words to ponder

Jerusalem, the Holy City of the three monotheistic religions, has been divided by the Green Line since the Six Day War of 1967. However, Israel has begun a campaign of uniting East Jerusalem with the rest of the Jewish State, bringing the status of Jerusalem into the international spotlight.

In a report dated 15 Dec 2008, the European Union accused the Israeli government of using settlement expansion, house demolitions, discriminatory housing policies, and the West Bank barrier as a way of “actively pursuing the illegal annexation” of East Jerusalem. These actions undermine the peace process. Israel is increasing its Jewish presence in the city, weakening the Palestinian community and impeding on Palestinian urban development.

The goal of the Israeli government is to strengthen Israeli sovereignty over the city by creating a Jewish majority. Uniting the two Jeursalems is an unfair process that discriminates against the Palestinian population. Israel is physically isolating East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank with the separation barrier. There is also blatant discrimination in land expropriation, planning, building, and demolition of houses. The separation barrier prevents the inclusion of heavily-populated areas within Jerusalem and redraws the municipal boundary, running right through neighborhoods. 60% of Jerusalem’s population is in the eastern part of the city, of which 42% is Jewish. Palestinians claim that East Jerusalem is the capitol of their future state.

Without warning, Israeli bulldozers destroy the homes of Palestinians in areas such as Jabal Mukabar in East Jerusalem. Some families have the privilege of being granted five minuets to collect their valuables, others are not so lucky. Both Palestinian and Israeli structures have been demolished. Many Palestinians buildings are demolished because they are constructed illegally – without permits. Palestinians complain that it is difficult for them to obtain the building permits and that it is rare for construction to be permitted in Palestinian areas. Israelis, on the other hand, seem to be able to build and live in East Jerusalem without being disturbed. Since many Palestinians chose to build without permits, there is a judicial pretext to demolishing their homes. Recently, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denounced Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem as something of “deep concern.” Since 2004, nearly 400 Palestinian buildings have been demolished. Another 1,000 are slated for demolition.

Although Palestinians are 1/3 of Jerusalem’s population, less than 8% of the city’s lad is designated for their building projects. Between 2000 and 2007, Israel granted only 91 construction permits out of 1,624 Palestinian requests, whereas 18,472 permits were granted to Jewish settlers. B’Tselem notes that there are currently 4,993 cases of illegal Palestinian construction.

The international community considers East Jerusalem “occupied territory,” thus does not fall under Israeli jurisdiction. The Fourth Geneva Convention prevents an occupying power from extending its jurisdiction to the occupied territory. Not only has Israel annexed East Jerusalem, but Jewish Israelis are moving into the area, creating illegal settlements. Organizations such as Ateret Cohanim are aggressively campaigning to boost Jewish residency in the eastern part of the city. There are 190,000 Jewish Israelis in12 illegal settlements in East Jerusalem, none with the explicit approval of the Israeli government. However, UN Security Council Resolution 242 calls for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories, including settlements.

* McCarthy, Rory. “Israel Annexing East Jerusalem, Says EU”. The Times (UK). 7 Mar 2009.

* Fact Sheet: East Jeursalem. Palestine Monitor. 16 Dec 2008.

* Adler, Katya. “Demolitions Build Jerusalem Tension”. BBC News. 25 Apr 2009.

* B'Tselem