Section: Patterns of Displacement

Sub-section: East Jerusalem

• Last Updated: 30 June 2011
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East Jerusalem

East Jerusalem

• In 1967, Israel annexed East Jerusalem in addition to 64 square kilometers in West Bank, unilaterally defining this as expanded Jerusalem municipality, and would in 1980 pass legislation reinforcing position of Israel since 1967. This decree was declared illegal in flagrant violation of international law by the UN Security Council. (UN Security Council resolution 252, 1968; HRC resolution 2/4, January 9 2007). Since the annexation, Israel has implemented policies aimed at reducing the number of Palestinians in the city. These take the form of legislation, measures limiting services granted by law, and discriminatory law enforcement in such areas as discriminatory application of municipal planning regulations, access to services, family reunification, and revocation of residency rights (B’tselem, July 2006, ICAHD, 2007)
• The ideological motive is rooted in a policy decision establishing that a demographic balance must be maintained in all Jerusalem at a ratio of 70%Jews to 30% Palestinians. (ICAHD, 2007) In 1967, a census revealed 70,000 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem and no Israelis (UNSC, September 1967); in 2011 an estimated 200,000 Israeli settlers reside in East Jerusalem alongside 270,000 Palestinians (OCHA, March 2011) - Palestinians represent close to 30% of all residents of Jerusalem. The UN, Israeli and Palestinian organizations have criticized Israeli policies that have sought to judaize East Jerusalem and maintain a Jewish majority in Jerusalem at the expense of the Palestinian community, in violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law.(ICAHD, March 2007; B’tselem, July 2006; OCHA March 2011).
• For lack of adequate monitoring, there are no available figures of the numbers of Palestinians displaced from East Jerusalem though UN and NGOs reveal clear instances of displacement and communities at risk of displacement short of tens of thousands whose livelihoods are affected by Israeli policies in East Jerusalem:

1. Since 1967 more than 2,000 Palestinian homes are reported to have been demolished, displacing thousands though figures are only available for the last few years (OCHA, March 2011). In 2011, it is estimated that some 86,000 Palestinians are at risk of displacement for having built illegally (UN, May 2011; OCHA, March 2011)
2. Restrictions in planning in East Jerusalem also to have contributed to relocation/displacement of 50,000-60,000 outside the city (FMR, 2 September 2006), while the Wall and onerous restrictions is now leading to relocation/displacement of Jersualimites ID holders on West Bank side of the Wall into East Jerusalem (OCHA March 2011) though estimates vary as to how many from 55,000 Jerusalimites (JCESR, December 2001; ICAHD, March 2007; EU, November 2005) while estimated 2,300 West Bank Palestinians on East Jerusalem side of the Wall are also at risk of displacement (OCHA, March 2011).
3. Revocation of residency rights has also led to displacement, as well as restrictions in family unity. Approximately 14,000 East Jerusalem Palestinians have had their residency revoked since 1967, of which over 4,500 were revoked in 2008 though it is unclear how many were then internally displaced or became refugees (Btselem, 2009).This is not including Palestinians who fled or refused registration in 1967 census, or estimated 20,000-30,000 living immediately adjacent to but not in the municipal boundaries in 1967 (OCHA, 2007). There no clear figures on number of displacement due to Israeli restrictions in family unity though thousands are affected.

Municipal Planning & Building Permit in East Jerusalem

• Rather than addressing the welfare of its residents, urban planning in Jerusalem is first and foremost aimed at maintaining the Jewish majority in the city. (B’Tselem, July 2006). It is premised on the development of Jerusalem including East Jerusalem as capital of Israel. This is achieved by massive investment in Jewish neighborhoods/settlements in East Jerusalem, coupled with the prevention of the expansion of Palestinian neighborhoods (B’Tselem, July 2006; ICAHD, March 2007)
• Urban development plans discriminately affect Palestinian community, with municipal budgets allocating proportionally far less funds to Palestinian community in comparison to the Jewish community. Only 7-13 per cent of land in East Jerusalem is approved for Palestinian construction most of which is in already built-up areas, compared with the 35 per cent expropriated for Israeli settlements (ICAHD, March 2007, B’Tselem, July 2006; OCHA, March 2011).
• Restrictions in building permits and associated costs, discriminately affect Palestinian community and underline the basis for illegal construction in East Jerusalem. Such factors as discriminatory building permits, and regime are noted to have contributed to relocation or displacement of of 50,000-60,000 Palestinians outside the municipal boundaries of the city (FMR, 2 September 2006). Given the extreme difficulty in obtaining a building permit, it is estimated that some 86,000 Palestinians have built in violation of Israeli regulations, and so risk having their homes demolished (UN, May 2011; OCHA, March 2011; HRW December 2010). Since 1967, the Israeli authorities have demolished some 2,000 houses (OCHA, March 2011). The same authorities have failed in many cases to implement court orders to seal or demolish Israeli settlers’ illegal buildings (HRW, December 2010).

Settlements in East Jerusalem

• Since 1968, the Government of Israel has constructed settlements within the extended municipal boundary of East Jerusalem and in the wider metropolitan area beyond creating a new demographic boundary within East Jerusalem, despite the prohibition, under international law, on the transfer of civilians to occupied territory. Over one third of the area within the extended boundary of East Jerusalem has been expropriated for the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements. (OCHA, March 2011)
• In addition, settler organizations are targeting land and property to create an ‘inner’ layer of settlements within Palestinian residential areas, in the so-called ‘Holy Basin’ area. The impact of this settlement activity in Palestinian areas includes restrictions on public space, residential growth and freedom of movement. In the most severe cases – in the Old City, Silwan, and Sheikh Jarrah – settler expropriation has resulted in the loss of property and the eviction of Palestinian residents. (OCHA, March 2011)Archaeological activity in these areas is augmenting the public space which the settlers control. A government-sponsored ‘Open Spaces’ project will expand this domain and further constrain Palestinian construction and space in East Jerusalem.
• Between 1987 and 2004 settler population expanded by 65% from 111,300 to 184,034 while the area covered by settlements increased by 143% from 890 hectares to more than 2,170 hectares. As of end 2010, over 200,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements in East Jerusalem (OCHA, April 2009: OCHA March 2011). Following the 1967 occupation and subsequent annexation of East Jerusalem and its hinterland, an area of approximately 70 Km2 , the Government of Israel has confiscated approximately 35 percent of the territory, primarily from private Palestinian owners. (OCHA, March 2011)
• An estimated eighty per cent of the settler population in the West Bank now lives within a 25 kilometre radius of Jerusalem.All of these settlements have been incorporated onto the ‘Jerusalem’ side of the Wall. In addition to the settlements located within the Israeli-defined municipal boundary, another layer has been constructed in the wider metropolitan area of Jerusalem, encompassing, among others, the Ma’ale Adummim, Giv’at Ze’ev and Gush Etzion blocs. (OCHA, March 2011)

East Jerusalem & House Demolitions

• House demolitions remain a reoccurring source of internal displacement in East Jerusalem discriminately affecting Palestinian communities residing in East Jerusalem. This has been aggravated in recent years as result of the construction of the Separation Wall and continuing discriminatory policies affecting Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem. 2003–2005 were among the worst known to East Jerusalem for house demolitions; not only did the number of demolitions reach a peak of 350 buildings, but there was also an unprecedented severity in punitive enforcement measures. (ICAHD, 2007) Punitive enforcement measures have included reopening of legal proceedings for cases which had remained dormant, doubling of penalties, confiscation of building equipment and incarceration. (ICAHD, 2007)
• The Ministry of the Interior and the Municipality assert that between 15,000-20,000 buildings in East Jerusalem have been built without permits, which is to say, about 40% of the total number of buildings. (ICAHD, 2007) The UN has estimated that some 86,000 Palestinians havng built in violation of Israeli regulations are at risk of having their homes demolished (UN, May 2011; OCHA, March 2011). Since 1967 more than 2,000 Palestinian homes are reported to have been demolished. Thousands remain at risk of being demolished. In Bustan in East Jerusalem, 1,000 Palestinians are at risk of displacement due to pending demolition orders. (OCHA, March 2011) Though families at risk have sought legal avenues against demolition or eviction orders, such measures remain costly, can last years and while can in succesful instances provide temporary Court injuctions, yet contrary to the impression the Israeli authorities have created, since 2003 there have been many cases in which homes have been demolished in violation of Israseli court orders. (ICAHD, 2007)

East Jerusalem & Separation Wall

• Wall isolate East Jerusalem, an occupied territory since 1967, from the rest of the West Bank, and de facto incorporate it to Israel, but it also divides Palestinian neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem, with serious consequences for their residents Approximately 25% of the 253,000 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem have been cut off from the city by the Separation Wall finding themselves on the West Bank side of the Wall. They can now only reach Jerusalem by crossing a checkpoint to access the services to which they are entitled, and are at risk of losing their permanent residency status. (OCHA, March 2011)
• Conversely, certain West Bank localities are ‘dislocated’ to the ‘Jerusalem’ side of the Barrier, with the result that approximately 2,500 Palestinians in 16 communities face also uncertain residency status, impeded access to basic services and potential displacement (OCHA, March 2011)Construction of the Wall in the greater Jerusalem area is effectively re-drawing the geographical boundaries, in addition to compounding the separation of East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. (OCHA, March 2011) It is already responsible for the economic and social decline of entire communities as they are in practice cut off from Jerusalem and essential services they previously had access to (Al Haq, October 2005, pp.8-11; EU, 25 November 2005, para. 22). (UNGA, A/60/380, 26 September 2005, para.53).
• Many of these people do not have access to alternative services or jobs, notably because of the economic decline in their areas of residence – which used to live mainly on the commercial exchanges between Ramallah and Jerusalem before the construction of the wall – and the difficulty of travel from Jerusalem to other West Bank cities. They risk being forced sooner or later to move eastward (Al Haq, October 2005; UNGA, A/60/380, 26 September 2005; CHR, March 2005, para.17-19). The construction of the Wall around Jerusalem along with the reactivation of the “centre of life” policy has prompted a wave of return of Israeli ID card-holders to Jerusalem and exacerbated the housing crisis with important consequences for property prices and rents (Al Haq, October 2005; EU, 25 November 2005, para.20; OCHA, March 2011).

Revocation of Jerusalem Residency & Family Reunification

• The origin of the ‘Jerusalem residency’ originates from 1967 when, following a census of Palestinian residents in the Israeli created municipality of East Jerusalem. Jerusalem residents who left temporarily during the 1967 war missed the census and were denied permanent residency, in addition, to around 30,000 Palestinians who were living immediately adjacent to, but not within, the Israeli-declared new municipal boundaries. (OCHA, July 2007) Palestinians who hold Jerusalem ID cards are permanent residents of Israel. Approximately 253,000 Palestinians hold Jerusalem ID cards. They can live and enter Jerusalem without a permit, buy property and work in Israel, and receive Israeli taxpayer benefits. (OCHA, July 2007; OCHA, 2005)
• Palestinians residing outside of Jerusalem for seven or more years lose their Jerusalem residency status. In order to maintain their card, under Israeli law, the onus lies on Palestinians to provide proof that Jerusalem is their ‘centre of life’ and that they are living inside the Jerusalem municipal boundaries. (OCHA, July 2007) Approximately 14,000 East Jerusalem Palestinians have had their residency revoked since 1967, of which over 4,500 were revoked in 2008. (B’Tselem, August 2008; OCHA March 2011) At the same time, Israel’s centre of life policy would according to some analysts lead to return of 20,000 to 30,000 Palestinians Jerusalemites residing outside municipal borders of East Jerusalem – aggravated by the construction of the Wall which would lead to second wave. (JCESR, December 2001; ICAHD, March 2007; EU, November 2005).
• The center of life policy is additionally contributing to, or leading casue of displacement as families face increasing difficulties in exercising the rights to family reunification and child registration in Jerusalem. Palestinians may have to choose between living separately on different sides of the Wall or losing their residency rights in Jerusalem (CHR, January 2006; Al Haq, October 2005). The application process for family reunification has become virtually impossible since 2003, when Israel introduced the Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order). Permanent residency status is also not passed on to the holder’s children ‘by right’, resulting in difficulties in registering children of such ‘mixed residency’ status marriages (OCHA March 2011)
  
  

OCHA, March 2011
In the years since 1967, Israel has undertaken measures – in particular land confiscation,settlement building and construction of theBarrier –which serve to alter the status ofEast Jerusalem, contrary tointernational law. Government and municipal policies have also negatively impacted the estimated 270,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem.1 As this report demonstrates, these policies affect their residency status, their access to education and health services, and their ability to plan and developtheir communities....Combined, these policies significantly increase the humanitarian vulnerability of the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem. Although Palestinians are remaining in the city, in the long term, failure to address these ‘push factors’ risks undermining the Palestinian presence in East Jerusalem.Palestinians from the remainder of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been prevented from residing within the Israeli-defined municipal boundary, other than through the increasingly restrictive process of ‘family unification.’ Since the early 1990s, non-Jerusalem Palestinians have been compelled by the Israeli authorities to obtain permits just to access the city, including to places of worship during Ramadan and Easter. The number of such permits granted is limited, and access of permit holders into East Jerusalem is restricted to four checkpoints. The majority of checkpoints leading into the Jerusalem area have been incorporated into the Barrier, which is itself compounding the separation of East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. In addition to this administrative and physical separation, the Palestinian Authority is not allowed, under the Oslo Accords, to operate in East Jerusalem and the closure of Palestinian institutions, such as Orient House, is continually renewed, notwithstanding Israel’s commitments under the Roadmap. This has led to a political and institutional vacuum which, in addition to restrictive residency and access policies, is resulting in East Jerusalem becoming increasingly separated from the remainder of the occupied Palestinian territory – physically, politically, socially and culturally.

OCHA, October 2009
"In 2009, the Israeli authorities have demolished ...including 57 in East Jerusalem and 180 in Area C. ...While Israel has expropriated approximately 35 percent of occupied East Jerusalem for Israeli settlements, only an estimated 13 percent is available Palestinian construction in East Jerusalem, and much of this is built-up already. In those areas where construction is possible, Israeli restrictions on Palestinian planning and development, including bureaucratic requirements and high fees, make it extremely difficult for Palestinian residents to obtain building permits, leaving many families with no choice to meet their housing needs but to build “illegally” and risk demolition of their home. Conservative estimates indicate that as many as 60,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem may be at risk of having their homes demolished. During the month, the Israeli daily, Yedioth Yerushalayim, reported of a document produced by the Jerusalem Municipality, indicating its intention to implement in the near future 42 pending demolition orders issued against Palestinian-owned buildings and structures in East Jerusalem, as well as 17 demolition orders against Israeli-owned structures."


OCHA, The Planning Crisis in EJ, April 2009
"...Of particular concern are areas in East Jerusalem that face the prospect of mass demolitions. For example, the execution of pending demolition orders in the Tel al Foul area in Beit Hanina, Khalet el ‘Ein in At Tur, Al Abbasiya in Ath Thuri, and Wadi Yasul between Jabal al Mukabbir and Ath Thuri, affect a combined total of more than 3,600 persons. In the Bustan area of the Silwan neighbourhood, which has received considerable media attention, some 90 houses are threatened with demolition, potentially displacing a further 1,000 Palestinians. In addition, some 500 residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood potentially face eviction as their homes are located on land whose ownership is contested

B'Tselem, July 2006
"During the 1967 war, Israel took control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. While the West Bank remained under military occupation, Israel annexed East Jerusalem and applied Israeli law there. The annexed area included, however, not only the 6 square kilometers of East Jerusalem prior to 1967, but an additional 64 square kilometers that were part of the West Bank. In its re-drawing of the Jerusalem borders, one of the factors Israel took into account was demographic: ensuring a large Jewish majority in the city. This was accomplished by including sparsely populated Palestinian areas in the territory annexed, while attempting to exclude the more populated areas. As a result, several villages and neighborhoods were divided in two. In other cases, farmlands belonging to a village were annexed to Jerusalem, while the village itself remained in the West Bank. Immediately following the occupation of the West Bank, Israel's Parliament passed the "Jerusalem Law", annexing the area within the newly determined municipal boundary, and proclaiming Israeli sovereignty over it. Israel conducted a population census, and Palestinians residing inside what was now under municipal jurisdiction, were granted the status of "permanent resident" and the option of becoming Israeli citizens. East Jerusalemites found themselves in an awkward situation. In order to become citizens they were obliged to pledge allegiance to Israel. Thus, most declined citizenship, opting to be permanent residents instead. This status resembles the one granted to non-Jewish immigrants: it allows Palestinian Jerusalemites to work in Israel, and enjoy health insurance and social welfare benefits provided to all Israeli residents. However, residents lack political clout and are subject to a variety of measures intended to ensure a Jewish majority in the city. The result is an inequality between Jewish and Palestinian Jerusalemites that is present in all aspects of daily life in the city."

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, March 2007
"The ideological motive is rooted in a policy decision establishing that a demographic balance must be maintained in the city at a ratio of 70% Jews to 30% Palestinians. The ministerial committee known as the Gafni Commission laid down this policy in 1973. Underlying the policy was concern at the rate of increase of the Palestinian population in Jerusalem and the fear that within a few years, they would succeed in changing the Jewish character of the city and would even choose the mayor! A municipal paper prepared by the Planning Policy Division in 1977 states, “One of the cornerstones of Jerusalem’s planning process is...the preservation of the demographic balance between the ethnic groups [in accordance with] the resolution of the Government of Israel.”

The new outline scheme currently being prepared reiterates the same trend of preserving “demographic balance in accordance with Government resolutions,” even though the planners recognize the fact that, according to the forecasts, the increase in the population toward 2020 will be in a ratio of 40-60. Amir Cheshin, who observed the planning process in East Jerusalem in the Teddy Kollek era, attests that in Jerusalem: Israel has transformed urban planning into a tool in the hands of the Government whose object is to prevent the spread of the non-Jewish population of the city. This was a cruel policy, if only by reason of the fact that it disregarded the needs (not to mention the rights) of the Palestinian residents. Israel regarded the institution of a stringent urban planning policy as a way to restrict the number of new houses being constructed in Palestinian neighbourhoods, and thus ensure that the percentage of Palestinian residents in the city’s population – 28.8% in 1967 – would not increase. If we permit ‘too many’ new homes to be built in Palestinian neighbourhoods, that will mean ‘too many’ Palestinian residents in the city. The idea is to move as many Jewish residents as possible to East Jerusalem and to move as many Palestinians as possible out of the city altogether. Housing policy in East Jerusalem has focused on this numbers game. The same fear of demographic increase underlies the Ministry of Interior’s three moves aiming to reduce the city’s Palestinian population, all of which are still in force today: confiscation of identity cards from residents moving outside the city’s municipal boundary, obstacles placed before the registration of infants in the Population Register, and difficulties created for those trying to bring spouses from the territories or Jordan within the municipal boundary."

by Israeli settlers."

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, March 2007
"The years 2003–2005 were among the worst known to East Jerusalem for house demolitions; not only did the number of demolitions reach a peak of 350 buildings, but there was also an unprecedented severity in punitive enforcement measures. Residents of East Jerusalem found themselves: in a far more severe situation: enforcement measures were stepped up and there was an increase in red tape; those wishing to build legally found themselves frustrated at almost every turn. This report shows that from 2003 until 2005 the authorities took increasing steps to tighten the noose around the necks of East Jerusalem residents; faced with the incessant proliferation of bureaucratic, planning, legal, and economic hurdles, making it hopeless to obtain a building permit, they had to resort to unlicensed construction. Thus, fewer than 100 buildings were built under licence in East Jerusalem each year. Yet in the same period demand for housing in East Jerusalem rose steeply, due to the Wall construction around Jerusalem. As a result, thousands were forced inside Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries, enormously boosting illegal construction, which peaked in 2004 at 1,189 houses. Various red lines were crossed during that period. Shamelessly eager to demolish houses at all costs, municipal and Ministry of Interior inspectors resorted to underhand tactics of evasion or deception, disregarding court-issued decisions. The inspectors were prepared to trample the rule of law underfoot, so that the bulldozer did not, heaven forbid, return to base without having destroyed a home.

[The decline in recent years since 2004]… disguises the fact that the total area of demolished structures increased dramatically from 9,000 square metres in 2004 to 12,000 square metres in 2005, as the demolitions concentrated on large buildings, including four, five and even seven-storey structures… [Nor does] [t]he above table …. include homes demolished by owners themselves when offered a plea bargain whereby they could destroy their own home in return for being awarded only a small monetary fine. We do not have figures for houses demolished in this category, but estimate their number at only slightly less than those destroyed by the authorities.

As the figures show, the years 2003–2005 were amongst the worst since the Occupation commenced, as to administrative demolitions…. [In addition, it] is characterized by harsher enforcement measures, in order to deter residents from building without a permit. These measures include, apart from the actual demolitions, a significant increase in financial fines, confiscation of building equipment and imposition of prison sentences for building offences. The increased stringency of municipal policy may be explained as a response to pressures exerted on the mayor by the public that voted him into office, and the policy of judaisation of the eastern part of the city, as envisioned by the right-wing circles he represents…..

[Scope of Illegal Building]

The Ministry of the Interior and the Municipality assert that between 15,000-20,000 buildings in East Jerusalem have been built without permits, which is to say, about 40% of the total number of buildings. According to the Municipal Tax Collection Department, 5,300 residential units were constructed in East Jerusalem in the years 2000 – 2004. In the period covered here, building permits were issued for only 481 buildings (of which a certain number would, in normal circumstances, contain more than one residential apartment), which is to say that for every building erected under permit, ten were built without permit. In the year 2004, the Municipality and the Ministry of the Interior destroyed 152 of 1,435 “illegal” buildings, or 11% of the total unlicensed construction started that yea…. [This] must take into account the tremendous demand for housing arising in recent years as a result of two policy decisions of the Government of Israel: annulment of residency of those living outside the municipal boundaries, and construction of the Wall around Jerusalem. Since the government instituted these two moves, housing demand in East Jerusalem has increased, giving illegal construction a tremendous boost.

[Discrimination]

The proportion of cases that either result in or end in a demolition order being awarded against structures, out of all the building infractions taken to court, is far higher in the case of East Jerusalem. In West Jerusalem, far fewer structures receive demolition orders; in fact, in West Jerusalem no entire residential buildings have ever received demolition orders or been demolished. One notes that in 2005 there was a 65% rate of demolition in West Jerusalem, whereas in East Jerusalem the rate was 95%. There is a certain screening process at work by which infractions in East Jerusalem are dealt with faster, while in West Jerusalem there is a system at work that delays such legal procedures.

[Illegality of Demolish orders within Israeli Law]

Contrary to the impression the authorities have created, since 2003 there have been many cases in which homes have been demolished in violation of court orders. All too many cases provide proof that the inspectors of both the Municipality and the Ministry of Interior have no qualms about bypassing the law as long as the bulldozer is fed its pound of flesh."


B'Tselem, July 2006
"Severe overcrowding and no hope of obtaining a building permit – even to build a house on land they own - lead many Palestinians to build without permits. They do so knowing they will forever live in fear that, after investing their life savings to build, their home may be demolished. In fact, both Jews and Palestinians build illegally. Yet the response of the authorities is not equal. Palestinians account for about 20% of illegal construction, yet more than 75% of the demolitions are carried out on Palestinian homes. While demolitions carried out in Jewish neighborhoods target either commercial buildings or additions to a house, in Palestinian neighborhoods such demolitions leave entire Palestinian families homeless. The rate of house demolition has increased dramatically since Israel began constructing the Barrier. The lack of housing solutions drove many East Jerusalem Palestinians to the suburbs, even at the risk of losing social security benefits. Following the construction of the Barrier, which cuts off the suburbs, many of these same people are moving back into the city. Thus, the Barrier is only exacerbating the housing shortage for Palestinians in Jerusalem."




B'Tselem, July 2006, p.18-21.
"Municipal budgets exacerbate social inequalities. Although Palestinians are required to pay taxes like all other residents of Jerusalem, the city invests meagre sums in services and infrastructure in Palestinian neighborhoods. In contrast to the claim that Jerusalem is the united capital of Israel, ethnic divisions in the city have remained largely unresolved. Israel has invested vast resources to build new Jewish settlements in areas of East Jerusalem expropriated from Palestinians. At the same time, Palestinian villages and neighborhoods incorporated into the city have turned into its new slums. Palestinians and Jews may now live side-by-side, yet inequality keeps them completely alienated from one another….. A walk through Jewish and Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem reveals striking inequalities. Jewish neighborhoods enjoy all the amenities of a modern western city. Most Palestinian neighborhoods lack even the most basic infrastructure, such as sidewalks and street lamps. Many are not connected to a sewage system. An examination of the municipal budget reveals that the disparities are not an accident; they are clearly the result of official policy. In each section of the municipal budget, the Jewish population receives the lion's share of investment, while the Palestinian population is allocated much less than its fair share. Palestinians constitute a third of the city's population, yet in no budget item do they receive a third of the allocations. The discrimination is even more severe when you consider that in some spheres, Palestinians should receive more than a third of city investment: 42% of Jerusalem's children under the age of 10 are Palestinian; 67% of Palestinian families in Jerusalem live below the poverty line (compared with 29% of Jewish families)."


Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, March 2007








Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, March 2007
"In a discussion on the question of house demolitions in East Jerusalem that took place in February 2005 in the office of Minister of the Interior Ophir Pines-Paz, she summarized the reasons why it is so difficult for residents of East Jerusalem to obtain a construction permit. Among them she pointed to the low plot ratios in the Palestinian sector that do not cover the needs of the population, problems of parcellation of different areas, and problems with proof of land ownership. She added that the existing Urban Development Outline Plans do not give satisfactory answers to these problems and that the Ministry of the Interior had not yet come up with any alternative active urban development plans because of budgetary constraints. The importance of the District Commissioner’s testimony rests on the fact that she stressed overall planning problems for which the state is responsible, and that she also took professional responsibility for the longstanding ministerial planning failure….

The total area of East Jerusalem, meaning the Palestinian neighbourhoods east of the Green Line, exclusive of the Jewish settlements built there, amounts to some 46,000 dunams (11,500 acres). Just over half the area, 24,655 dunam (6,163 acres), is covered by 25 approved zoning plans; another seven proposed zoning plans are as yet unapproved. The size of the area zoned for construction appears, on the face of it, reasonable. Under the approved plans, however, only 37% [of 6,163 acres] is allocated for residential purposes. Construction is prohibited on the rest of the land: some 40% has been defined as open land or green areas where a sweeping ban is imposed on construction, and 20% of the area is designated for public institutions and roads.

Just as the area zoned for construction is restricted, so are plot ratios within that area. In most of the area permitted for construction in East Jerusalem, the plot ratio is in the range of 35%-75%, whereas in West Jerusalem it is in the range of 75%-120%. This is made on the pretext of preserving the “rural character” of the area, and because this is seen as compatible with residential patterns in Palestinian society. In West Jerusalem, up to six housing units per dunam may be constructed in three or four-storey buildings, while in the East, only two land-attached housing units may be built per dunam. The most blatant examples of plot ratio discrimination are found in the Jewish precincts located in the heart of Palestinian villages….

The following requirements are notable among these newly-added difficulties:
Requirement to prove ownership of the land by means of registration.
Personal particulars and signatures of all landowners.
Confirmation from the Ministry of Justice that there are no additional claims to the lands appearing in the Jordanian Table of Claims.
Confirmation from the Custodian of Absentee Property that the land is not under its management.
Confirmation from the Israel Mapping Centre that the land is plotted and that it has no competing claims.

It must be noted once more that the ownership of about half the land in East Jerusalem cannot be proved. Moreover, even if residents of East Jerusalem wish to register their land today at the Lands Registry, they would be unable to do so, since the Israeli government has frozen land registration as far back as 1967….





The cost of obtaining a permit
Beyond the statutory difficulties, anyone seeking to build legally discovers the cost of obtaining a permit is well beyond his ability….. Jews and Palestinians seeking to obtain a building permit pay in accordance with the same parameters; there are, however, two obvious differences between Palestinian residents wishing to buy a self-contained house and their Jewish neighbours living in high-rise apartment buildings: (a) the expenses payable in Jewish neighbourhoods are distributed among a large number of occupants, whereas in the Palestinian sector the costs fall on a single family, and (b) the socio-economic level in East Jerusalem is far lower than in West Jerusalem, and most East Jerusalem residents cannot meet such expenses. According to data from the Municipal Welfare Division, 67% of East Jerusalem residents live below the poverty line. The burden of fees and levies is far more than they can bear."

COHRE, November 2009
"Significant expansion of existing illegal settlements and establishment of new ones are planned in five neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem [2009]. In total, 377 new housing units are under construction, while plans for a further 444 units are awaiting approval.
• Mount of Olives: 280 housing units under construction in two locations, 104 housing units awaiting approval;
• Silwan: 20 housing units awaiting approval;
• Sheikh Jarrah: 31 housing units approved, 290 housing units awaiting approval;
• South East Jerusalem: 66 housing units under construction;
• Old City: 30 housing units awaiting approval."


UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), July 2005
"Construction of settlements in and around Jerusalem dates back to the period immediately after [1967]. In 1968, settlements were established surrounding the Old City in areas such as French Hill, Ramat Eshkol and Ma’alot Dafna as well as in the Old City itself. Further settlements were established within the expanded Jerusalem municipal boundary such as Ramot Allon (1973) in the northwest, Newe Ya’akov (1971) and Pisgat Ze’ev (1985) to the north, and Gilo (1971) and Har Homa (1998) in the south. In addition, an outer ring of settlements (including Givat Ze’ev, Ma’ale Adumim and Betar Illit) were established around Jerusalem as is visible on the maps opposite. The construction of settler housing and infrastructure within East Jerusalem and surrounding areas created a new demographic reality on the ground. In 1980, the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, passed legislation declaring that “Jerusalem complete and united, is the capital of Israel”, reinforcing the position that the GoI had held since the 1967 War. This decree was declared to have “no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention” by the UN Security Council in 1980…. [T]he settler population inside East Jerusalem expanded by 65% from 111,300 to 184,034 between 1987 and 2004 while the area covered by settlements increased by 143% from 890 hectares to more than 2,170 hectares. Pisgat Ze’ev was the fastest-growing settlement in East Jerusalem between 1987 and 2004. Created in 1985, its population grew to 40,911 by 2004 and, the population increased annually on average by 11%, due in large part to the arrival of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, many of whom moved there in the early 1990s."

B'Tselem, July 2006
"One third of the area annexed in 1967 was expropriated, mostly from individual Palestinian land-owners, and was used exclusively to build Jewish neighborhoods. Today there are 12 Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, populated by some 192,000 people. According to international law, the status of these neighborhoods is identical to the settlements throughout the West Bank. At the same time, virtually all construction is prohibited in Palestinian neighborhoods. There are various means to implement this policy. Over a third of East Jerusalem lacks outline plans, making construction impossible. Plans for the remaining areas define vast tracts of land as Green Areas, where building is forbidden, allegedly for ecological reasons. Jabal Abu Ghaneim, a hilltop amongst neighboring Palestinian villages, was defined as a "Green Area" until 1999, when it was turned into the Jewish settlement of Har Homa, inhabited today by over 2,000 people. As a matter of fact, Palestinian building is only allowed in 7% of East Jerusalem, mostly in existing Palestinian neighborhoods. Even within these neighborhoods, Palestinians will generally not get permits to expand their houses."

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, March 2007
"Any attempt to explain the reasons for illegal construction in East Jerusalem must take into account the tremendous demand for housing arising in recent years as a result of two policy decisions of the Government of Israel: annulment of residency of those living outside the municipal boundaries, and construction of the Wall around Jerusalem. Since the government instituted these two moves, housing demand in East Jerusalem has increased, giving illegal construction a tremendous boost.

The policy of annulling resident status of those residing outside the city’s municipal boundaries has been in force for more than ten years. The former Minister of the Interior, Eli Suissa, instituted the policy. Until that time, young couples had preferred to live on the city’s outskirts, due to a shortage of rental apartments and the high rents collected within the city. Many communities of Jerusalemites arose in the peripheral villages, from Beit Jala in the south to Ar-Ram in the north, and in eastern villages such as Hizma, Anata, Abu Dis and Al Azariah. In 1993, the Ministry of Interior published regulations revoking the residency of those living outside the city’s boundary, also removing social rights ranging from health care services to the various National Insurance allowances. Confiscation of blue identity cards (Jerusalem IDs) even deprived such individuals of freedom of movement within the city, access to places of work, and prevented them from visiting family. As a result, tens of thousands of Jerusalemites started migrating back inside the city causing a tremendous demand for apartments and a steep increase in rent.

This phenomenon was stepped up again in 2002, when construction of the “Separation Barrier” or “Jerusalem Envelope” started to be discussed, and yet again in 2003, when people realised the implications of living behind the Wall. We have since witnessed waves of families relocating to the ‘right side’ of the Wall, locking their houses and leaving everything behind, moving to any vacant spot within the city. The area north of the Qalandia Wall, where over 20,000 Jerusalemite families live, is losing its inhabitants. Entire families are relocating, even if only by a few hundred metres, in order not to lose their place of work, not to be cut off from schools, hospitals or family members, and especially in order to save themselves the daily humiliations involved in crossing the checkpoints. Rent in Kufr Aqab village plummeted by 50% in 2003, while at the same time, rent on the other side of the Wall rose by more than 100%. This massive return to within the municipal boundaries has caused a demographic explosion followed by a wave of illegal construction. From that time, the Municipality has lost all control of construction in East Jerusalem, since the need for shelter is stronger than any of the ‘deterrent measures’ imposed by the Municipality. Faced by urgent necessity, no penalty can deter. Indeed, as Jewish scholars taught, no edict should be imposed upon the public that is more than the public can endure. He who thought to battle the ‘demographic demon’ through the use of administrative measures created a far worse ‘urban demon.’ The late Faisal Husseini, one of the leading Palestinian leaders, once said that the day the Palestinian state awarded “Freedom of Al-Quds” honours, he would recommend awarding them to Minister Eli Suissa for his contribution in reinforcing East Jerusalem."


UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), June 2007
"Approximately 253,000 Palestinians hold Jerusalem ID cards. They are permanent residents of Israel who can live and enter Jerusalem without a permit. ….Jerusalem ID holders can buy property and work in Israel and receive Israeli taxpayer benefits such as health insurance, social security, and public schooling. Permanent resident status is not the same as Israeli citizenship. In the early 1990s, Israel offered Jerusalem ID card holders the possibility of obtaining Israeli citizenship and some Palestinians chose to become Israeli citizens during this limited period. The origin of the ‘Jerusalem residency’ originates from 1967 when, following a census of Palestinian residents in the Israeli created municipality of East Jerusalem, 66,000 people were granted ‘permanent residency’ status. Jerusalem residents who left the city temporarily during the 1967 war missed the census and were denied an opportunity to gain permanent residency15. They can no longer return to live in Jerusalem. In addition, around 30,000 Palestinian residents of Jerusalem who were living immediately adjacent to, but not within, the Israeli-declared new municipal boundaries at the time of the census were also excluded. They hold West Bank IDs, and require a permit to enter Jerusalem, despite the municipal boundary sometimes being only a few metres away from their homes.

Palestinians residing outside of Jerusalem for seven or more years lose their Jerusalem residency status. In order to maintain their card, under Israeli law, the onus lies on Palestinians to provide proof that Jerusalem is their ‘centre of life’ and that they are living inside the Jerusalem municipal boundaries. In 2006 over 1360 Palestinians had their ID card revoked. This was five times more than in 2005, and more than in any previous year since 1967. The law continues to force Palestinian residents of Jerusalem to make hard choices about where to establish their lives. If two people marry and one spouse does not hold a Jerusalem ID card he or she faces extreme difficulty in obtaining permission to live with their spouse in East Jerusalem. As a result, thousands of married couples are forced to live apart from one another to ensure that at least one of the partners retains his or her Jerusalem status. Since 1982 the Israeli Interior Ministry has not permitted the registration of Palestinian children as Jerusalem residents if the child’s father does not hold a Jerusalem ID card, even if the mother is a Jerusalem ID card holder."


B'Tselem and Hamoked, 31 January 2004
"Since 1967, Israel has made great effort to preserve the “demographic balance” in Jerusalem by reducing the number of Palestinians living in the city and by maintaining a seventy-percent Jewish majority. To accomplish this goal, Israel imposes broad restrictions on Palestinian building in East Jerusalem, does not invest in infrastructure there, and allocates significantly smaller sums than it does for West Jerusalem.

The Interior Ministry – which is responsible for implementation of the Entry into Israel Law – plays a major role in implementing this policy of discrimination. The Ministry sets rigid rules for the approval of family unification and registration of children in the Population Registry. In almost every request for family unification or child registration, the residents must submit numerous documents. If they fail to do so, their requests are rejected. It was the Interior Ministry that implemented the policy of “quiet deportation” from 1996-1999, in which the Ministry permanently revoked the residency of hundreds of Palestinians on the grounds that they lived for a prolonged period outside of Israel, including the Occupied Territories.4 People going to the East Jerusalem office of the Interior Ministry face physical conditions far worse than at other Ministry branches.

On 31 July 2003, the Knesset passed the bill into law. The Nationality and Entry into Israel (Temporary Order) Law, 5763-2003, prohibits Israelis who are married to, or marry in the future, residents of the Occupied Territories to live in Israel with their spouses. Children born in the Occupied Territories to one parent who is a resident of East Jerusalem and a parent who is a resident of the Occupied Territories are forbidden under this law to live in Jerusalem with their family.5 The law does not establish a new immigration policy for residents of the Occupied Territories. International law recognizes the right of every state to determine who is entitled to enter its territory – aliens have no intrinsic right toenter the state. Some countries set immigration quotas, based on varying criteria. However, when the foreigners are married to nationals or residents of the state, different rules apply, and there are limitations to the discretion that the government may exercise. As in every case where a state authority exercises discretion, the rules must be reasonable, based on substantive grounds, and applied without discrimination. The question involved here is not whether the alien has a right to enter the state. We are dealing with the right of citizens and residents of the state to live with their spouses in their (the citizens and residents) own country."


Jerusalem Center for Economic and Social Rights (JCESR), August 2001
"'Centre of life' policy – In 1995, the Interior Ministry introduced the 'centre of life' policy. Palestinians with Jerusalem IDs were required to prove continuous residency in Jerusalem by submitting documents to demonstrate that they actually resided in the city for the previous seven years. The burden of having to prove the individual's 'centre of life' in Jerusalem is placed on the Palestinian. The requirements to prove the 'centre of life' are so detailed that even persons who never left the city have difficulties meeting them. The following elements are part of the 'centre of life' policy:

Revocation of residency status by confiscating ID Cards from persons who cannot prove that their 'centre of life' is in Jerusalem.
Refusal and complicated procedures to show one's 'centre of life' for family unification.
Refusal to register children born to parents of whom only one is an East Jerusalem resident in the Population registry.

Incidents of ID Card confiscation increased by over 600 percent after the implementation of the 'centre of life' policy. This policy greatly strengthened the ability of the Interior Ministry to confiscate ID cards and re-established the burden of proof to renew residency rights on the Palestinians themselves. In 1993, the Interior Ministry began examining who was a resident of Jerusalem and who had moved out of the city. It was decided that the Jerusalem suburbs would be considered to be outside the city borders. It was estimated that between 50,000 and 80,000 of East Jerusalem's 180,000 Palestinian inhabitants had moved to the suburbs outside the Jerusalem city. With this decision their status was being invalidated. The period, in which these actions took place, became known as the 'quiet transfer'.

No public notice was given of the change of policy and procedures. Many people lost their residency, including health and social benefits. Decisions could be given verbally without any justification or explanation. People were not allowed to appeal against the decisions. This policy was applied solely to Palestinian Jerusalemites, not to any other ethnic group in the city. In contrast to this policy towards Palestinians, all Jews, also those who are not Israeli citizens, are entitled to move to the Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories without the move affecting their status. Also their return is guaranteed contrary to Palestinians.

The policy of ID Card confiscation accomplished the contrary as between 20,000 and 30,000 residents of the suburbs returned to live in Jerusalem. Others returned to fictitious addresses. The result was that at the end of 1997, the Ministry decided to slow down implementation. In 1999, it announced that it would no longer revoke the residency rights of East Jerusalem residents who had transferred their 'centre of life' outside the city boundaries on condition that the validity of their exit card had not expired. However, the demands for documentation verifying a person's 'centre of life' by the Interior Ministry and the National Insurance Institute continuous despite announcements to stop this policy. As a result of these requirements, many residents of East Jerusalem are still unable to benefit from many of their rights and have their residency status threatened.

2. Family unification – Jerusalem residents married to persons who are not Israeli residents or citizens must apply for family unification in order to live legally in the city. The application is being checked on 'centre of life', security and criminal record. It can take years before the applicant receives a decision to his or her application. When the applicant receives approval, a process of five years starts. Every year both the applicant as well as the one for whom the applicant applies have to show all the requested documents and the application is checked on the above three issues. During the first two years the person receives a so-called B1 permit, which means that the person can stay, but has no residency rights. After two years the person receives a temporary residency permit. After five years one receives a permanent residency permit.

This policy severely affects family life, the right of a couple to live together, and the right of children to live with their parents. Many families are divided because of this policy. Family unification for Jewish families is an automatic right.

3. Child Registration – A child born to parents of whom only one is a resident of East Jerusalem does not receive an identity number. After birth, the parents receive only a form titled 'notification of live birth'. To receive an identity number, the parents must submit a 'request to register a birth' and submit to this request proof that the 'centre of life' is in Jerusalem. It is estimated that there are currently at least 10,000 children residing in East Jerusalem who are not registered. Without a Jerusalem ID number, Palestinian children are denied some basic rights. A child must have his/her birth registered in order to be recognised by the state. By denying or restricting registration, the state can effectively disclaim their rights to any benefit or service, including access to and provision of education, health care and others. It is estimated that up to 23.6 percent of children are unable to register at government schools in East Jerusalem.


United Nations Commission on Human Rights (CHR), 17 January 2006
"30. East Jerusalem is not part of Israel. On the contrary, it is occupied territory, subject to the Fourth Geneva Convention. Unfortunately, Israel’s illegal attempt at annexation of East Jerusalem has obscured this truth. As a consequence, world public opinion tends, incorrectly, to treat Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem as different from that of the West Bank and Gaza.

31. Israel has embarked upon major changes to the character of Jerusalem. In essence, these changes are designed to reduce the number of Palestinians in the city and to increase the Jewish population of the city, thereby undermining Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian State. That this is the purpose of the wall in Jerusalem was acknowledged by the Israeli Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, Mr. Haim Ramon, on 10 July 2005 when he stated that the route of the wall would make Jerusalem “more Jewish”. He added “The Government is bringing security to the city and will also make Jerusalem the capital of a Jewish and democratic State of Israel.”

32. There are already some 190,000 Jewish settlers in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem. Plans are, however, under way to increase the number of settlers and to extend settlements both to encircle Jerusalem and to cut the West Bank in half. Within the Old City of Jerusalem there are some 80 Jewish settler buildings and institutions. Moreover, there is a plan to build a large new Jewish settlement in the Muslim Quarter near Herod’s Gate. Settlement expansion is also evident in neighbourhoods surrounding the Old City such as Silwan. Beyond this lie the more established settlements such as Ramot, French Hill, Har Homa and Gilo. The inner circle of settlements will be encircled by the settlement blocs of Givat Ze’ev to the north, Ma’aleh Adumim to the east, and Gush Etzion to the south. Particularly threatening to a future Palestinian State is Ma’aleh Adumim, which is to be expanded by “E1” (“East 1”), a 53-square-mile area larger than Tel Aviv designated to have 3,500 housing units to accommodate 15,000 to 20,000 new settlers. The expanded Ma’aleh Adumim will effectively cut the West bank in half, separating Ramallah from Bethlehem, with serious economic and political consequences.

33. Conversely, the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem, presently numbering some 230,000, is to be reduced by a number of stratagems. First, by house demolitions. There was a sharp increase in house demolitions in 2004, when 152 homes were destroyed in East Jerusalem. Plans to destroy 88 homes in the Silwan district are presently on hold. Secondly, this population is to be reduced by routing the wall to the west of neighbourhoods previously part of East Jerusalem. Thus areas such as the Shu’afat camp, with a population of some 55,000, and West Anata are excluded from the East Jerusalem municipality and transferred to the West Bank. Thirdly, this will be done by transferring neighbourhoods previously integrated into East Jerusalem into the West Bank by means of the wall. Neighbourhoods such as Abu Dis, Anata and Al-Eizariya fall into this category.

34. The exclusion of large neighbourhoods from East Jerusalem and their transfer to the West Bank will cause great suffering to thousands of Palestinians and personal tragedies to many. A sharp distinction is made between Palestinians with blue Jerusalem ID cards and those with green West Bank ID cards living in East Jerusalem neighbourhoods. West Bank ID cardholders, and in due course Jerusalem ID cardholders living to the east of the wall, will no longer be able to access hospitals and schools in Jerusalem or to work in Jerusalem without special permits to enter Jerusalem. The differences in ID cards will also have a profound effect on family life, as many spouses hold different ID cards. They will be forced to live separately on different sides of the wall under Israeli law, which prohibits family unification. If one spouse elects to move east of the wall, he or she will lose his or her rights (such as medical insurance and social security) attached to the Jerusalem ID. In this way Israel hopes to further reduce the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem by compelling spouses to move to the West Bank side of the wall. The Special Rapporteur visited two of the neighbourhoods most affected by the wall - Abu Dis and Al-Eizariya. There he met husbands separated from their wives and persons separated from their livelihoods, schools and hospitals in Jerusalem. Words cannot convey the hardships to which Palestinians are subjected in the interests of the Judaization of Jerusalem. 35. In November 2005 the heads of 25 European Union missions stationed in East Jerusalem prepared a report on Israel’s plans to change the character of East Jerusalem. The report condemned the construction of the wall and settlements, the demolition of Palestinian homes, the separation of Palestinian residents and families, and the discriminatory practices employed by Israel. It concluded: Jerusalem is already one of the trickiest issues on the road to reaching a final status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. But several interlinked Israeli policies are reducing the possibility of reaching a final status agreement on Jerusalem that any Palestinian could accept. We judge that this is a deliberate Israeli policy - the completion of the annexation of East Jerusalem. Israeli measures also risk radicalizing the hitherto relatively quiescent Palestinian population of East Jerusalem."

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), June 2007
"East Jerusalem is part of the West Bank. However, since 1993, the GOI has erected checkpoints on roads leading to the city and required West Bank Palestinians to obtain permits to enter East Jerusalem. Palestinian access to East Jerusalem was tightened in September 2000, with the outbreak of the second intifada. A series of additional military checkpoints and obstacles were set up to further restrict Palestinian movement into Jerusalem and Israel. In 2001, the GOI announced its intention to build a barrier to physically separate Israel from the West Bank to prevent suicide bombers from the West Bank entering Israel11. By May 2007, 408 km of the total 721km Barrier route has been completed (56.5%) while a further 10% is under construction. The Barrier in East Jerusalem solidifies the various Israeli mechanisms that have been put in place to restrict Palestinian movement between the West Bank and East Jerusalem, namely identity cards, permits and checkpoints. In effect, the Barrier is the physical culmination of these access restrictions which have weakened the connections between East Jerusalem and the West Bank….

The section of the Barrier within Jerusalem governorate measures 168 kilometres (km)21 in length. Only five kilometers of its completed length runs along the Green Line. The remainder lies inside the West Bank. Construction of the Barrier progressed rapidly throughout 2006 and 2007 and is now near completion, physically separating East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. In conjunction with the complex system of permits, checkpoints and gates, the Barrier has become a de facto border. The Barrier’s route winds around the Israeli settlements that surround Jerusalem ensuring that the majority lie on the western side of the Barrier with easy access into Jerusalem and Israel. The route runs deep into the West Bank to encircle the large settlements of Giv’at Zeev (pop. 11,000) and Ma’ale Adummim (pop. 28,000) which are currently outside the municipal boundary. By contrast, densely populated Palestinian areas – Shu’fat Camp, Kafr ‘Aqab, and Samiramees with a total population of over 30,000 – which are currently inside the municipal boundary, are separated from Jerusalem by the Barrier. Other villages to the north and east of the city, with populations of more than 84,000 are also excluded. In addition, the Barrier runs through the middle of Palestinian communities separating neighbours and families from one another – this occurs in Abu Dis, for example. To the north of the city over 15,200 Palestinian residents of four villages in the Bir Nabala enclave are completely surrounded by the Barrier on three sides, with an Israeli security road on the fourth, closed to Bir Nabala residents. As a result, these residents are in a totally enclosed enclave isolated from the Jerusalem. The only way in and out is by means of an underpass to Ramallah, which passes under a motorway restricted for Israeli vehicles only.

Approximately 25% of the 253,000 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem have been cut off from the city by the Barrier. They can now only reach Jerusalem by crossing a checkpoint to access the services to which they are entitled (see next section), and are at risk of losing their permanent residency status. The Barrier route is largely determined by the location of settlements: it winds around the settlements, ensuring that they are physically connected to Jerusalem and Israel. As a result, over 80% of all Israeli settlers living in the West Bank now reside to the west of the Barrier. The population of the settlements and the area they cover have both expanded rapidly in East Jerusalem. In 2004, the Israeli settler population in East Jerusalem was approximately 190,000 compared to 110,000 in 1987. The area covered by the settlements has more than doubled – from 890 to 2,170 hectares in 2005. In addition to the settlements within the city, Israeli settlements have been built within the West Bank to form a ring around Jerusalem. The large Israeli settlements of Givat Ze’ev, Ma’ale Adummim and the Gush Etzion bloc located respectively to the north, east and south of Jerusalem are physically connected to Jerusalem by roads that pass through the Barrier and which Palestinians are prohibited or restricted from using. These large Israeli civilian populations in the West Bank and their associated infrastructure further isolate East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. In 2004, 79% of the total settler population was located in Jerusalem and the surrounding Ramallah and Bethlehem governorates. The overall route of the Barrier in the West Bank incorporates 73 Israeli settlements between the Green Line and Barrier; approximately10.2% of the West Bank lies between the Green Line and the Barrier."

See Also:
al-Haq, October 2005, Building Walls, Breaking Communities: The Impact of the Annexation Wall on Jerusalem Palestinians
‘Quiet transfer’ in East Jerusalem nears completion, Forced Migration Review (FMR), 4 September 2006
European Union (EU), November 2005, Jerusalem and Ramallah Heads of Mission Report on East Jerusalem (Unofficial document)
United Nations General Assembly (UN GA), 26 September 2005, Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories
Strike paralyses West Bank, Al Jazeera, 28 February 2009
Married but without rights, Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), 3 August 2008
Revocation of Residency in East Jerusalem: Statistics on Revocation of Residency Rights, B'Tselem, 14 August 2008
Humanitarian Update: Special Focus the Barrier and Access Points to Jerusalem, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), July 2005
‘Quiet transfer’ in East Jerusalem nears completion, Forced Migration Review (FMR), 4 September 2006
Jerusalem Center for Economic and Social Rights (JCESR), August 2001, Occupied East Jerusalem, A New Soweto?
European Union (EU), November 2005, Jerusalem and Ramallah Heads of Mission Report on East Jerusalem (Unofficial document)
Married but without rights, Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), 3 August 2008
Housing plan for Jerusalem neighborhood spurs criticism, Washington Post , November 18, 2009
Jewish group begins new construction in East Jerusalem, Ha'aretz, 31 January 2008
‘Quiet transfer’ in East Jerusalem nears completion, Forced Migration Review (FMR), 4 September 2006
B’tselem, A Policy of Discrimination: Land Expropriation, Planning and Building in East Jerusalem, 1995.
Civil Administration demolishes hut of al-Moher family on grounds that it was built without a permit, near Zububa Village, Jenin District, B'Tselem, 16 May 2005
Jerusalem Center for Economic and Social Rights (JCESR), August 2001, Occupied East Jerusalem, A New Soweto?
Jerusalem Center for Economic and Social Rights (JCESR), August 2001, Occupied East Jerusalem, A New Soweto?
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