p. 1
may 2002 special bulletin history palestine was under the rule of the eastern roman emperors since 400 ac and until it was conquered by omar ibn al-khattab who was given the keys of jerusalem from patriarch safronios in 638 ac the city then remained under islamic-arab rule until the crusaders captured it in 1099 ac christian rule lasted until 1187 ac when salah eddin reconquered the city which then was ruled by the ayyubids until being recaptured by the crusaders in 1129 some 15 years later the arabs regained jerusalem and the city remained in their hands until 1917 in 1517 turkish sultan selim i conquered jerusalem and palestine and incorporated both into the ottoman empire which remained in control until the british occupation in 1917 with the exception of a short period of egyptian rule from 1831 until 1840 in the course of world war i the ottoman forces capitulated in jerusalem on 9 december 1917 and mayor selim effendi al-husseini surrendered to the allied forces led by british gen edmond allenby who officially entered the city two days later and established the british military administration in jerusalem in april 1920 the san remo conference awarded administration of the former turkish territories of syria and lebanon to france and palestine transjordan and mesopotamia iraq to britain on 24 july 1922 the league of nations council approved the mandate for palestine without the consent of palestinians the terms of the mandate became official on 29 sept 1923 until which time british military rule remained in place british mandate and the war of 1948 during the british mandate jerusalem the old city and palestinian neighborhoods such as talbiyeh baq a and katamon south-west of the city was surrounded by 66 palestinian villages e.g deir yassin lifta malha ein karem while the mainly ultra-orthodox jewish population was concentrated in part of the old city and neighborhoods north-west of it palestinians formed the overwhelming majority in the jerusalem district and owned most of the land the last british survey of palestine dec 1946 made the following demographic estimates property ownership 1948 west jerusalem palestinian 40.0 jerusalem sub-district public 14.0 jewish 2.0 western villages palestinian 90.0 public 33.9 1948 palestinians jews other total population of jerusalem 65,010 99,320 110 164,440 jerusalem subdistrict 150,590 102,520 160 253,270 jewish 26.1 jewish 10.0 palestinian 84.0 sources a survey of palestine britain 1946 sami hadawi palestinian rights and losses in 1948 london 1988 nb public includes land owned by palestinian religious institutions and government land
[close]
p. 2
1947-49 in april 1947 the un established a special committee on palestine unscop to investigate the situation in palestine and propose a solution the committee published a majority and a minority report containing different proposals in nov 1947 the unga voted by 33-13 with 10 abstentions for the majority scheme un res 181 recommending the un partition plan 29 nov 1947 partition of palestine into an arab and a jewish state with an international enclave comprising jerusalem hizma beit hanina west jerusalem and bethlehem the palestinians two-thirds of the municipal section conquered by population and owning most of the land rejected israel -1948 ee nl anata the resolution the ensuing disturbances culminated in e shu fat in the first arab-israeli war after the jewish agency declared the establishment of the state of israel on mount lifta scopus 14 may 1948 in the part of palestine allocated to enclave sheikh badr deir yassin the jews in un res 181 old city g selim effendi al-husseini mayor of jerusalem at the end of the ottoman rule up to his death in 1917 r sultan abdel aziz bin mahmoud ii issued an ottoman decree establishing the first jerusalem municipality in 1863 the balance of power was very unequal with a wellequipped and trained zionist army fighting against poorly armed palestinian resistance groups and many palestinian civilians fled in panic after jewish forces committed a series of massacres in their 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 which resulted in the conquest of west jerusalem and the corridor leading to the coast in violation of the un partition resolution until today the international community incl the us has never explicitly recognized israeli sovereignty over even west jerusalem al-izzariyya ein karim silwan abu dis malha beit safafa east jerusalem municipal section remaining under arab rule -1949 sur baher battir beit jala bethlehem beit sahur corpus separatum outline 0 5 km the war of 1948 and after during the course of the war of 1948 jewish forces captured much of the territory assigned to the proposed arab state incl 85 of jerusalem mainly in the city s western part and surrounding neighborhoods the jordanian arab legion took control of the west bank incl 11 of the eastern part of jerusalem incl the old city and adjacent villages the remaining 4 of the jerusalem area was considered no-man s land in which the un headquarters were established some 64,000-80,000 palestinians were forcibly driven out of west jerusalem and the villages in the immediate vicinity in june 1948 their property incl 10,000 homes furniture and businesses came under the control of the israeli `custodian of absentee property some 40 palestinian villages in and around jerusalem were depopulated and many of them destroyed the 1949 cease-fire agreement between jordan and israel formally divided the city into jordanian-controlled east and israeli-controlled west jerusalem in 1950 the israeli government passed the `absentee property law which transferred the ownership of `left property to the jewish state on 2 feb 1949 israeli pm david ben-gurion unilaterally declared that israeli-held west jerusalem was no longer occupied territory but an integral part of the israeli state and on 13 dec 1949 west jerusalem was illegally declared the capital of israel israeli-jordanian border at beit safafa new gate
[close]
p. 3
partitioned jerusalem 1948-1967 on 19 dec 1949 the un general assembly voted for res 303 restating its intention to place jerusalem under a permanent international regime which should envisage appropriate guarantees for the protection of the holy places both within and outside jerusalem and confirm the provisions of the partition resolution 181 of 1947 israel demilitarized zone hadassah hospital sanhedria m t s co hebrew university pu s no man s land j a ff ar o ad mandelbaum gate n s ma no nd la j mea shearim ter al-haram jordan demilitarized zone musa qassem alhusseini mayor of jerusalem 1917-1920 qua r christian quarter jaffa gate mosque of omar rehavia new hebrew university armenian quarter jewish quarter zion gate ash-sharif old city j e r ic mt o f o li m u s li m ve lion s gate sordg az aisr oa d a ho r oad jerusalem talbiyeh mt.zion silwan ath-thori government house un headquarters no man s land talpiot 0 mile 1 the mandelbaum gate crossing point in the divided city became mayor replacing his deceased brother selim effendi was dismissed by the british in april 1920 due to his opposition to british occupation and mandate policies remained head of the arab executive committee until his death on 26 march 1934 nrael israeli occupation 1967 israel occupied the gaza strip and the west bank incl east jerusalem in the course of the june war of 1967 ever since israeli objectives and policies regarding jerusalem have followed a clear pattern to establish irreversible facts in the city that allow israel to secure and maintain exclusive control immediately after the june war of 1967 the israeli government began to redefine the municipal boundaries of both parts of jerusalem the arab east jerusalem municipal boundaries comprising 6.5 km2 were expanded through the annexation of an additional 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 the new municipal boundaries now embracing 108 km2 east and west jerusalem and representing an area of 28 of the west bank were designed to secure geographic integrity 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 on 28 june 1967 the knesset amended the law of 1950 which proclaimed jerusalem as israel s capital to extend illegally israeli jurisdiction to the eastern part of the city one of the first moves after the war was the forceful eviction of over 6,000 palestinians from the old city s mughrabi quarter and the destruction of their houses numbering at least 135 in order to create a plaza in front of al-buraq western wall on 4 july 1967 un general assembly res 2253 called upon israel to rescind all measures taken and to desist forthwith from taking any action which would alter the status of jerusalem in total disregard of the resolution israel confiscated over 18,270 dunums of palestinian land in jerusalem in the first three years of occupation alone israel s strategies regarding jerusalem enacted at municipal level with the unconditional support of the national government were masterminded by former mayor teddy kollek whose plans and policies which are enthusiastically carried out until this day were driven by the idea of cutting `greater jerusalem off from the west bank and facilitating its annexation to israel proper the israeli strategy of `judaization has involved colonization of the old city and its immediate and extended surroundings and the building of suburbs with new road links in order to populate heavily the metropolitan area of annexed east jerusalem the kollek administration was extremely concerned about the growth of the palestinian population in jerusalem it became common to refer to palestinian-owned land as vacant or unused in order to justify expropriation and to block palestinian development and housing to drive palestinians out of the city as stipulated in the land ordinance acquisition public purposes of 1943 the israeli finance minister was authorized to issue expropriation orders for privately owned land if a `public purpose existed which had simply to be defined as such by the finance minister between 1967 and 1996 some 23,500 dunums were expropriated from palestinians in jerusalem under this ordinance on 30 july 1980 the israeli govt reaffirmed the 1967 de facto annexation and declared jerusalem the `eternal undivided capital of israel through its basic law on jerusalem constituting a harsh violation of international law and the fourth geneva convention lion s gate or st stephen s gate
[close]
p. 4
jerusalem municipal boundaries 1947-2000 it was condemned by unsc res 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 annexation population transfer settlement construction and destruction of private property are violations of israel s obligations under the universal declaration of human rights the fourth geneva convention and the letter and spirit of the oslo accords ramallah qalandia airport municipal boundary under the british mandate 1923-1947 israeli municipal boundaries 1949-1967 west gr beit hanina ragheb nashashibi mayor of jerusalem 1920-1927 and 19271934 een bank line shu fat israel deir yassin arab municipality under jordanian rule 1950-1967 jerusalem ein karim old city municipal limits unilaterally extended by israel between 1967-1993 was appointed mayor by the british authorities in 1920 and was confirmed in his position in the first municipal elections held under the british mandate on 27 sept 1927 remained mayor of jerusalem until his defeat in the second municipal elections in 1934 abu dis malha beit safafa sur baher inquiry commission at the wailing wall bethlehem 0 5 km population immediately after the occupation of jerusalem in 1967 the israeli government conducted a census that counted 66,000 palestinians living in east jerusalem within the new municipal borders 44,000 in pre-1967 east jerusalem and 22,000 in the area newly annexed by israel while these palestinians were classified as permanent residents of jerusalem according to the law of entry into israel 1952 entry to israel regulations 1974 those who were not recorded due to absence whether studying abroad visiting relatives elsewhere etc had later to apply for family reunification to the ministry of the interior see residency rights ever since 1967 the israeli government has encouraged jews to settle in east jerusalem and has provided numerous incentives such as favorable apartment purchase terms subsidies and exemption from municipal taxes or reduced rates for certain periods as a result the settlers in east jerusalem comprise an estimated 75-80 of the total increase in jerusalem s jewish population since 1967 in june 1993 the west jerusalem municipality wjm reported for the first time an israeli majority in east jerusalem with the number of jewish settlers having reached 160,000 surpassing the city s then155,000 palestinians the 2000 israeli statistical yearbook of jerusalem puts the number of arab inhabitants of jerusalem at 208,700 comprising 31.7 of the city s total population 1990 27.9 1999 31.1 palestinian figures are much higher although it is estimated that at least a third of the palestinian jerusalem id card holders reside outside the city in nearby west bank towns the pcbs palestinian central bureau of statistics estimates that some 238,561 palestinians lived in israeli-annexed jerusalem in 2001 while there were 373,713 in the pa jerusalem governorate an undisputed fact remains however that jerusalem s arab population is growing much faster 4 in 1999 than the jewish population 1.1 which is growing even slower than the rest of israel see graph left in 1998 the city witnessed a net loss of 6,300 jewish residents the main reason for leaving is the high housing prices in the city according to research undertaken by the jerusalem institute for israel studies about 56 of jerusalem residents live in parts of the city annexed in 1967 some 46 of the residents in east jerusalem are jewish and they constitute 38 of the city s total population ha aretz 27 sept 2000 annual growth rates by population group and area selected years arabs others jerusalem jews jerusalem jews israel 5 4.5 4 3.8 3.4 3 2.6 2 2 2.1 1.3 1 0.7 0 1978 1.3 1.4 1.2 1.3 1 1.1 2.4 3.4 2.7 2.4 2.2 2.4 2.4 2.1 1.9 1.8 3.4 2.9 2.7 2.6 3.5 4 zion gate 1985 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
[close]
p. 5
demographic features total population 2000 of which settlers in east jerusalem of which haredim of which christians population growth rates 1999 total 1967-2000 average 1993-2000 population ratio 1999 projected population ratio 2010/2020 population by age 1999 in median age 0-14 yrs 15-44 yrs 45-64 yrs 65 yrs internal migration balance 1999 jews 448,800 ca 180-200,000 ca 30 1.1 127.0 1.17 67.6 65.4 62.2 24.7 32.1 41.2 16.5 10.2 -7,839 7.8 palestinians 208,700 total 657,500 14,100 2.2 of total pop 4.0 204.2 3.52 31.7 34.6 37.8 19.6 muslims 19 christians 31.4 40.8 muslims 42 christians 21.6 45.8 9.9 3.5 0.2 23.1 34.7 42.8 14.5 8.0 -7,996 8.0 2.0 146.9 1.88 hussein fakhri alkhalidi mayor of jerusalem 1934-1936 5.5 of whom are christians source statistical yearbook of jerusalem 2000 municipal area of jerusalem since 1967 in thousand dunums 140 120 100 126.4 108 108.5 not incl 6km 80 of the jordanian east jerusalem 60 municipality 40 20 0 2 38.1 pre-war 1967 post-war 1967 march 1985 may 1993 source statistical yearbook of jerusalem 2000 it is against the background of these demographic trends that the israeli government has drafted various plans to expand the municipal boundaries the last of which was publicized in 1998 and focused on the realization of the `greater jerusalem concept comprised of 440 km2 via an umbrella municipality of local councils the plan included the incorporation of the settlements of givat ze ev and ma ale adumim as well as other areas inside the green line and the inclusion of another 30,000 jews and construction of 142,000 apartments in the jewish sector in order to consolidate the jewish majority in jerusalem it should be noted in this context that israel insisted during the camp david and subsequent talks on a expansion of municipal jerusalem to include settlements just over the green line e.g ma ale adumim givat ze ev palestinian neighborhoods in israeli-annexed east jerusalem neighborhood at-tur ath-thori jabal mukabber al-issawiyya bab az-zahrah beit hanina beit safafa sheikh jarrah shu fat silwan sur baher/im tuba wadi al-joz old city arab as-sawahreh wadi hilweh kufr aqab ras al-amud sharafat sawaneh area in dunums 1,745 1,736 2,949 2,394 823 5,294 1,577 711 2,564 537 5,333 347 900 2,342 506 2,441 1,262 8,939 851 persons per dunum 10.6 12.3 4.1 3.9 7.9 3.8 3.3 3.6 10.9 16.1 1.9 18.8 36.6 7.8 4.2 9.0 0.1 4.2 population 18,457 12,599 12,190 9,343 6,483 20,219 5,144 2,535 27,750 8,669 10,091 6,524 32,952 dwellings 2,521 2,691 2,114 1,412 880 3,810 711 566 2,827 2,196 1,792 906 5,699 93 1,551 2,428 225 remarks pop dwellings incl sawaneh includes hirbet beit sahur incl arab as-sawahreh except area includes nablus road area incl shu fat camp 347 dunums excl anatot industrial area includes jewish quarter and 2,306 jews incl um leisan pop incl atarot industrial zone area includes wadi qadum incl zuhur der karmizan pop dwellings incl in at-tur in 1934 the british issued a new municipalities law organizing elections in a ward system allotting six wards to jews four to muslims and two to christians hussein fakhri alkhalidi became mayor of jerusalem in aug 1937 he was arrested for membership in the arab higher committee and deported to the seychelles the arrest of another six arab councilors created for the first time a jewish majority in the city council led by deputy mayor daniel auster until 1938 see included in jabel al-mukabber 3,970 10,179 11,343 904 dung gate source israeli statistical yearbook of jerusalem 2000
[close]
p. 6
nb the jerusalem governorate of the palestinian authority has different district boundaries than the israeli municipal area of jerusalem which includes illegally and unilaterally annexed east jerusalem consequently the statistical areas both sides refer to differ in scope and range the map on the right shows the pa governorate in dark gray and the israeli municipal area in lighter gray mustafa alkhalidi mayor of jerusalem 1938-1944 jenin tubas tulkarm nablus qalqilya salfit israel ramallah jordan the pa jerusalem governorate israeli-annexed east jerusalem locality built-up area dunums 1,558 2,219 1,538 6,345 7,330 2,650 588 535 1,265 285 1,478 223 142 26,156 appointed mayor by the british on 1 oct 1938 to replace the exiled mayor hussein alkhalidi remained in office until his death in aug 1944 jericho east jerusalem bethlehem dead sea municipal committee of british employees 1945-1948 beit hanina shu fat excl anatot industrial area al-issawiyya at-tur east jerusalem al-quds silwan jabel al-mukabber as-sawahreh al-gharbiyya beit safafa sharafat sur bahir um tuba al-ghazayil total source pcbs jerusalem statistical yearbook no 3 2000 west jerusalem hebron according to the pcbs census of dec 1997 323,837 palestinians were living in the jerusalem governorate 210,209 of whom resided inside the israeli checkpoints and 113,628 outside the numbers projected for 2001 were 238,561 and 135,152 respectively and those for 2005 267,952 and 161,471 localities and populations are as follows locality abu dis al-izzariyya sawahreh ash-sharqiya sheikh sa ad az-za yim anata biddu nabi samwil al-hazmiyya jab a al-judeira dahiet al-barid ar-ram al-jib al-qubeia beit ijza golden gate pop 2001 10,650 15,299 2005 12,724 18,278 built-up area 1,538 1,750 beit iksa locality pop 2001 1,380 1,219 1,407 3,357 3,750 5,355 5,361 328 1,868 6,592 1,015 7,971 9,155 1,652 2005 1,649 1,456 1,681 4,011 4,480 6,398 6,405 391 2,231 7,875 1,212 9,523 10,938 1,973 built-up area 350 138 238 245 402 613 378 15 243 819 70 675 440 179 83 beit hanina al-balad beit diqqu 4,582 2,116 2,162 8,461 5,600 182 5,474 2,528 2,583 10,108 6,690 230 1,158 473 508 1,465 493 15 145 beit surik beit anan bir nabala hizma kharayeb im al-lahm rafat qatanna qalandia qalandia camp kufr aqab mikhmas job ar-rum bedouins jahalin tajamu others total 2,848 1,865 22,507 3,402 2,229 253 140 1,118 26,890 4,082 1,819 590 4,877 2,173 705 1,653 358 570 142 1,918 55 135,152 2,291 65 161,471 source pcbs jerusalem statistical yearbook no 3 2000 16,667
[close]
p. 7
residency rights id card confiscation israeli demographic strategies vis-à-vis palestinian jerusalemites such as restrictive residency and housing policies aim at both separating them from the palestinians in the west bank and driving them out of the city in order to secure a longterm jewish majority until this day any palestinian who is not classified by the israeli government as a permanent resident of east jerusalem incl spouses children and other relatives of east jerusalem permanent residents must apply for family reunification to reside legally there the decision to grant or deny these applications is according to israeli law ultimately at 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 the confiscation 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 do not 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 `regulation the israeli government introduced in 1994 according to which palestinian jerusalemites must prove that their center of life is within the municipal boundaries live abroad for more than seven years lose their residency rights in 1996 the israeli government decided that any jerusalemite who lives in the `territory west bank more than seven years would also cease to be an israeli resident of those 411 id cards confiscated in 1999 for example 290 were revoked because the holder had moved abroad and 121 because he had moved to the wbgs id cards confiscated from palestinian jerusalemites 1967-2000 1067 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 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 denied access to the city s educational and health services and of jerusalemite women who are forced to leave the city due to the fear of having their id cards revoked palestinian jerusalemites avoid approaching the ministry of interior except in real emergency situations although the number of east jerusalem palestinians that have their residency rights revoked is decreasing the israeli policy of `quiet deportation in east jerusalem through court judgments legal and administrative tactics has resulted in the revocation of 6,444 id cards from palestinian residents of east jerusalem since 1967 as of april 2001 this number does not include the dependent children of those who lost their id cards see graph below in 2000 the israeli interior min restored residency rights to 818 palestinians compared to 183 in 1999 anwar alkhatib mayor of jerusalem 1948-1950 appointed mayor of the eastern part of jerusalem by jordanian military governor abdullah tal remained in office until his resignation in 1950 1200 1000 739 800 616 600 395 327 jerusalem id 788 411 161 99 84 23 2 32 36 20 41 32 45 91 207 400 178 200 0 105 126 93 77 45 54 42 35 36 91 158 51 74 sources badil resource center bethlehem b tselem jerusalem based on figures released by the israeli min of interior for 2000 ha aretz 1 april 2001 jaffa gate
[close]
p. 8
housing house demolition in june 1967 israel unilaterally expanded the boundaries of jerusalem by annexing some 70 km2 to within the municipal boundaries of west jerusalem some 24 km2 of the area were expropriated primarily to build new jewish neighborhoods for which master plans were developed covering 17.5 km2 while for the remaining 45 km2 no such plans exist only 5 km2 of the area for which master plans exist are allocated for palestinian housing needs about 8 of the total area of east jerusalem of these only approx 7.3 is available for residential and only some 0.6 for commercial and industrial construction irshalem east jerusalem the current planning situation a survey of municipal plans and planning policy 1998 unlicensed and thus `illegal construction provides the wjm with a pretext to demolish palestinian homes over 2000 since 1967 b tselem as a result of these discriminatory policies thousands of palestinian jerusalemites live under severely overcrowded conditions or even in caves tents or under similarly inadequate conditions illegally built houses in west jerusalem are never destroyed although up to 70 of the building violations in the city occur there currently 2000 demolition orders are in effect a number four times higher than that of building permits granted since 1967 meir margalit a chronicle of municipal discrimination in jerusalem palestine-israel journal vol viii no 1 2001 another israeli strategy to restrict palestinian construction in east jerusalem is the wjm s town planning scheme tps without an approved tps that complies to the infrastructural zoning and housing requirements of the municipality s planning goals no building permits will be issued tpss are comprehensive costly and require extensive coordination with the municipal authorities their stipulations make it nearly impossible for palestinians to obtain the green light for development and housing plans tps approval for palestinians is furthermore excessively delayed for example a plan for shu fat was approved only after 13 years aref al-aref mayor of jerusalem 1950-1951 appointed mayor by the jordanians in 1950 on 31 july 1951 the first jordanian municipal elections were held in arab jerusalem resulting in a 12-member council which appointed aref al-aref as its head he was replaced after six weeks by hanna atallah who stayed in office for three months before omar wa ari was appointed mayor facts figures despite israeli restrictive policies the number of palestinian dwellings in the city has increased considerably in recent years with some estimates speaking of over 7,000 new dwellings in the past five years though almost all of this construction was `unlicensed as palestinians are routinely denied the required building permits on average the wjm issues one building permit for every additional 6.3 west jerusalemites and only one for every 42.6 additional palestinian east jerusalem residents peace now may 1997 housing densities are accordingly unequal as the following table shows jews palestinians total average persons per household 3.4 households with 6 persons 5.5 44.8 1.8 17.9 3.8 23.1 16 1.0 1.6 average persons per room households with 3 persons/room source statistical yearbook of jerusalem 2000 palestinian homes demolished by israel 50 40 30 20 10 0 1993 herod s gate 1994 29 1995 25 1996 17 1997 16 1998 30 1999 21 2000 9 2001 35 may 2002 demolished houses 48 24 sources b tselem law
[close]
p. 9
the old city founded around 4000 bc the old city is divided into four quarters muslim christian jewish and armenian the present walls surrounding the old city were built by the ottoman sultan suleiman al-qanouni in 1542 the walls stretch over 19.3 km and an average height of 12 m of its 11 gates the following seven are presently open damascus gate herod s gate jaffa gate zion gate al-magharbeh gate lions gate/st stephen s gate and new gate the old city houses 25 mosques 65 churches and 19 synagogues persons area in persons no of per quarter population dunums per dwellings dwelling dunum muslim christian armenian jewish total 23,232 5,086 2,346 2,2882 32,952 4611 192 126 122 900 50,3 26.5 18.6 18.8 36.6 3,375 1,186 596 542 5,699 6.9 4.3 3.9 4.2 5.8 omar wa ari mayor of jerusalem 1952-1955 1 incl the 135 dunums of al-haram ash-sharif compound if this area is not counted the population density in the muslim quarter rises to over 70 2 excl over 1,700 settlers occupying houses in the muslim quarter source israeli statistical yearbook of jerusalem 2000 appointed mayor by the jordanians in march 1952 until 1955 when the municipal law was amended appointing two additional members to the council and reappointing aref al-aref as mayor for a few months the old city salah e stree ddin t je lus n ab municipal committee 1955-1957 settlers in and around the old city the old city the adjacent village of silwan and more recently the neighborhoods of ras alamud and sheikh jarrah are exposed to extremist jewish settler groups such as ateret cohanim elad amana and hay vekayam which enjoy wide public support in their effort to take over as much palestinian property as possible marked as stars on map the most recent case occurred in sheikh jarrah on 23 april 2002 when palestinian families were forcibly evicted from two building complexes in an area where settlers envision a new jewish neighborhood the presence of the settlers who often threaten and attack the palestinian inhabitants and damage their properties as well as the settlers ongoing attempts to enter al-aqsa mosque are sources of constant tension and frequently lead to clashes in the old city the public cost of providing security for the settlers in east jerusalem silwan ras al-amud and the muslim quarter is high israel s 2001 budget earmarked $5.1 million from the construction housing min for settler security peace now 7 nov 2000 bab az-zahra herod s gate r ic ho a ro bab al-amud damascus gate ro a d d hbat aqabat ra is al-qad al-mawlawiya mosque ad ro ad -w al suq khan ez-zeit st anne s church ecce homo arch/convent bab hutta iya bab al-asbat lion gate via sa doloro bab al-jadid new gate christian quarter is str st.franc nqa at kha aqab muslim quarter islamic waqf al-omariya school bab al-hadid haram ash-sharif holy sepulcher h t tekiye aqaba gr.mufti s office latin patriarchate j fa af chr.qrt.rd greek orthodox patriarchate redeemer church qubbet as-sakra mosque of omar as silsileh str khalidiye library suq al husur habad str dome of the rock bab silsileh armenian street st james cathedral bab al-magharbe dung gate armenian quarter 0 200 m bab nabi da ud zion gate nr sil wa n nt ce as oad he b area expropriated for the reconstitution of an extended jewish quarter 1968 properties taken over by israeli settlers major religious and public buildings ro o fe l ro ad ad ro bab al-khalil jaffa gate al-buraq wailing wall citadel christ church site of demolished mughrabi quarter al-aqsa mosque jewish quarter extended damascus gate © jan de jong
[close]
p. 10
settlements at least 66 of today s jerusalem is territory seized by force 5 of the old jordanian municipality and 61 of former west bank territory within this area israel has expropriated more than 23,380 dunums of mostly palestinian-owned land over one-third of east jerusalem for the construction of israeli settlements since 1967 fmep report on israeli settlement may-june 1999 these settlements with a population of approx 180-200,000 are intended to secure israeli superiority over the entire jerusalem region they form two rings around the city the inner ring in east jerusalem and the outer ring greater jerusalem reaching far into the west bank isolating arab east jerusalem cutting the west bank in half and imposing economic strangulation as the city is the natural center for all trade and movement routes in the palestinian territories the `greater jerusalem plan is more of a political than geographical concept which follows israel s vision of a metropolitan jerusalem stretching from ramallah north to hebron south and from jericho east to bet shemesh west covering 30 of the wb the total area amounts to 440 km2 of which less than a quarter lies within pre-1967 israeli borders 1 dunum 1 4 acre 1,000 m2 1 acre 4 dunums 4,000 m2 ruhi alkhatib mayor of jerusalem 1957-1967 almost half of the area of arab east jerusalem has been slated as green areas i.e public space on which construction is not allowed in fact these areas serve as land reserves for the construction or expansion of settlements the first such case was shu fat 2,000 dunums of its land designated as a green areas in 1968 were rezoned in 1973 to allow for the building of the ramot settlement the most recent case was jabel abu ghneim 1991 where har homa settlement is now constructed on land formerly in 1968 classified as green area appointed mayor by the jordanians in jan 1957 in the sept 1959 municipal elections he was elected mayor and in the 1963 elections elected a council member and re-appointed mayor until the dismissal of the arab municipality by israel following the occupation in 1967 land control in east jerusalem designated for settlement expansion 9.0 34.0 expropriated for public use green areas 44.0 13.0 left for arab neighborhoods israeli settlements in east jerusalem settlement ramot eshkol ramot allon neve ya acov pisgat ze ev atarot east talpiot gilo mt scopus givat shapira rekhes shu fat givat hamatos omar ibn al-khattab mosque year establ 1968 1973 1972 1985 1970 1973 1971 1968 1968 1994 1991 1991 on land belonging to lifta beit iksa lifta beit hanina area in dunums 985 4,979 1,759 5,468 3,327 1,196 2,859 1,048 970 1,126 310 2,523 population 5,922 37,673 20,209 34,789 pop density person/dunum dwellings 2,359 8,640 4,774 10,161 288 4,301 8,865 6.4 7.6 11.4 5.9 1.7 hizma beit hanina hizma beit hanina qalandia beit hanina sur baher sharafat beit jala malha shu fat issawiyya at-tur 13,050 27,459 1,307 7,040 10,330 1,363 11.0 9.5 1.2 8.3 7.8 0.6 incl har homa shu fat issawiyya shu fat beit safafa beit jala um tuba sur baher 2,106 1,974 274 har homa source statistical yearbook of jerusalem 2000 except column three pcbs
[close]
p. 11
israeli municipal policies nb palestinian jerusalemites are considered israeli residents not citizens and are subject to israeli law police and courts municipal budget taxation and infrastructure according to the israeli cbs the over 208,000 palestinian jerusalemites 32 of the city s total population receive less than 12 of the municipal budget on average the city invests seven times as much on a jewish resident as on a palestinian resident in addition palestinians are exposed to an unfair tax system e.g arnona tax which requires them to pay the same rates as their israeli counterparts whose per capita income is approx 8 times higher east jerusalem excl the gap in the infrastructures between east and west jerusalem is huge the west jerusalem settlements sewage system in east jerusalem is 650 76 sewage pipelines in km inadequate and insufficient about half of the 700 73 kilometer of sidewalks water network needs replacing and repairs 1,079 29 public gardens and maintenance work on street lighting and roads are urgently needed source al-quds 1 june 2000 quoting a wjm monitoring dept report on the difference between east and west jerusalem amin al-majaj acting mayor of jerusalem 1967-1999 the following table underlines the discrepancy in spending allocation of municipal budgets west and east jerusalem department welfare education health projects culture sport trade youth religious affairs percentage of total budget allocated to east jerusalem 12.5 16.6 6.2 3.5 2.6 8.1 2.2 5.9 0.0 department sanitation beautification development budget percentage of budget allocated to east jerusalem 11.5 7 12 source meir margalit a chronicle of municipal discrimination in jerusalem palestine-israel journal vol viii no 1 2001 in aug 2001 the israeli govt authorized the transfer of nis 200 million to the wjm which demands an extra nis 300 million over the next three years to be used for urgent infrastructure projects in east jerusalem construction of roads sewage new classrooms kindergartens and parks the netanyahu administration had promised nis 400 milion for this purpose and under barak nis 250 million were waved but hardly any funds have been actually allocated the money will come from several sources for different types of development nis 65 million for the multi-year project for improving city services to east jerusalem nis 40 million from the housing and construction ministry for infrastructure nis 25 million from the transportation ministry for roads nis 40 million from the education ministry for classrooms nis 10 million from the tourism ministry for support for tourism nis 20 million from the labor and social affairs ministry for welfare services after the palestinians rejected the dismissal of the arab municipality by israel in june 1967 and continued to function at the gloria hotel in the old city council members elected dr majaj as acting mayor in june 1995 a palestinian authority ministerial committee decided to reactivate the jerusalem arab municipal council and appointed dr majaj as mayor until his death in 1999 while all living members of the pre-1967 council became deputies closure in march 1993 the rabin government imposed a general closure denying palestinians from the wbgs entrance to israel free movement between the southern and northern part of the west bank and access to jerusalem thus depriving thousands of palestinians from reaching their workplaces and holy places as well as accessing medical educational and economic services those palestinians who enter the city `illegally risk imprisonment and high penalties in addition to the general closure israel imposes total closures usually after attacks or to prevent attacks at sensitive times such as israeli holidays in which all entry permits are cancelled and internal closures mostly imposed after a palestinian attack on israeli civilians or security forces which blockade west bank towns and villages by de facto isolating them the closure policy disregards international law according to which east jerusalem is an integral part of the west bank and the oslo accords which view the wbgs as `one territorial unit the closure has had a devastating impact on the economy of east jerusalem and thus on the palestinian economy in general it is estimated that the lifting of the israeli closure i.e the opening of jerusalem would add some 20 to the overall gdp of palestine window of alaqsa mosque
[close]
p. 12
in commemoration of the first anniversary of the death of faisal husseini born on 17 july 1940 in baghdad iraq to a muslim palestinian notable family son of palestinian guerilla leader abdel qader husseini grandson of musa qassem pasha al-husseini former mayor of jerusalem and nephew of hajj amin husseini then grand leadership without a building is better than mufti of jerusalem leadership without people studied in cairo baghdad damascus joined the arab nationalist movement anm in 1957 and became a founding member of the general union of palestinian students gups in 1959 returned to jerusalem and worked for the plo after its initial establishment as deputy manager of the public organization dept 1964-65 graduated from damascus military college in 1967 and joined the palestinian liberation army in the same year worked as x-ray technician in jerusalem from 1969-1977 studied history in beirut returned to jerusalem and founded the arab studies society in 1979 whose chairman he remained until is death from 1982-87 placed repeatedly under house and city arrest by israel as well as in administrative detention last in october 1990 in the wake of the al-aqsa mosque massacre member of the higher islamic council jerusalem since 1982 palestinian spokesperson and highly respected fateh leader during the first intifada led the preparatory talks for the madrid conference in 1990 became member of the palestinian steering committee to the peace talks from 1991 and then head of the palestinian delegation from april 1993 headed the fateh high command in the west bank from 1994 and became plo exec committee member since april 1996 member of the final status negotiating team and pa minister without portfolio in charge of the jerusalem file since the mid-1990 head of the orient house the first national address in jerusalem died suddenly of a heart attack on 31 may 2001 whilst acting as 1st plo leader to visit kuwait after the 1991 gulf war buried next to his father at al-aqsa mosque on 1 june 2001 struggled all his life for justice and independence in palestine based on un resolutions 242 and 338 and international law and pursued tirelessly his dream to see jerusalem as the capital of a free palestine faisal abdul qader al-husseini 17 july 1940 31 may 2001 it is the obligation of all of us to stand together to achieve peace and defend jerusalem in the face of the enemy of peace further research sources http www.passia.org/jerusalem/jerusalem.htm http www.arij.org http www.ojerusalem.com/index.html http www.badil.org/resources/jerusalem/alquds.htm http www.un.org/depts/dpa/qpal/docs/a_1286.htm http www.un.org/depts/dpa/qpal/dpr/dpr_jeru_st.htm http www.un.org/depts/dpa/qpal/docs/s_8427_a1.htm http www.jerusalemites.org http www.amjerusalem.org http www.jcser.org/english http www.jerusalem2000.org http www.jqf-jerusalem.org http www.pcbs.org/inside/selcts.htm http www.acj.org i fear the day when jerusalem will mourn its children before its children mourn jerusalem passia we chose a peaceful route but there are other alternatives we must have two capitals in an open and freeaccess city nothing can convince us why the old city should not be under palestinian control it is not logical for the israelis to say they want control of the old city palestinian academic society for the study of international affairs copyright c passia may 2002 jerusalem kindly supported by friedrich ebert foundation fes jerusalem tel 972-2-626 4426 fax 972-2-628 2819 e-mail passia@palnet.com website http www.passia.org po box 19545 jerusalem bailasan ad palestine 02-2964970 abdul hadi mahdi thoughts on israel s policies and practices in jerusalem cambridge harvard university press 1985 armstrong karen jerusalem one city three faiths new york alfred knopf 1996 benvinisti meron city of stone berkeley university of california press 1996 breger m.j t.a idinopulo jerusalem s holy places and the peace process washington institute for near east policy 1998 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 jerusalem passia 1996 dumper michael the politics of jerusalem since 1967 new york columbia university press 1997 felner eitan a policy of discrimination land expropriation planning and building in east jerusalem jerusalem b tselem 1995 friedland roger and richard hecht to rule jerusalem new york cambridge university press 1996 halabi usama the jerusalem arab municipality jerusalem passia 1993 hodgkins allison b israeli settlement policy in jerusalem facts on the ground jerusalem passia 1998 irshalem east jerusalem the current planning situation a survey of municipal plans and planning policy jerusalem 1998 jerusalem issue of the palestine-israel journal vol viii no 1 2001 karmi ghada ed jerusalem today what future for the peace process ithaka press 1996 koechler hans ed the legal aspects of the palestine problem with special regard to the question of jerusalem vienna wilhelm braumueller gmbh 1981 latendresse anne jerusalem the palestinian dynamics of resistance and urban change 1967-94 jerusalem passia 1995 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 b tselem and hamoked the quiet deportation revocation of residency of east jerusalem palestinians jerusalem 1997 tamari salim ed jerusalem 1948 jerusalem/bethlehem institute of jerusalem studies and badil resource center 1999 walid mustafa jerusalem population and urbanization from 1850-2000 jerusalem jmcc sept 2000.
[close]