exclusive control. Immediately after the June War of 1967, the Israeligovernment began to redefine the municipal boundaries of both parts of Jerusalem.

The Arab East Jerusalem municipal boundaries , comprising 6.5 km 2, were expanded through the annexation of anadditional 70 km 2 (70,000 dunums) of East Jerusalem and some 28 surrounding villages into the State of Israel's territory(added to the 38,000 dunums of West Jerusalem at the time) (BTselem. A Policy of Discrimination . Jerusalem, 1995) . (SeeDictionary of Palestinian Political Terms for explanation of Dunums) The new municipal boundaries, now embracing 108 km 2(East and West Jerusalem) and representing an area of 28% of the West Bank, were designed to secure geographic in-tegrity and a demographic Jewish majority in both parts of the city. Thus, many Palestinian populated areas such as Ar-Ram, Abu Dis, Izzariya and Qalandia Camp were excluded. On28 June 1967, the Knesset amended the Law of 1950, whichproclaimed Jerusalem as Israel's capital, to extend illegallyIsraeli jurisdiction to the eastern part of the city. One of the first moves after the war was the forceful eviction of over6,000 Palestinians from the Old Citys Mughrabi Quarter andthe destruction of their houses (numbering at least 135) inorder to create a plaza in front of Al-Buraq (Western Wall). On4 July 1967, UN General Assembly Resolution 2253 calledupon Israel to rescind all measures taken (and) to desistforthwith from taking any action which would alter the statusof Jerusalem. In total disregard of the resolution, Israelconfiscated over 25,870 dunums of Palestinian land in Jerusa-lem in the first three years of occupation alone (UN. Report of the Security Council Commission, Nov. 1980 S-14268) .

Israeli Policies Since 1967:

Israels strategies regarding Jerusalem,enacted at municipal level with the uncon-ditional support of the national government,were masterminded by former mayor TeddyKollek whose plans and policies, which arecarried out until this day, resulted in cutting

the Greater Jerusalem' off from the WestBank.

The Israeli strategy of what some wouldcall 'Judaization' has involved coloniza-tion of the Old City and its immediate andextended surroundings, and the building of suburbs with new road links in order topopulate heavily the metropolitan area of annexed East Jerusalem. Palestinian-ownedland was referred to as vacant or unused inorder to justify expropriation and to block Palestinian development and housing todrive Palestinians out of the city. As stipu-lated in the Land Ordinance; Acquisition Public Purposes of 1943, the Israeli FinanceMinister was authorized to issue expropria-tion orders for privately owned land if a

public purpose existed, which had simply

to be defined as such by the Finance Minis-ter. Between 1967-1996 some 23,500dunums were expropriated from Palestini-ans in Jerusalem under this ordinance (BTse-lem. A Policy of Discrimination . Jerusalem, 1995) .

On 30 July 1980, the Israeli govt. reaf-firmed the 1967 de facto annexation and

declared Jerusalem the eternal undivided capital of Israel through its Basic Law on Jerusalem . Constituting a harsh vio-lation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, it was condemned by UNSC Resolution 478 (20 Aug.1980), which declared that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying power,which have altered or purport to alter the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and, in particular, the recent

Basic Law on Jerusalem, are null and void and must be rescinded forthwith.

The Western Wall in 1967

Source?


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1 4 . 2 L EG AL S TATU S Under international law , East Jerusalem is occupied territory, which means that the Fourth Geneva Convention isapplicable and Israel has no claim to East Jerusalem by virtue of having taken control of it militarily. The internationalcommunity rejects Israels claim to both West and East Jerusalem as its eternal undivided capital and has consistentlydenounced Israeli attempts to change the status of the city.

Those attempts and Israels ongoing policies and practices in the city violate the Fourth Geneva Convention as well asInternational Covenants and Conventions (e.g., the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Right, theConvention for the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination) and dozens of UN resolutions repeatedly emphasizingthe illegitimacy of Jerusalems annexation and that Jerusalem is an integral part of the Occupied Territories.

Under Israeli law , the legal status of East Jerusalem is thus different from that of the rest of the territories occupied in1967, which are under military occupation. As permanent residents, Jerusalem Palestinians are entitled to certain benefits denied to Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip (National Insurance and health insurance), they can travelfreely and have access to employment in Jerusalem and in Israel. However, they must also pay all the government andmunicipal taxes that Israel's citizens pay, cannot leave the country without travel documents (laissez-passs) issued byIsrael's Ministry of the Interior, and are subject to discriminatory laws and policies intended to reduce the Palestinianpopulation in Jerusalem (e.g., the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law, building and planning laws).

Arabs of East Jerusalem are entitled to participate in municipal elections (both to vote and to be elected) but since theyrefuse to recognize the Israels illegal annexation of East Jerusalem, only a small percentage does. Thus, one-third of Jerusalem's population is not represented in the city council.

1 4 . 3 J E R U SA L EM I N N EG O T IAT I ON S Peace Talks in Madrid in Oct. 1991 delayed settling the issue of Jerusalem, because Israel refused to accept it on the agendaof the negotiations. Israel also demanded that the Palestinian delegation to the peace talks not include representatives fromJerusalem. Neither the official talks in Washington during 1992-93 nor the Sept. 1993 Declaration of Principles , resulting from the secret Oslo talks, or any of the subsequent Oslo Accords (of May 1994 and Sept. 1995 ) added anysignificant momentum to the issue of Jerusalem. Only The Framework for the Conclusion of a Final Status Agreement (knownas Abu Mazen-Beilin Agreement ), which was drawn up by then PLO Sec.-Gen. Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Deputy FM YossiBeilin in Oct. 1995 (but was denied its existence for five years) dared to draft concrete proposals for the solution of theJerusalem Question, including dividing the city, with Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem becoming part of the Palestinianstate, the capital of which would be Abu Dis, and Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem being part of Israel.

The first time the issue of Jerusalem was officially tackled in negotiations was in the July 2000 Camp David Summit,where the Israeli side, led by PM Ehud Barak, offered the Palestinians, led by President Arafat, responsibilities over someneighborhoods in Jerusalem, and where plans for the joint administration of the Old City were discussed. However, Israelidemands that Palestinians recognize its settlements established within the West Jerusalem Municipal (WJM) boundaries aswell as the historic and religious relationship of the Jews to the Haram Ash-Sharif and thus their right to share sovereignty over the site, was unacceptable and led, inter alia, to the failure of the Camp David Summit. Negotiations continuednevertheless and gaps between the parties on various issues were narrowed. In a last ditch effort, US President Clinton offered his " Parameters " to Israeli and Palestinian negotiators at a White House meeting on 23 Dec. 2000, to serve asguidelines for final accelerated negotiations, which, he hoped, could be concluded in the coming weeks before he would leaveoffice in Jan. 2001. Both sides eventually accepted those parameters, though with questions and reservations, and they laid thefoundation for the Jan. 2001 Taba talks that took place before the election of Ariel Sharon in Feb. 2001 (which effectivelyended the peace process). With regard to Jerusalem, Clintons general principle was that Arab areas are Palestinian andJewish ones are Israeli, that maximum contiguity for both sides should be created, and that the Haram Al-Sharif/TempleMount was less an administrative than a symbolic issue of sovereignty and should be treated as such.

Since then, peace initiatives including the 2002 Saudi peace plan , the Quartets Road Map (2003) and the Geneva Docu-ment (2003 ), which, however, have all failed to bring the issue of Jerusalem any closer to a solution. Meanwhile, Israelcontinues to create facts on the ground, which further obstruct, if not have made impossible, a viable solution for the city.

Two major documents signed by over 100 Palestinian personalities were published in major newspapers and passed on toPalestinian leadership, one in Jerusalem (12 Nov.) and one in Amman (15 Nov.). Both documents emphasize the Palestiniannational position on Jerusalem in anticipation of the International Jerusalem Conference which gathered over 5,000personalities from the Arab and Islamic world in Istanbul (17 Nov.), and the Annapolis International Meeting (27 Nov.) under the auspices of US Pres. Bush between Pres. Abbas, PM Olmert and the representatives of over 30 nations, the UNSCand the Quartet. In a speech at Annapolis, Pres. Abbas reiterated the Palestinian national position on the urgent need toend the 40-year Israeli occupation and to recognize an independent Palestinian state.

The Jerusalem ID: After the 1967 annexation of East Jerusalem, most Palestinians refused the offer of receiving Israelicitizenship, as this would have required them to take an oath of allegiance to the Israeli state. Uponthis refusal, the Israeli authorities decided to acknowledge Palestinians living in Jerusalem as

permanent residents and issue Jerusalem Identity Cards for them. In 2005, approx. 93% of the Arab population of Jerusalem had the status of permanent resident (about 3% of thesereceived this designation as a result of family re-unification), approx. 5% had the status of citizenship and about 2% were in a status pending clarification. However, residency can berevoked by Israel if one chooses to live abroad or in the Palestinian territories for anextended period of time. (See also Chapter on Residency Rights below). (Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Jerusalem Facts and Trends , Jan. 2008).


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1 4 . 4 P OP UL AT IO N Since 1967 there has been a clear strategy employed by the Israeli government to limit thenumber of Palestinians living in Jerusalem. Immediately after the occupation of Jerusalem in1967, the Israeli government conducted a census that counted 66,000 Palestinians living in EastJerusalem within the new municipal borders (44,000 in pre-1967 East Jerusalem and 22,000 inthe area newly annexed by Israel). While these Palestinians were classified as permanentresidents of Jerusalem (according to the Law of Entry into Israel 1952, Entry to Israel Regulations1974), those who were not recorded due to absence whether studying abroad, visiting relativeselsewhere, etc. had later to apply for family reunification to the Ministry of the Interior (seeResidency Rights ). In 1967 , the population ratio in the city - according to Israeli records -was 25.8% Arabs and 74.2% Jews ( Jerusalem Institute of Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 2005 ) . A 1973 ministerial committee (Gafni Commission) laid down the policy that thecitys demographic balance must be maintained at a ratio of 70%:30%.

Ever since 1967, Israeli governments have encouraged Jews to settle in East Jerusalem andprovided numerous incentives (e.g., favorable apartment purchase terms, subsidies, exemptionfrom/reduction of municipal taxes). As a result, the settlers in East Jerusalem comprise an es-timated 75-80% of the total increase in Jerusalem's Jewish population since 1967.Nevertheless, by 2006, the population ratio had changed in favor of the Palestinianpopulation with 34% Arabs to 64.5% Jews (Jerusalem Institute of Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 2007/08) .

The Jerusalem Institute of Israel Studies counts a total population of 746,300 at the end of 2007 , of which 489,480 wereJews & Others and 256,820 Palestinians. Though the city's population grew by 13,000 (or 1.8%) in 2007, its migrationbalance was negative (-6,390), as 18,750 residents left and only 12,360 moved from elsewhere to Jerusalem. Between 1990-2007, 284,850 residents left the city, while only 174,560 moved in, thus leaving a negative balance of migration of -110,200. (Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, New data on Jerusalem, 30 May 2008).

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimates the Palestinian population in the Jerusalem Governorate at363,649 in its 2007 census, incl. 225,416 living in Israeli-annexed Jerusalem.

According to a report by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, the Arab population of Jerusalem is growing at almosttwice the rate of the Jewish population, and the percentage of the citys Jewish population will drop from its current level of 66% to 50% by the year 2035. (Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, 2007).

In addition, the Palestinian population is significantly younger than the Jewish. In 2004, the median age for Jews & otherswas 25.4, it was only 19.8 for Arabs (see also table below).

According to the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, in 2006, some 59% of Jerusalem residents lived in areas of the citythat came under Israeli rule after the 1967 War, i.e., in illegally annexed East Jerusalem, 44% of whom were Jewish settlers,constituting 39% of the citys Jewish population. (Haaretz, 24 May 2006).

Some 18,400 Jews left Jerusalem in 2007, compared to 12,000 who moved to the city, leaving the overall annualmigration level at -6,400. The primary reasons cited by people who have left the capital in years past are the search forbetter job opportunities and more affordable housing. (Jerusalem Institute of Israel Studies, 2008).

Total Population byPopulation Group

3.4 3.4

2.7

3.4

3.8

4.5

2.92.7

3.5

43.7

3.23 3.1

3.7

3.2 3.1

2.62.4

2.1

1.3 1.4 1.2 1.3

0.71 1.1 0.9

1.3

0.9

1.31.5

1.2 1.2

2

1.3

2.42.2

2.4 2.42.1

1.9 1.8

2.62.3

1.91.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Arabs, Jerusalem Jews & Others, Jerusalem Jews in Israel

Damascus Gate

146,844

342,636

243,979

12,841

Ultra-OrthodoxReligious/Secular Jews

Arab Muslims Arab Christians

Annual Growth Rates (%) by Population Group and Area


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Demographic Features

Jews & Others Palestinians TotalTotal Population (end of 2007)

of which - settlers in East Jerusalem- Muslims - Arab Christians 1

489,480 (66%)ca. 200,000

256,820 (34%)

243,97912,841 1

746,300

Population Growth Rates (%) 2006 - total 1967-2002

1.2132.3

3.1223.3

1.9155.7

Population ratio 2007 (%)Projected ratios 2010/15/20

66.064.6 / 62.2 / 61.2

34.035.4 / 37.8 / 38.8

100

Population by age (2006) in %- 0-14 yrs.- 15-44 yrs.- 45-64 yrs.- 65+ yrs.

- Median age

3141.317.010.725.4

41.5 (Muslims:42.7, Christians: 21) 43.8 (Muslims:43.7, Christians: 45.1) 11.3 (Muslims:10.7, Christians: 21) 3.4 (Muslims:3, Christians: 12.9)

19.8

34.642.115.18.2

23.4Birth Rate (2007 - birth per 1,000 pop.) 25.8 30.5Fertility Rate (2006) 3.9 4.0 3.9Internal Migration Balance (2007)

(1990-2007)-6,390

-110,200-6,390

-110,2001 Arab Christians account for 2% of the city's population (in comparison: 1946 they constituted 19% of the population) and for 83%of the city's Christians. Approx. 44% of the Christians in Jerusalem live in the Old City.

(Source: Jerusalem Institute of Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem , 2007/08; New data on Jerusalem, May 2008. Forfootnote 1: The City in Numbers Christians in Jerusalem, 2008).

It is against the background of such demographic development that the Israeli government has used various methods tocounter the trend, including drafting various plans to expand the municipal boundaries ; isolating East Jerusalem fromthe rest of the West Bank through its settlement policies and by building the separation barrier; discriminating in landexpropriation, planning, and building, and house demolition; revoking residency and social benefits; dividing the municipalbudget in favor of the west part of the city, with harmful effects on infrastructure and services in East Jerusalem.

Between 1979 and 1987, there was a negative annual migration of some -600 residents, which significantly rose between1988 and 2007 from -1,100 to -6,400 in 2007. In recent years, 50% of those leaving the city proper have moved out to thesurrounding metropolitan area. Between 2000 and 2006, 19,200 new immigrants chose to settle in Jerusalem (not includingreturning Israeli citizens). They comprised 9% of all immigrants to Israel .(Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, The City in Numbers The Balance of Migration of the Jewish Population of Jerusalem , 2008.)

Palestinian Neighborhoods in Israeli-Annexed East Jerusalem

Neighborhood Area in

dunums

Population Remarks

At-Tur 1,745 22,867 Pop. includes Sawaneh Ath-Thori 1,736 14,833 includes Hirbet Beit SahurJabal Mukabber 2,949 16,820 incl. Arab As-Sawahreh, except area

Al-Issawiyya 2,394 12,269Bab Az-Zahrah 823 6,515 includes Nablus Road areaBeit Hanina 5,294 25,644Beit Safafa 1,577 8,364 Pop. incl. Sharafat, Zuhu and Der KarmizanSheikh Jarrah 711 2,766Shufat 2,546 35,781 incl. Shufat Camp (347 dunums)

excl. Anatot industrial area (1,731 dunums)Silwan 537 11,461Sur Baher/Im Tuba 5,333 13,978Wadi Al-Joz 347 8,093Old City 900 37,075 incl. Jewish Quarter and 3,932 Jews

Arab As-Sawahreh 2,342 incl. in Jabel Al-Mukabber incl. Um LeisanWadi Hilweh 506 4,400Kufr Aqab 2,441 12,353 pop. incl. Atarot Industrial ZoneRas Al-Amud 1,262 15,540 area includes Wadi QadumSharafat 8,939 incl. in Beit Safafa incl. Zuhur, Der KarmizanSawaneh 851 Pop. included in At-Tur

(Source: Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem , 2006/07.)


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0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1917 pre-War 1967 post-War 1967 Mar-85 May-93

19.5

38.1

108 108.5

126.4

Municipal Area of Jerusalem since 1967 (in thousand dunums)

Jerusalem is the largest city in Israel in terms of municipal area and population (some 10.3% of Israels population).

Source: Jerusalem Institute of IsraelStudies, Statistical Yearbook of

Jerusalem , 2002/03.

Palestinian Neighborhoods in Israeli-Annexed East Jerusalem

Neighborhood Area indunums

Population Remarks

At-Tur 1,745 22,867 Pop. includes Sawaneh Ath-Thori 1,736 14,833 includes Hirbet Beit SahurJabal Mukabber 2,949 16,820 incl. Arab As-Sawahreh, except area

Al-Issawiyya 2,394 12,269Bab Az-Zahrah 823 6,515 includes Nablus Road areaBeit Hanina 5,294 25,644Beit Safafa 1,577 8,364 Pop. incl. Sharafat, Zuhu and Der KarmizanSheikh Jarrah 711 2,766Shufat 2,546 35,781 incl. Shufat Camp (347 dunums)

excl. Anatot industrial area (1,731 dunums)Silwan 537 11,461

Sur Baher/Im Tuba 5,333 13,978Wadi Al-Joz 347 8,093Old City 900 37,075 incl. Jewish Quarter and 3,932 Jews

Arab As-Sawahreh 2,342 incl. in Jabel Al-Mukabber incl. Um LeisanWadi Hilweh 506 4,400Kufr Aqab 2,441 12,353 pop. incl. Atarot Industrial ZoneRas Al-Amud 1,262 15,540 area includes Wadi QadumSharafat 8,939 incl. in Beit Safafa incl. Zuhur, Der KarmizanSawaneh 851 Pop. included in At-Tur

(Source: Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem , 2006/07.)

The PA Jerusalem Governorate

The Jerusalem governorate of the PA has different district boundariesthan the Israeli municipal area of Jerusalem, which includes illegallyand unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem. Consequently, the statisticalareas both sides refer to differ in scope and range.

The map on the right shows the PA governorate in dark and the Israelimunicipal area in lighter shade.

The total land area of the Jerusalem governorate comprises 319,790dunums, 117,551 of which are located within the part that was annexedby Israel in 1967. (PCBS)

According to the PCBS 2007 Census, 363,649 Palestinians were living inthe Jerusalem Governorate , 225,416 of whom inside the Israelimunicipal boundaries and 138,233 outside. (In comparison, the numbers that had been projected for 2007 based on the1997 Census and an average growth rate of 3.4 - were 420,409 for the governorate, with 259,896 inside and 160,513outside the municipal boundaries).

Excluding 6 km (incl. the OldCity) of the Jordanian EastJerusalem municipality (1948-67).

First municipal jurisdiction definedby the British. Under British rule,and up to 1967, the area of juris-diction was gradually extended to38,100 dunums.


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Estimated Palestinian Population - Jerusalem Governorate, excl. Israeli-Annexed East Jerusalem, 2007

Locality Pop. 2007 Built-uparea

Locality Pop. 2007 Built-uparea

Abu Dis Al-IzzariyyaSawahreh Ash-SharqiyaSheikh Saad

Az-Zayim AnataBidduNabi SamwilJaba

Al-JudeiraDahiet Al-Barid

Ar-Ram Al-Jib Al-Qubeia

Beit IjzaBeit Iksa

10,78217,6065,8001,9493,402

12,0496,798258

3,1832,276

20,359

4,2203,172

6981,895

2,0332,1011,307

387287

1,2751,601

104342288

3,178

475477

379279

Beit Hanina Al-BaladBeit DiqquBeit Surik Beit AnanBir NabalaHizmaKharayeb Im Al-LahmRafatQatannaQalandiaQalandia CampKufr AqabMikhmasBedouins (Jahalin, Tajamu)

Total

1,0711,6213,8873,9804,8176,271363

2,3746,4581,1798,831

10,8731,4471,447

138,233

393450777

1,5451,158

6445

4472,740

190320

1,922406

--

24,510 (Source: PCBS, Population Census , 2007.)

The average household size in the Jerusalem Governorate was 5.2 in 2007 (compared to 5.5 in the remaining WBGS), andthe average housing density (persons per room) 1.6 (equal to that in the West Bank). ( PCBS, Population Census , 2007).

Built-up Area, Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem

Locality Build-up area(dunums)

Beit HaninaShufat (incl. Shufat Camp

Al-Issawiyya At-Tur

East Jerusalem (Al-Quds)Silwan

Jabel Al-Mukabber As-Sawahreh Al-GharbiyyaBeit Safafa

SharafatSur BaherUm Tuba

Total

1,6111,338545781

3,629723

152441,341101

1,421146

11,832

(Source: PCBS, Jerusalem Statistical Yearbook , No. 8, 2006.)

1 4 . 5 R E SI D EN CY RI G HT S Israeli demographic strategies vis--vis Palestinian Jerusalemites such as restrictive residency and housing policies aimat both separating them from the Palestinians in the West Bank and driving them out of the city in order to secure a long-term Jewish majority. Until this day, any Palestinian who is not classified by the Israeli government as a permanent residentof East Jerusalem - incl. spouses, children and other relatives of East Jerusalem permanent residents must apply for familyreunification to reside legally there. The decision to grant or deny these applications is, according to Israeli Law, ultimatelyat the discretion of the Interior Minister, who is not required to justify refusal.

Israel applies a number of discriminatory methods to control the number of Palestinians who legally reside in the city. Theconfiscation of ID cards under bureaucratic pretexts is one of these. Instrumental in this are the 1952 Law of Entry to Israel and the 1974 Entry to Israel Regulations , both of which regulate residence in Israel. The following restrictive provisions donot apply to Jewish permanent residents or Israeli citizens but only to Palestinian Jerusalemites. Those who:

wish to travel abroad must obtain an Israeli re-entry visa; otherwise, they lose their right of return; hold or apply for residency/citizenship elsewhere lose their residency right in Jerusalem; this policy relates to a

Dec. 1995 decision by the Interior Ministry to make permanent residency status depending on proofs of whether ones"center of life" was within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. Over some 3,000 individuals lost their ID cards onthose grounds between 1995-99. In March 2000, then Interior Minister Sharansky submitted an affidavit to the HighCourt of Justice, ceasing this policy and restoring some residency rights that had been revoked.

live abroad for more than seven years lose their residency rights; in 1996, the Israeli government decided that anyJerusalemite who lives in the territory (West Bank) more than seven years, would also cease to be an Israeli resident;


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want to register their children as Jerusalem residents can do so only if the father holds a valid Jerusalem ID card; as a

consequence, there are countless cases of unregistered children of couples living illegally in Jerusalem who are de-nied access to the citys educational and health services and of Jerusalemite women who are forced to leave the city. marry non-resident spouses (from the WBGS or abroad) must apply for family reunification in order to live legally

with their spouses in Jerusalem. Most of these applications are turned down, with no need for justification.

The Israeli policy of quiet deportation in East Jerusalem through court judgments, legal and administrative tactics hasresulted in the revocation of over 8,200 ID cards from Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem since 1967; this numberdoes not include the dependent children of those who lost their ID cards.

According to statistics gathered by B'Tselem, over 1,360 Palestinians from Jerusalem had their ID cards revoked in 2006 more than in any previous year since 1967 and a 500% increase over the number of revocations in 2005.

Year No. of revokedID Cards




1967 105 1977 35 1987 23 1997 1,0671968 395 1978 36 1988 2 1998 7881969 178 1979 91 1989 32 1999 4111970 327 1980 158 1990 36 2000 207

1971 126 1981 51 1991 20 Till April 2001 15

1972 93 1982 74 1992 41 2002 No Data1973 77 1983 616 1993 32 2003 2721974 45 1984 161 1994 45 2004 161975 54 1985 99 1995 91 2005 2221976 42 1986 84 1996 739 2006 1,363

Total 8,269Source: BTselem. http://www.btselem.org/English/Jerusalem/Revocation_Statistics.asp.

In October 2000, several days after the outbreak of the second Intifada, Israel imposed a new policy: freeze on processingfamily unification requests. In May 2002 , the Israeli government officially decided to stop processing all family unificationapplications submitted by non-Jerusalemite Palestinians. On 31 July 2003 , the Knesset approved by a vote of 53 to 25 a bill toprevent Palestinians who marry Israeli citizens from receiving Israeli citizenship or permanent residency status, thus prohibitingthem from residing in Israel or Jerusalem. The law is to become an amendment to a clause in the Citizenship Law relating tofamily unification (Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law - Temporary Order 2003) and applies retroactively. The pretextfor this policy is security though the real reason is d emographically motivated : to prevent further increase of the Arabpopulation in Israel. Also children born in the Occupied Territories to permanent residents of Israel are affected as they will onlybe recognized as Israeli residents upon an approved family unification application; however all such applications were frozen inMay 2002. On 21 July 2004 , the Knesset voted to extend the Citizenship Law by another six months. On 14 May 2006 , theIsraeli High Court upheld the law; the courts president, Aharon Barak, described it as an infringement of human rights but wasoutvoted by six to five on the grounds that it was appropriate to limit human rights in order to enhance Israel's security.

According to the latest version of the law only Palestinian women over the age of 25 and men over the age of 35 have the rightto join their partners in Israel. A draft bill to replace the law rather than seek a second renewal following the expiry of itsapplication in Jan. 2007 sought to expand the areas targeted by the law beyond PA-controlled areas to include other regionswith which Israel is in a state of military conflict. The Law has been re-extended since, most recently in July 2008 .

It is estimated that if Israel would begin again to handle family unification requests and apply the quota set in 2000(i.e., 4,000 a year), it would take at least 30 years (!) to process the more than 120,000 requests that have so far accumu-lated. (BTselem, Hamoked. Perpetual Limbo: Israel's Freeze on Unification of Palestinian Families in the Occupied Territories, 2006).

(On the impact of the separation barrier on residency issues see also chapter 14.6 on Land & Settlement below.)

1 4 . 6 H O U SI N G & H OU S E D E M OL I T IO N S

Facts & Figures

As Israels policy in East Jerusalem is politically motivated, aimed at maintaining a Jewish majority in the city, it is verydifficult for Palestinians to obtain building permits . According to figures by the Israeli Interior Min. and the WJM some15,000-20,000 buildings in East Jerusalem have been built without permits, i.e., about 40% of the total number of buildings. It is estimated that for every building erected under permit, ten have been built without permit. (Meir Margalit,No Place Like Home House Demolitions in East Jerusalem, ICAHD, 2007).

One of the main obstacles in obtaining building permits is that large areas of East Jerusalem land have been declared unfit for building or as green or open space, where construction is forbidden. The same goes for areas allocated inIsraeli future building plans for public buildings and in areas lacking infrastructure (e.g., roads, water and sewage). Inaddition, there is in many cases the difficulty of proving land ownership as Palestinians did not document their landownership under Ottoman rule, the British Mandate, Jordanian or Israeli rule. A complicating factor is the fact that land isoften owned by several inheritors some of whom are difficult to locate in order to obtain the required letter of approval. A


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1 4 . 7 L A ND & S ET TL EM E NT 1 dunum = acre = 1,000 m 2 / 1 acre = 4 dunums = 4,000 m 2

At least 66% of todays Jerusalem is territory seized

by force (5% of the old Jordanian municipality and61% of former West Bank territory). Within this area,Israel has expropriated approx. 24,500 dunums -over one-third of the land illegally annexed to Jeru-salem, most of which was privately owned by Pales-tinians - mainly to establish the 12 settlements exist-ing today in the city. (BTselem, Land Grab, Draft Re-port. May 2002). These settlements - with a popula-tion of 185-200,000 - are intended to secure Israelisuperiority over the entire Jerusalem region. Theyform two rings around the city - the inner ring in EastJerusalem and the outer ring (Greater Jerusalem)reaching far into the West Bank - isolating Arab EastJerusalem, cutting the West Bank in half, and im-posing economic strangulation as the city is the natural center for all trade and movement routes in the Palestinian Territories.

The total area of East Jerusalem - Palestinian neighborhoods east of the Green Line, exclusive of the Jewishsettlements - amounts to some 46,000 dunums, of which only 24,655 dunums are covered by 25 approved zoning plans(another seven plans are yet unapproved). Of the 24,655 dunums, only 37% is allocated for residential purposes whileconstruction is prohibited on the rest of the land (some 40% is defined as open land or green areas and 20%designated for public institutions and roads. In fact, these areas serve as land reserves for settlements construction orexpansion: formerly designated Green Areas are rezoned to allow for Jewish building). In addition, in most areas zonedfor construction, building cannot be carried out due to lack of infrastructure . (Meir Margalit, No Place Like Home House Demolitions in East Jerusalem, ICAHD, 2007).

Land Expropriation in East JerusalemNeighborhood Date of expropriation Amount of land

taken (dunums)Size of neighborhood

(dunums)French Hill & Mt. Scopus 8 Jan. 1968 2,019

Ramot Eshkol & Givat Hamivhar 8 Jan. 19683,345

588Ma'alot Dafna (East) 8 Jan. 1968 485 380Neve Ya'akov 14 April 1968/30 Aug. 1970 765 / 470 1,759Old City (Jewish Quarter) 14 April 1968 116 122Ramot Alon 30 Aug. 1970 4,840 2,066Shu'afat 30 Aug. 1970 No DataEast Talpiyot 30 Aug. 1970

2,2401,196

Gilo 30 Aug. 1970 2,700 2,859'Atarot (incl. the airport) 30 Aug. 1970/1 July 1982 1,200 / 137 3,327Ben-Hinnom Valley 30 Aug. 1970 130 -Jaffa Gate 30 Aug. 1970 100 -Ramat Rachel area 30 Aug. 1970 600 264Pisgat Ze'ev 20 March 1980 4,400 5,468Har Homa 16 May 1991 1,850 2,523Total 23,378 22,571

Source: BTselem. http://www.btselem.org/ English/Jerusalem/Land_Expropriation_Statistics.asp

Land Control in East Jerusalem

124,000 dunumsTotal Jerusalem Municipal

Area

54,000 dunumsTotal Area of West

Jerusalem

70,000 dunumsTotal Area of East Jerusalem

24,000 dunumsExpropriated for

Israeli Settlements

46,000 dunumsArea of Palestinian

East Jerusalem

21,000 dunums

Total Area unplanned

25,000 dunums

Total Area planned

16,000 dunumsGreen areas, publicbuildings, roads, etc.

9,000 dunumsZoned for

construction

Land Allocations in Jerusalem

(based on: Meir Margalit, No Place Like Home House Demolitions in East Jerusalem, ICAHD, 2007


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Israeli Settlements in East Jerusalem

Settlement Year Est. On Land belonging to Area indunums

Population Pop. Density/(person/dunum)

Ramot Eshkol 1968 Lifta 985 6,200 6.3Ramot Allon 1973 Beit Iksa, Lifta, Beit Hanina 4,979 40,837 8.2Neve Yaacov 1972 Hizma, Beit Hanina 1,759 20,149 11.4Pisgat Zeev 1985 Hizma, Beit Hanina 5,468 41,653 7.6

Atarot 1970 Qalandia, Beit Hanina 3,327 - -East Talpiot 1973 Sur Baher 1,196 12,078 10.1Gilo 1971 Sharafat, Beit Jala, Malha 2,859 27,173 9.5Mt. Scopus 1968 Shufat, Issawiyya, At-Tur 1,048 1,140 1.1Givat Shapira 1968 Shufat, Issawiyya 970 6,724 6.9Ramat Shlomo 1994 Shufat 1,126 14,658 13.0Givat HaMatos 1991 Beit Safafa, Beit Jala 310 343 1.1Har Homa 1991 Um Tuba, Sur Baher 2,523 5,697 2.3

(Source: Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 2006/07 ; except column three: PCBS.)

Recent settlement activities: (see also the Old City/Jerusalem Maps in this Diarys map section)

Since spring 2007, partly due to the rejection of the Safdie Plan for expanding Jerusalem westward, and especially followingthe Nov. 2007 Annapolis conference, plans to build new Jewish neighborhoods in and around Jerusalem haveincreasingly made headlines. Until August 2008, tenders for the construction of some 1,761 housing units in East Jerusalemwere issued. In comparison, during all 2007 until the summit in Nov. only two tenders for 46 housing units were issued.(Peace Now, Eliminating the Green Line, August 2008). The total number of housing units proposed and planned in Israelisettlements in East Jerusalem exceeds 50,000, accommodating at least 160,000 settlers, which is in accordance with theWJMs master plan (TPS 2000) for the city (stipulating the addition of 65,000 housing units to settlements in and aroundJerusalem by the year 2020). Below is a description of current plans and undertakings:

The Old City : Israel handed de facto control of the national park that surrounds the Old City on its south and east tothe extremist settler group El Ad. Also at stake is the fate of two hotels on Omar Ibn Khattab Square inside Jaffa Gate (apparently purchased from the Greek Orthodox Church ) and the Burj Al-Laqlaq area in the northeastern corner of the Old City where the WJM approved the construction of 21 housing units on a 3.8-dunum site. So far, over tenstructures have been demolished in the area in preparation of the plans implementation. In addition, excavations arecarried out in the existing Western Wall tunnel underneath the Haram Ash-Sharif compound, which have causeddamage to several adjacent properties, incl. the Waqf office, Ribat Al-Kurd, the historic Uthmani and Al-Tankazi Schools,and work continues on a 100-m tunnel from the Hamam Al-Ein area (Muslim Quarter) towards the Al-Aqsa compound.In Oct. 2008, the Ohel Yitzhak" synagogue was opened in the same area, causing an outcry among Palestinians.

Plans to construct 11,000 housing units in Atarot near Qalandia and link it with the settlements of Kochav Yaacov and Bet El through an under road tunnel were announced shortly after the Nov. 2007 Annapolis conference butdropped in Dec. 2007. Since it was not the first time that the area in question made headlines as a new settlementscheme, it is not unlikely that efforts to implement the plan will reemerge.

In March 2008, the WJM revealed plans to build 400 new housing units on some 80 dunums in Neve Yaakov ; in Aug., Israeli authorities ratified the plan and approved 300 units.

On 12 Feb. 2008 the Israeli govt. announced plans for 750 new apartments in Pisgat Zeev , in April the WJM announcedplans to build 600 new apartments, and in early Aug. the ILA and the Israeli Housing Min. issue tenders for theconstruction of 735 housing units.

On 28 Jan. 2008, a Town Planning Scheme was deposited for public review, indicating construction plans for approx. 1,300units in Ramot settlement, 105 of which beyond the Green Line, filling the gap between Ramot and Beit Iksa village.

In Ramat Shlomo (or Rekhes Shuafat ) construction was underway in Jan. 2008 on a new elementary school for girls in apreviously empty area close to the Palestinian neighborhood of Shufat. On 13 June 2008, the WJMs Regional Committee forHousing and Planning agreed to construct 1,300 new housing units in the settlement, all on a plot originally designated as'Green Area' (i.e., where any development is forbidden in order to preserve its ecological diversity).

In Aug. 2008, settlers made first attempts to establish a new outpost ( Shaar Mizrahi - Gateway to the East) on a hilllocated between French Hill and Anata , near Shufat RC and the Bypass Rd. #1, which links Ma'ale Adumim toJerusalem. The plan is to establish some 2,000 housing units on the estimated 180 dunums, currently defined asagricultural property and the only open space available in the area between Shu'fat RC, Anata and Al-Issawiyya. If realized, the project will prevent the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state while adding to Jewish continuitybetween Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem.

On 14 July 2008, the Israeli High Court of Justice issued an evacuation order for the Al-Kurd family, one of 28 house ownersfacing evacuation and demolition in Sheikh Jarrah , where a new Jewish neighborhood is planned to form the missing link between Mount Scopus, Shimon Hatzadik Tomb area (residence to some 8 Israeli families and over 50 yeshiva students), anda cluster of various governments institutions (e.g., the Border Police HQ and the Interior Min.). In Jan. 2008, the NahalatShimon company begun building 200 housing units on some 18 dunums next to the tomb of Shimon Hatzadik . Alsoinvolved is Palestinian expropriated property (the Shepherd Hotel ) controlled since the 1967 War by the Israeli Custodian of


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Absentee Property, from which it was apparently acquired by Jewish millionaire Irving Moskowitz in 1985 (Haaretz , 3 Nov.

2005) and subsequently rented to the Israeli Border Police. In late 2005, the WJMs conservation committee has decided thatthe hotel can be knocked down since it has no special architectural value (not yet carried out). Beneath the actual 30-dunumhotel compound, the Karm Al-Mufti land stretches an additional 110 dunums downhill towards the site of the new IsraeliMin. of Interior complex (initially earmarked to house a Palestinian girls school) on the edges of the Wadi Al-Joz IndustrialZone. The area, which is mostly cultivated with olive trees, is now threatened with losing its open and public space status andbeing reclassified as a residential area once plans are developed to build a Jewish neighborhood above it, incl. 90 apartments,a kindergarten and a synagogue. The entire plan is to connect the dots and create a Jewish continuum surrounding theOld City, while cutting it off from the Palestinian neighborhoods in northern Jerusalem.

In April 2006 settlers took over two four-storey buildings in At-Tur (Mt. of Olives) just to the left of the Seven ArchesHotel in an apparent new effort to create an outpost in East Jerusalem. The new building - called "Choshen" alsoincludes a synagogue.

Ma'ale Adumim and E-1: At the end of Dec. 2007 Peace Now revealed that the 2008 budget includes NIS 49 million forthe construction of 250 new homes in Ma'ale Adumim . Israeli plans to develop the 12 km 2 E-1 area, including 3,500housing units for up to 20,000 settlers, hotels, an industrial park, commercial and entertainment buildings, are for thetime being - off the agenda for political reasons (making a Palestinian state practically impossible as the West Bank wouldbe cut into two). However, the new Judea and Samaria District Police building is already located the heart of that area(by May 2008, 99% of the police units had already moved in).

In mid-Jan., the Knesset Finance Committee approves a request by treasury officials for an additional 16 million NIS(US$4.6 million) to fund private security services for some 2,000 settlers in the Abu Dis area, which already receiveNIS 38 million from the Housing Min. In March, Shas Chairman Eli Yishai demanded that PM Olmert immediately unfreezethe construction of the Kidmat Zion settlement near Abu Dis, where 300 housing units are planned to be built onsome 1,000 dunums and where several settler families, who purchased homes from

Arab owners, already live. In July 2005, the right-wing 'Bukharan Community Committee' and Israel Police (through

National Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi) signed an exchange deal according to whichthe Committee would build the new police station in the E1 area and receive, in return, thecurrent police building, located in Ras Al-Amud , to use it for residential purposes,originally meant to double the adjacent Maale HaZeitim settlement (Haaretz, 26 April2006) . In Jan. 2008, construction begun on another 60 housing units in the settlement,where already 51 setter families live, and in April 2008, settlers moved into the vacatedpolice building to mark the founding of a new neighborhood - 'Ma'ale David - which willeventually comprise of 110 housing units over 10 dunums of land. The main drive behindsettling in Ras Al-Amud is to impede the creation of a Palestinian corridor between theeastern West Bank and Al-Aqsa Compound - via the old Jericho road and Lions Gate which has been raised in the past in talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

El Ad continues to expand its activities in Silwan , acting as a quasi-governmental body controlling tourism in the area andwith full authority over archeological activities. On 15 Jan. 2008, 11 settler families, protected by Israeli troops, took over11 houses in the Wadi Al-Hilweh area, thus increasing the total number of Jewish families in Silwan to 70. In May 2008,the WJM begun to approve a plan by El Ad for a new housing complex , incl. 10 apartments, a synagogue,kindergarten, a library and underground parking, in the heart of the village. The land in question is located 200 metersfrom the Old City walls and belongs to the ILA, which has leased it to El Ad. On 30 July 2008, the Jerusalem District Courtrejected a petition by right-wing settlers and ordered them to immediately evacuate a seven-story building they call " Beit

Yehonatan ", which was built illegally by Ateret Cohanim. However, the building has still not been demolished. Inaddition, the Israeli Antiquities Authority, funded by El Ad, is excavating a tunnel of eventually 600 m length, leading fromunderneath Ein Silwan Mosque to the southern edge of the Haram Al-Sharif compound.

Nof Zion is being erected on 44 dunums of land confiscated from Palestinians of nearby Jabal Mukabber . The firststage of construction began in 2004 and in 2008, 91 housing units out of the envisioned 480 had been built andmarketed. Once completed, the settlement will include also public buildings, a synagogue, kindergarten, shopping center,sports club and a deluxe hotel. The project is entirely private sector-driven.

Har Homa area : Right after the Annapolis conference, on 4 Dec. 2007, Israel issued tenders for the construction of 307new homes in Har Homa, and at the end of that month Peace Now revealed that Israels 2008 budget included NIS 50million for the construction of 500 new homes in the settlement. On 12 Feb. 2008, Haaretz reported on Israeli govt. plansfor 350 new apartments there and in early June Israeli Housing Min. Zeev Boim announced tenders for 121 housing units. Building plans for 910 units in Har Homa C to the south and east of the current construction line were submitted forpublic review on 9 July 2008, while another 73 units are awaiting submission for public review. A related issue of concernis that - in direct contradiction to a Feb. 2005 order of Atty. Gen. Menachem Mazuz ("immediate cessation of theapplication of the absentee law on East Jerusalem assets"), large parts of the lands slated for further construction inHar Homa belong to Palestinians from the Bethlehem-Beit Sahur area who were declared absentees after the 1967 War.

In late Dec. 2007, Israel published tenders for construction of 400 new units in East Talpiot , adjacent to the Palestinianneighborhoods of Sur Baher and Jabal Mukabber.

In Feb. 2008, WJM city manager Yair Ma'ayan revealed construction plans for Givat Hamatos . Although the complex andcomplicated ownership issue - involving Israeli, Palestinian, and church property - seemed it unlikely that the plans will beimplemented soon, building plans for a total of 3,150 of the total of 4,000 units were submitted for public review in March andMay 2008, and in July, construction of 2,500 housing units was approved.

At the end of Dec. 2007, Israel published tenders for an unspecific number of new construction projects in Gilo , effectingthe Palestinian neighborhoods of Beit Safafa and Sharafat. In addition, there are a number of private sector developmentprojects underway in Gilo. On 16 March 2008, tenders for 75 housing units were granted. Currently 150 other units are


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awaiting submission for public review and further 850 units are in planning phase by the WJMs Local Planning Committee

(Moridot, Gilo west). In Aug. 2004, the ILA had approved building plans for Har Gilo settlement (established in 1972 on lands belonging to

Beit Jala and Al-Walaja) that included 200 housing units as part of phase one of an overall plan to build 1,084 new duplexapartments. Construction on 286 (not 200!) housing units began in April 2005 and is now almost completed so thatpreparations for phase two are underway, aimed at adding 480 further units.

In Walajeh (close to Bethlehem - inside and beyond the WJM border), Givat or Nof Yael settlement was launched inJune 2004 to eventually provide 13,600 housing units for some 60,000 settlers on 2,000 dunums of land with the aim tolink Jerusalem and the Etzion bloc. Plans are also underway to confiscate some 2,100 dunums of village land for theconstruction of the separation barrier; should this be implemented, the village will be left with only 2,400 dunums.

The Ring Road Israel is currently building in Jerusalem is intended to reinforce Israeli settlements, connect them withWest Jerusalem, and consolidate Israeli control over the occupied Palestinian parts of the city. The project involvesconfiscation of over 1,237 dunums of privately owned Palestinian land and demolition of Palestinian houses. The RingRoad is comprised of two main sections, an eastern road and a western road, along with three extensions, the Train Roadin the south, Road #9 in the center, and Road #20 in the north. All sections of the Ring Road are now completed, withthe exception of a 11.5-km-long part of the Eastern Ring Road , which requires the construction of three tunnels andfive bridges as it goes through several densely populated Palestinian neighborhoods (running from Az-Zaim, At-Tur, Ras

Al-Amud, Al-Izzariyya, Abu Dis, Sawahreh Al-Gharbiya, Al-Qunbar, and Sheikh Sa'ad to Sur Baher).

In addition to its support of private construction by settler groups in East Jerusalem, the state also provides privatesecurity services for East Jerusalem settlers. The protection of 2,000 settlers costs the government an average of NIS 38million per year, taken from the Housing Ministrys budget. On 14 Jan. 2008, a Knesset Finance Committee sessionapproved an additional NIS 15 million for these services, specifically intended for the protection of new settlers in Abu Disand the Mt. of Olives. (Ir Amim, State Funding of Security for East Jerusalem Settlers, 2008.)

Israels Separation Barrier around the City - The Jerusalem Envelope

After work on the separation barrier was halted for several months due to budget problems, the allocation of NIS 250million was announced in mid-Feb. to the renewal of construction, with a large portion directed specifically at the'Jerusalem Envelope'.

There are currently 12 routes and crossings to enter Jerusalem from the West Bank. Palestinian traffic into Jerusalem islimited to four Barrier crossings: (1) Qalandia from the north, (2) Gilo from the south, (3) Shufat Camp from the east, and (4)Ras Abu Sbeitan for pedestrian residents of Abu Dis, and Al-Izzariyia. The eight other routes and crossing points intoJerusalem, now closed to West Bank Palestinians, will remain open to residents of Israel and non-Israelis with valid visas, are

Ar-Ram, Beitunia commercial crossing, Hizma, Az-Zaim, the tunnels on north-south bypass Road 60, Ein Yalo near Gilo,Ramot Alon, and Bir Nabala-Atarot. In addition, there are four more crossing planned: one each near Bethlehem, in Ras Al-

Amud, in Nabi Samwil, and in Shikh Saad/Jabel Mukabber. (UN OCHA,Humanitarian Update s). The barrier around Jerusalem will, once completed, be 167.3 km long, incl. E-1 and the Ma'ale Adumim area; so far it is

estimated that nearly 50% of the construction is completed. (Ir Amim, Progress of the Separation Barrier in Jerusalem: July 2008). The Wall in the Jerusalem area now de facto annexes 228.2 km

2or 3.9% of the West Bank. It will separate or isolate over

230,000 Palestinian Jerusalemites from the rest of the West Bank and will further separate over 2 million Palestinians living onthe eastern side of the Wall from East Jerusalem. The Wall will further de facto annex to Israel three major settlement(colony) blocs surrounding metropolitan East Jerusalem - Givon, Adumim, and Etzion - land critical to Palestinian populationgrowth and economic development. (PLO NAD.Barrier to Peace: Assessment of Israels Wall Route , July 2008).

1 4 . 8 T HE O LD C IT Y Founded around 4000 BC, the Old City is divided into four quarters: Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Armenian. The present wallssurrounding the Old City were built by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman Al-Qanouni in 1542. The walls stretch over approx. 4 kmand encompass an area of barely 1 km .

Population and Areas in the Old City

Quarter Population Area indunums

Persons perdunum

Muslim 26,646 461 1 57.8Christian 5,419 192 28.2

Armenian 2,464 126 19.6Jewish 2,546 122 20.9Total 37,075 900 41.2

1

Incl. the 135 dunums of Al-Haram Ash-Sharif compound. If this area is notcounted, the population density in theMuslim Quarter rises to over 79!2 Excl. some 600 settlers occupying housesin the Muslim and Christian Quarters.

(Source: Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem ,2007/08).

Since 1982, the Old City of Jerusalem is listed on the World Heritage List as well ason the List of World Heritage in Danger.


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The Old City houses 25 mosques , 65 churches and 20 synagogues . The wall surrounding Jerusalems Old City has 11

gates, seven of which are presently open: Damascus Gate , Herod's Gate, Jaffa Gate, Zion Gate , Al-Magharbeh Gate, Lions'Gate/St. Stephen's Gate, and New Gate, while the Golden Gate remains closed (was sealed during the Crusader Period).Open Gates: Damascus Gate : Located on the northern side, Damascus Gate i s the main gate into Jerusalem's Old City. It was built

in 1542 by Ottoman Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent. Arabs refer to it as Bab Al-Amud ("Gate of the Column")because of a pillar that stood there in Byzantine times. It consists of one large center gate originally intended for use bypersons of high station, and two smaller side entrances for commoners.

Jaffa Gate: was given this name because it is on the road that leads to the city of Jaffa. For the same reason it iscalled Bab Al-Khalil (Hebron Gate) in Arabic. This is the only gate on the western side of the Old City. A low part of thewall was torn down and the Crusader moat of the Citadel filled in 1898 for the visit of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. Itwas here that General Allenby entered Jerusalem in 1917.

Lions Gate/St. Stephens Gate : St. Stephen's Gate is so named because, according to some traditions, St. Stephenwas martyred near there. It has also been called Lion's Gate because of the four lions that decorate it on the outside.Finally, it has also been called St. Mary's Gate because of the nearby tomb of St. Mary. This is the only Jerusalem gatethat opens to the east of the Old City.

Zion Gate: Located along the southern wall of the Old City, Zion Gate was built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1540 CE. Thename comes from the belief that the southern extension of the nearby hill was the biblical Mt. Zion. Arabs call it "Bab Nabi

Daoud," which means "Gate of the Prophet David" because tradition has it that the tomb of David was located nearby on Mt.Zion. In the Middle Ages it was also called the Gate to the Jewish Quarter because it led to the Jewish section of the Old City. Dung Gate/Al-Magharbeh Gate : Found in the south wall and is a main passage for vehicles. Derives its name from

the fact that in the 2 nd century, refuse has been hauled out of the city through this gate. The name Magharbeh Gatestems from the Moors' history in the area.

Herods Gate: The entrance into the Muslim quarter through the northern wall. The name was given by pilgrims, whoerroneously believed that it led to Herod's palace. It is known in Arabic as Bab Az-Zahra (the Flower Gate).

New Gate: named so because it was constructed relatively recently - in 1889 - with permission of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.The gate is located near the northwestern corner of the city and leads into the Christian quarter. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, when Jordan captured East Jerusalem (which includes the Old City of Jerusalem) it was sealed off. It wasreopened again in 1967 after Israel's capture of East Jerusalem during the 1967 War.

Closed Gates:

The Golden Gate: is the oldest of the current gates, probably built in the 520s CE, on top of the ruins of an earlier gate. Another theory suggests it was built in the later part of the 7th century by Byzantine artisans employed by the Umayyadkhalifs. In Arabic it is known as Bab Al-Rahmeh (Gate of Mercy). Jewish tradition has it that the Messiah would enterJerusalem via this gate when he comes, so Muslims during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566) sealed the Golden Gate to keep him out.


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1. Islamic Museum2. Bab Al-Maghrarbeh (Moroccans Gate)3. Bab As-Silsileh (Chain Gate)4. Bab As-Salaam (Tranquility Gate)5. Silsileh (Chain) Minaret6. Bab Al-Matarah (Ablution Gate)7. Bab Al-Qattanin (Cotton Merchants Gate)8. Bab Al-Hadid (Iron Gate)9. Bab An-Nazir/Majlis (Council Gate) (Waqf office is outside the gate) 10. Minaret of Ghawanimah11. Bab al-Atim (Gate of Darkness)12. Bab Al-Huttah (Gate of Remission)13. Minaret Al-Asbat14. Bab Al-Asbat (Gate of the Tribes)15. Bab Az-Zahabi (Golden Gate)15a. Bab Ar-Rahma (Door of Mercy)15b. Bab At-Tauba (Door of Repentance)16. Cradle of Jesus17. Al-Mussallah Al-Marwani (Solomons Stables substructure)18. Al-Masjidul Aqsa Al-Aqsa Mosque19. Fakhriya Minaret20. Dome of Yusuf Agha21. Station of Buraq22. Al-Kas (The Cup)23. Minbar of Buran Eddin24. Dome of Yousef 25. Dome of An-Nahawiyyah (School of Literature)26. Dome of Moses27. Fountain of Qasim Pasha28. Pool of Raranj29. Fountain of Qayt Bay30. Muezzins Dome31. Dome of the Chain (Silsileh)32. Dome of the Rock (Qubbat As-Sakhra)33. Dome of the Prophet34. Dome of the Miraj35. Dome of Al-Khalili36. Mihrab Ali Pasha

37. Dome of Al-Khidr38. Dome of the Spirits (Ruh) 41. Dome of the Lovers of the Prophets39. Fountain of Shalan 42. Fountain of Sultan Solomon40. Solomons Dome 43. Solomons Throne

Al-Haram Ash-Sharif

Settlers in and around the Old City (see also the Old City/Jerusalem Maps in this Diarys map section)

The Old City, adjacent Silwan, and, more recently the neighborhoods of Ras Al-Amud,Sheikh Jarrah and Musrara are exposed to extremist Jewish settler groups, such as Elad,

Ateret Cohanim, Hay VeKayam and Amana, which enjoy government support in their effortto take over as much Palestinian property as possible and form a ring of settlements aroundand within the Old City, in order to prevent the citys division along the 1967 border andpreserve Israeli control over its most significant holy and tourist sites. Currently, there areapprox. 600 settlers living in about 70 spots outside the Jewish Quarter in the Old Cityalone.

Jewish settler spots outside of the major settlements inEast Jerusalem include the Muslim Quarter, St. John'sHostel (Christian Quarter), Burj Al-Laqlaq (near HerodsGate) and two hotels on Omar Ibn Khattab Squareinside Jaffa Gate (apparently purchased from the Greek

Orthodox Church) inside the Old City, as well as the City of David (Silwan), Bet Orot (Mt. of Olives), Maale Hazeitim (Ras Al-Amud), Shimon Hazadik/Shepherds Hotel (Sheikh Jarrah),and Ath-Thori (Abu Tor) around it.

In addition, the Israeli Government handed over to the Ateret Cohanim settler organizationa new project to restore a 3000-year-old quarry running under the Muslim Quarter . InFeb. 2007, excavation work began near Al-Buraq Wall, involving the destruction of ahistoric pedestrian bridge connecting the Mughrabi Quarter to the Mughrabi Gate , an Al-Haram Ash-Sharif gate facing westward, and its subsequent reconstruction.


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1 4 . 9 I S R AE L I M U N IC I PAL P OL I C IE S

NB: Palestinian Jerusalemites are considered Israeli residents not citizens and are subject to Israeli law, police andcourts.

Municipal Budget, Taxation and Infrastructure

Arab Jerusalemites make up 33% of the city's residents but got only 11.72% of the municipal budget in 2003. Forinstance, they received only 12.1% of the welfare budget, even though their poverty rate is more than double that of Jewish residents, 14.75% of the education budget, 8% of engineering services, 1,72% for society & youth, 1,6% for sport,1.2% of the culture and art budget, and nothing for religious affairs, guardianship & security , p arking department, andabsorption (Meir Margalit. Discrimination in the Heart of the Holy City , Jerusalem: ICCP, 2006)

Israeli neighborhoods of Jerusalem are served by paved roads, sewage and water lines, regular garbage collection, schools,city parks, and building regulations that allow for orderly development of the city. Palestinian neighborhoods, on the otherhand, suffer from a lack of sewage lines, a shortage of 1,500 classrooms (roughly 50 schools), virtually no park areas, and astill-to-be-approved town plan that will allow residents to build homes legally on their own land. Although both populationspay city taxes, Palestinians, who make up about 35% of Jerusalem's population, benefit from only about 10% of themunicipal budget for services. (Jerusalem Post , 2 June 2008)

Another discrepancy is reflected in the poverty rate : which stood at 27% among the Jewish population in Jerusalem ascompared to 68% among the Arab population (or 39% and 77% respectively in the case of children living in poverty). (Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, New data on Jerusalem, 30 May 2008).

In addition, Palestinians are exposed to an unfair tax system (e.g., arnona tax), which requires them to pay the samerates as their Israeli counterparts whose per capita income is approx. 8 times higher. Arnona tax covers residential taxes -depending on the neighborhood, the state and construction quality of the building and its size -, and business taxes, wherecommercial property is graded by size, and not by economic activity or income. In top areas (Area A) the average arnonaamounts to NIS 245 per m 2. The arnona tax burden has forced many Palestinian businesses, especially inside and aroundthe Old City, to close .

Similarly unfair is the treatment of Palestinian Jerusalemites by the National Insurance Institute (health and social welfaresystem whose benefits include income maintenance, wage substitution, child allowances, pensions, maternity benefits, andrehabilitation). Palestinians - unlike Jews - must prove their residency in Jerusalem, and while the NII investigates the properness of claims, no benefits are paid. About 70% of investigated claims are eventually approved (Btselem). On 7 Aril 2002, the Israeligovt. approved a proposed revision to the National Insurance Law that would make families of Palestinians, who died while

carrying out attacks in Israel, ineligible for orphan and widow entitlements.The NII also investigates eligibility for health insurance for children whose parents are recognized as residents; thosechildren remain without health insurance until completion of the investigation. Physicians for Human Rights estimate thatthere are currently some 10,000 children residing in East Jerusalem who are not covered by medical insurance.

Education

The education system in East Jerusalem itself is divided into the government schools'maintained by the WJM, but teaching a separate "Arab Educational System" and non-municipal schools, which are owned and run by either churches, the Waqf incoordination with the PA, or private bodies, and serve approximately the same numberof students.

The curricula in East Jerusalem is Jordanian-Palestinian (as opposed to the Israeli one)and do neither promote Palestinians integration into Israeli society and work market nordo they prepare them for higher studies in Israeli institutions.

Palestinians in East Jerusalem have "permanent resident" status in Israel, which grants them the same social entitlementsgranted to every citizen, incl. the right to public education. The Israeli Compulsory Education Law requires that allchildren are registered for school and their attendance is assured. However, only about half the Palestinian children inJerusalem currently attend public schools, while several thousand others must pay for private or unofficial education, attendWaqf schools, or do not attend school at all.

In Aug. 2001, the Israeli High Court ruled that the Jerusalem Education Authority must registerall school aged children, even if no classrooms are available to serve them. Also in 2001, theMinistry of Education and the WJM obliged themselves to the Court to allocate funds for, andto build, 245 additional classrooms within four years. However, only about half of thePalestinian children in East Jerusalem about 39,400 out of about 79,000 students presentlystudy in the municipal school system. The other half is denied access to the free publiceducation and attends private or unofficial schools, which are operated by churches, the Waqf,the UN and various Palestinian groups. Studies in many of these schools are quite expensive.

Approx. 9,000 students are not registered in any of the above mentioned frameworks. ( Ir


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Amim, The Scandal Continues: An Assessment of the Arab-Palestinian Educational System in East Jerusalem in the 2007-2008 School

Year , Sept. 2007.) Palestinian School-Aged Children in East Jerusalem in 2007, according to Type of School 1

Type of School No. of Students % of known StudentsMunicipal Schools 39,402 49.9 %Recognized Unofficial Schools 17,279 21.9 %Waqf 11,000 13.9 %Private Schools 7,583 9.6 %UNRWA 3,741 4.7 %Total Number of Known Students 79,000 100 %Total School-Aged Population 87,940School-Aged Population unknown to theEducation Authorities

8,940 approx. 10.1 %

1 Based on estimates from the Israeli CBS, according to which at the end of 2005 the number of children aged 5-18 inJerusalem was 77,176 and the population increase in East Jerusalem is 4% annually on average, resulting in a numberof children in East Jerusalem aged 5-18 of 87,940 in 2007.Source : Ir Amim, The Scandal Continues: An Assessment of the Arab-Palestinian Educational System in East Jerusalem in the 2007-2008 School Year , Sept. 2007.

According to 2006 figures from the WJMs Jerusalem Education Authority, there are 163 public educational institutions ,96 of which are kindergartens (94 for children age five, and two for children younger than age five), 48 primary and post-primary schools and 19 special education schools are currently in operation in East Jerusalem. In addition, there are 76unofficial recognized educational institutions, 55 of which are kindergartens and 21 are primary and post-primaryschools, are in operation. (Over 10,000 of the 65,000 children in all educational institutions in East Jerusalem attend one of the 21 unofficially recognized schools, which are privately established, licensed by the Department of Unofficially RecognizedEducation in the Israeli Education Ministry, and mostly operated by non-profit organizations) (Wargen, Yuval, Education in East Jerusalem , The Knesset Research and Information Center, Jerusalem, Oct. 2006, quoted in Hever, Shir. The Economy of theOccupation 13-15: Report on the Educational System in East Jerusalem. Jerusalem: Alternative Information Center, 2007.)

Israeli Municipal Education, 2005/06Jews Palestinian Total

Jlem Education Authority - Hebrew

Education System

Ultra-OrthodoxDivision

Jlem Education Authority - ArabEducation System

Students at Preschools 1 9,405 17,511 3,505 30,421Primary Education 23,647 40,564 20,671 84,882Post-Primary Education 27,656 24,048 17,210 68,914Special education 1,631 1,100 677 3,408Total 62,339 83,223 42,063 208,628Total no. of classes 2,559 3,214 1,377 6,843New classrooms built,1994-2004 409 625 389 1,621

1 incl. non-municipal kindergartens (Source: Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem , 2006.)

According to the PCBS, there were 30,609 Palestinian pupils enrolled in the non-municipal school system in Israeli-annexed Jerusalem in 2006-07; of these 9,006 attended one of the 29 government schools, 3,647 one of 7 UNRWA schools14,161 one of the 37 private schools and 3,795 private kindergarens (PCBS, Jerusalem Yearbook No. 9, 2007).

In the school year 2006/2007, 76,066 pupils studied in the Arab education system of Jerusalem, 55,066 of them inmunicipal schools (incl. 14.105 in "recognized non-official schools"). The number of pupils in the Arab municipal schools hasincreased by 66% from 33,200 in 2001/2002 to 55,066 in 2006/2007. (Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Jerusalem Facts and Trends: Arab Education , Jan. 2008).

Transportation

In Jan. 2004, a project for public transportation in the rural neighborhoods was launched by the Ministry of Transportation, the Jerusalem Municipality, and the organization Master plan for Transportation in Jerusalem. In 2006, thenumber of daily journeys reached 4,461 and the number of daily passengers 85,000. By 2007, 269 buses (249 small, 20large) providing 5,778 seats were operating and there were 330 bus stations in East Jerusalem, a quarter of which hadroofs. ( Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, The City in Numbers-Public Transportation in East Jerusalem , 2008).

The light rail project is 'marketed' as an ecological and economic necessity to lessen the congestion in Jerusalem and as aproject to benefit and serve both Jewish settlements and certain Palestinian neighborhoods, there is little doubt that themain aim is to provide a link for the settlements in East Jerusalem (Neve Yaacov, Pisgat Zeev, French Hill, Maalot Dafna,and Ramot) with the West Jerusalem city center.


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The plan altogether contradicts International Law, which stipulates, inter alia , that all measures taken by Israel to alter the

physical character, the demographic composition, the institutional structure, or status of the Palestinian territories includingJerusalem, have no legal validity (UNSC Resolution 465 of 1 March 1980).

R e c o m m e n d e d R e s e a r c h S o u r c e s :

http://www.passia.org/index_jerusalem.htm (PASSIA, Jerusalem) http://www.jerusalemites.org/http://www.arij.org (Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem) http://www.jcser.org/english/http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf (go to subject, then to Jerusalem) http://www.jerusalemquarterly.orghttp://www.pcbs.gov.ps (Statistical Yearbooks on Jerusalem) http://www.multi-sector.org/http://www.orienthouse.org/ http://www.ir-amim.org.ilhttp://www.stopthewall.org/downloads/pdf/jerusalemfinal2.pdf http://www.bma-alqods.org/http://coalitionforjerusalem1.blogspot.com/2006/02/eu-report-on-east-jerusalem.html http://www.ipcc-jerusalem.org/

Abdul Hadi, Mahdi. Thoughts on Israel's Policies and Practices in Jerusalem. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1985. Access to Public Education for Palestinian Residents of East Jerusalem, Jerusalem: IR AMIM, Oct. 2005. Albin, Cecilia. The Conflict over Jerusalem. Jerusalem: PASSIA, 1990. Alternative Information Center (AIC), Settlers at the Heart of the Conflict: Settlement in Jerusalem's Old City, March 2008. Amirav, Moshe. Israels Policy in Jerusalem Since 1967. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 1992. Armstrong, Karen . Jerusalem - One City, Three Faiths. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1996.

Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI). East Jerusalem - Facts and Figures , June 2008,Benvinisti, Meron . City of Stone. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.Breger, M.J. & T.A. Idinopulo . Jerusalems Holy Places and the Peace Process. Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 1998.BTselem. A Policy of Discrimination: Land Expropriation, Planning and Building in East Jerusalem . Jerusalem, 1995.BTselem. A Wall in Jerusalem Obstacles to Human Rights in the Holy City. Jerusalem, 2006.BTselem . Ground to a Halt: Denial of Palestinians' Freedom of Movement in the West Bank , Aug. 2007BTselem and HaMoked. The Quiet Deportation: Revocation of Residency of East Jerusalem Palestinians. Jerusalem, 1997.Chazan, Naomi. Negotiating the Non-Negotiable: Jerusalem in the Framework of an Israeli-Palestinian Settlement. Cambridge:

American Academy for Arts and Sciences, Occasional Paper Series No. 7, March 1991.Documents on Jerusalem Four Volumes. Jerusalem: PASSIA, 2007.Dumper, Michael . The Politics of Jerusalem Since 1967 . New York: Columbia University Press, 1997.Elon, Amos. Jerusalem - City of Mirrors. London: George Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd., 1989.Felner, Eitan. A Policy of Discrimination: Land Expropriation, Planning and Building in East Jerusalem. Jerusalem: BTselem, 1995.Friedland, Roger and Richard Hecht . To Rule Jerusalem. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.Halabi, Usama. The Jerusalem Arab Municipality . Jerusalem: PASSIA, 1993.Ir Amim, Beyond the Wall , Jan. 2007.Ir Amim, The Old City and the Historic Basin - Issues of Concern and Recent Developments , March 2007.Ir Amim, The Scandal Continues: An Assessment of the Arab-Palestinian Educational System in East Jerusalem in the 2007-2008 School Year , Sept. 2007.Karmi, Ghada ed. Jerusalem Today - What Future for the Peace Process. Ithaka Press, 1996.Khatib, Khaled A. The Conservation of Jerusalem. Jerusalem: PASSIA, 1993.

Koechler, Hans, ed . The Legal Aspects of the Palestine Problem with Special Regard to the Question of Jerusalem. Vienna: WilhelmBraumueller GmbH, 1981.Latendresse, Anne. Jerusalem: the Palestinian Dynamics of Resistance and Urban Change, 1967-94. Jerusalem: PASSIA, 1995. Margalit, Meir . Discrimination in the Heart of the Holy City , Jerusalem: ICCP, 2006.Margalit, Meir . No Place Like Home House Demolitions in East Jerusalem, ICAHD, 2007.Musallam, Sami. The Struggle over Jerusalem - A Program of Action for Peace. Jerusalem: PASSIA, 1996.Nusseibeh, Sari, Bernard Sabella & Yitzhaq Reiter. Jerusalem- Religious Aspects. Jerusalem: PASSIA, 1995.PASSIA. Israeli Settlement Activities & Related Policies in Jerusalem . Special Bulletin, April 2007. PCBS & Badil , Impact of the Wall and its Associated Regime on the Forced Displacement of the Palestinians in Jerusalem , June 2006.Perpetual Limbo: Israel's Freeze on Unification of Palestinian Families in the Occupied Territories. BTselem and Hamoked, July 2006.PLO Negotiations Affairs Department, Israeli Settlement Activity in and Around the Old City, February 2008. Tamari, Salim (ed.). Jerusalem 1948. Jerusalem/Bethlehem: Institute of Jerusalem Studies and Badil Resource Center, 1999.UN. The Status of Jerusalem. Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. New York: UN, 1981.Walid Mustafa. Jerusalem Population and Urbanization from 1850-2000 . Jerusalem: JMCC, Sept. 2000.

1 4 . 1 0 C H R O N O L O GY O F E V E NT S 2 0 0 8 J ANUARY

Jan. 1: Al-Quds reports that the WJM has ordered shop owners in Salah Eddin and Suleiman Streets to replace their stores current front shades with plastic ones at a cost of NIS 4,000 or otherwise face penalties.- Al-Quds reports that the ILA has authorized the construction of 440 new housing units in Talpiot East on land belonging toSur Baher and Jabal Mukabber.- The Israeli High Court rules that eight settler families must evacuate the 7-storey house in Silwan they are occupying since2004 must.Jan. 4: Haaretz reports that the Housing and Construction Min. intends to move forward with plans to construct over 1,000housing units in Har Homa on absentee land belonging to Palestinians despite the opposition of Atty. Gen. Mazuz and apromise to the US not to invoke the absentee law in Jerusalem.Jan. 6: Haaretz reports that 18 dunums of the 24-dunum area slated for construction of 300 units to complete Stage B of the Har Homa plan, belongs to residents of Beit Sahur who were declared absentees after the 1967 War. This is in directcontradiction to the February 2005 instructions of Atty. Gen. Menachem Mazuz, ordering the "immediate cessation of theapplication of the absentee law on East Jerusalem assets."Jan. 7: Haaretz reports that the Israel Police has delayed moving into a new building in the E-1 area.- Haaretz reports the start of construction of 60 housing units in Maale HaZeitim settlement of Ras Al-Amud.


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- Maariv reports that right-wing groups have purcha