FACT SHEET ON J E R U S A L E M

The Civic Coalition for Defending the Palestinians Rights in Jerusalem

40 YEARS OF OCCUPATION

FACT SHEET ON JERUSALEM

June 2007

The Coalition
The Civic Coalition for Defending the Palestinians Rights in Jerusalem (CCDPRJ) is a non-prot nongovernmental community coalition of institutions, societies, associations, and individuals with expertise and interest in human rights. The Civic Coalition was established in 2005 and currently consists of 18 organizations. The Coalitions vision focuses on preserving the Palestinians presence and fortitude in Jerusalem and protecting all their rights by mobilizing efforts, capacities and resources to protect the political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights on the basis of the international law and human rights law. Furthermore, the Coalition seeks to coordinate the efforts of human rights organizations in Jerusalem and reinforce Jerusalemites awareness of laws, procedures and regulations governing the practices of the Israeli occupations government in order to enable the Palestinians to confront human rights violations practiced by the occupying authorities on daily basis. The Coalitions goals: 1. Promote Palestinians awareness of their civil, political, economic and social rights and violations of these rights in Jerusalem. 2. Coordinate and activate advocacy and lobbying on individual and collective human rights issues in Jerusalem. 3. Build the organizational capacity of the Coalition towards achieving its vision and objectives.

FACT SHEET ON J E R U S A L E M

Contents
4 6 8 10 13 14 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 INTRODUCTION JERUSALEM THE EDUCATION SECTOR INFRASTRUCTURE, ECONOMIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES IN EAST JERUSALEM RESIDENCY RIGHTS JERUSALEMITES RIGHT TO HOUSING AND LAND ELECTIONS HEALTH STATUS FREEDOM OF WORSHIP LEGAL STATUS JERUSALEM IN 2020 JERUSALEMITE PRISONERS THE WALL

Introduction
Since 1967, the policy of the Israeli occupation in Jerusalem has been characterized by clear features and organized through a series of partial objectives leading to a specic goal. This policy has its roots in the changes occurring in Palestine in 1948 and in the fundamental colonial nature of the Zionist plans. Prior to 1948, the year of the largest ever ethnic cleansing, the Jewish Agency and Jewish Colonial Fund pursued a constant policy of replacing the Palestinian population with Jewish settlers. This historical fact is evident in statements by Zionists themselves on the nature of their plans: To empty the land of its original population and replace them with Jewish settlers A land without a people for a people without a land! The conditions of 1948, characterized by weakened Palestinian and Arab leadership and unlimited imperialistic support to Zionists, presented the ideal opportunity for an extensive cleansing campaign in Palestine, including Jerusalem. In 1967, Palestine became entirely under occupation, in addition to other Arab lands. The Arab and Palestinian loss of 1967 war created new realities conducive to the expansion of Zionist plans. Therefore, since the time when the annexation of Jerusalem to Israel was declared on 28 June 1967, the occupying state initiated a series of measures and laws aimed at a single and denite goal: ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Jerusalem and replacing them with Jewish settlers to achieve complete Judaization and nal Israelization of Jerusalem and of the remnants of its population, who would become an isolated and marginalized minority! Measures and laws have been adopted at the level of housing, education, health, residency and movement, labor, registration of newborns, etc, with an aim to increase the proportion of Jewish settlers and minimize the number of Palestinian population. In this context, the Apartheid Wall represents a signicant step in the chain of measures and laws and a fundamental feature of the

FACT SHEET ON J E R U S A L E M

overall Zionist colonial plans. The Wall isolates Jerusalem from its Palestinian surrounding, i.e., the West Bank, and by a virtue of lines on a piece of paper, a cemented wall and barbed wires, it puts tens of thousands of Palestinians outside Jerusalem boundaries. Therefore, it has become the most prominent means of ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem in particular. The Zionist plans have no meaning without ethnic cleansing, which stands in their core. It also results in another core principle replacement. Both represent the most prominent feature of the colonial plans taking place in Jerusalem. Facts outlined in this booklet are indicative of that combined core feature: ethnic cleansing and replacement. This is the major characteristic of the Zionist colonialism. It has been different than traditional colonialism in that it has in its core an additional combined feature of cleansing and replacement. There has been a wide range of terminology used to describe the Israeli occupations policy in Jerusalem, but all lead to the same point: Judaization and Israelization. This is what this booklet seeks to demonstrate through facts, many of which are taken from Israeli sources. The production of this booklet is meant to be a cry by the Civic Coalition for Defending Palestinians Rights in Jerusalem aimed at disclosing the core features of the Israeli occupations policy. It is also a call for mobilizing resources and potentials in the struggle for the cause of Jerusalem. These facts put us, Palestinians, before the test of history: Will our response to the Israeli occupations policy in Jerusalem be at a level equal to challenges it is faced with, and the same level of insolence of facts openly declared by Zionists?

Jerusalem
Overview: Jerusalem has a very unique status due to its religious and political importance for the Palestinian people. During the 1948 war, the Israeli occupying power appropriated 84% of Jerusalem and seized and annexed the remaining part in 1967. In result, Jerusalem has been divided into two areas: A. East Jerusalem: This is the area that was annexed by the Israeli occupying Power in 1967 and became under the administration of the so-called Jerusalem Municipality, since Israel considers it to be within its jurisdiction. This area includes the following neighborhoods and residential areas: the Old City, Shufat, Shufat refugee camp, Beit Hanina, A-Tur, Silwan, Al-Mukabber, Eastern Sawahreh, Issawiyeh, Sharfat, Beit Safafa, Sur Baher, Um Touba, and Al-Ghzayel. About 254,000 Palestinians live in East Jerusalem and hold special blue ID cards. B. Jerusalem suburbs: This is the area outside East Jerusalem with 27 Palestinian neighborhoods: Abu Dis, Al-Jdeireh, Al-Jib, AlRam, Dahiet Al-Barid, Al-Zayem, Eastern Sawahreh, Al-Sheikh Saad, Bethany, Al-Qubeibeh, Al-Nabi Samuel, Biddo, Beit Ijza, Beit Iksa, Beit Hanina village, Beit Duqqo, Beit Surik, Beit Anan, Bir Nabala, Jaba, Hizma, Rafat, Anata, Qatannah, Qalandia, Kufr Aqab, Mukhmas and Qalandia refugee camp. About 170,000 Palestinians live in these areas, holding Palestinian ID cards (green, orange or red). Contrary to East Jerusalem area, Israel considers Jerusalem suburbs as part of the West Bank. Following its occupation of the City, Israel established an expanded Jewish neighborhood within the walls of the Old City at the expense of over 6500 Palestinian residents, who were exiled or displaced from the City during the war in June 1967 and April 1968. The largest part of the Jewish neighborhood was created on the ruins of Al-Sharaf neighborhood, which has been known as

FACT SHEET ON J E R U S A L E M

an Islamic neighborhood and was named in the 15th century as Kurds neighborhood. Since then, the Jewish municipality of Jerusalem has enacted several laws and made numerous decisions to force the Arabs out of the City and replace them with Jews. The latest of such decisions was made in 2005 to demolish 98 Arab houses in AlBasatin neighborhood in Silwan on the pretext that they are located in the area of the Holy Reservoir. Few months before that, the municipality decided to build dozens of housing units for Jews in Bab Al-Sahreh neighborhood. The municipality has revealed its real intentions towards Jerusalem by publishing an ofcial master plan that aims at creating a Jewish majority in the Old City of Jerusalem by the year 2020. This plan includes an item that openly stipulates for reducing the Arab population density in the Old City. Today, about 36,000 Palestinians are living in the Old City as part of the 254,000 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem. In contrast, the number of Jews in the different areas of East Jerusalem has reached 180,000. East Jerusalem population: Prior to 1967, there were 70,000 Palestinian residents living in East Jerusalem and no Jewish residents. Today, there are 254,000 Palestinian residents and 180,000 Jewish residents living in East Jerusalem. The Palestinians controlled 100% of the land in 1967, but now, and following the land conscation measures, they control only 14% of the land.

The education sector

In the scholastic year 2004/05, there were 72,109 students enrolled in 130 schools in Jerusalem. Out of the 130 schools, 37 were supervised by the Islamic Waqf, 6 by UNRWA, 46 by the municipality, and 41 private schools. About 56% of students were enrolled in schools run by the municipality, 18% in Islamic Waqf schools, 20% in private schools and 6% in UNRWA schools. Schools run by Jerusalem municipality: 1. Arab schools run by the municipality lack a real educational supervision system, which leads to low quality of education. 2. School dropout rates are elevated, reaching 10%. 3. The existing schools cannot accommodate all students, Some schools have inadequate infrastructure that should support the education process and classrooms are overcrowded. Islamic Waqf schools: 1. About 40% of teachers holding West Bank ID cards cannot ensure regular access to their schools due to the policy of Jerusalem isolation. 2. Schools have poor infrastructure, with an average classroom density of 0.9 sq. meter per student (compared with an international standard of 1.25-2.0 sq. meters per student). 3. Most schools lack the supportive facilities, such as labs, libraries, playgrounds, and computer labs. Most schools function in rented residential buildings, which were not originally designed to host schools.

FACT SHEET ON J E R U S A L E M

4. Teacher salaries are low, causing competent teachers to leave and leading to shortage in basic educational specializations and poor teacher qualication. 5. About 2000 Jerusalemites from North Jerusalem have to pass through the Wall on daily basis in order to reach schools in AlRam and Dahiet Al-Barid. 6. Additional 6500 Jerusalemite students living behind the Wall north to the City have to pass the Wall on daily basis in order to reach schools inside Jerusalem. 7. Gender ratio in Islamic Waqf schools is 35.09% male students to 64.91% females students!

10

Infrastructure, economic facilities and services in East Jerusalem

The Arab population in Jerusalem comprise 35% of the total population and pay 33% of total taxes levied by the municipality, while they receive less than 5% of the municipalitys budget allocation. Only 2% of the municipalitys budget is invested in infrastructure in East Jerusalem, while the occupations municipality levies large sums of money from Arab residents. The unemployment rate among the Jerusalemites is over 40% and the poverty rate is over 50%. More than 25% of the shops in the City have been shut down completely due to the siege and elevated taxes imposed by the Israeli authorities on Palestinians. The residents of the Old City have increased from 22,000 to 36,000, leading to an increased pressure on the existing facilities and infrastructure. About 45% of the economic establishments are located within the municipal boundaries, including 28% as tourist establishments. The remaining 55% are located outside the municipal boundaries but within Jerusalem governorate. Since 1999, the number of economic establishments has been declining with a rate of 100 per annum, and is estimated now at 5000 establishments. Up to 97% of these establishments are small-scale. The reason for this decline is the deteriorated economic situation, the adverse political situation, the siege and checkpoints, and lately the Wall. Jerusalem lacks an industrial zone.

FACT SHEET ON J E R U S A L E M

11

Major economic losses suffered by Jerusalemites due to the isolation of Jerusalem:1 The Apartheid Wall has left 100,000 holders of Jerusalem IDs outside the Wall. Reduced the retail trade to about 40% of its 2000 level and reduced wholesale trade. Isolated vital areas like Bir Nabala and Bethany, which are considered centers for wholesale and storage. Ceased the trade of food products with Gaza Strip, which used to compose 20% of total sales. Increased the costs of transportation by 30-40%. Caused irregularity in workers attendance to their worksites and reduced the number of production hours. Reduced the occupancy rate in Jerusalem hotels, which is ranging between 8-23% only. In this sense, the Wall has created discontinuity in the psychological, social, economic and cultural integration of individuals and groups, causing disorders in all these different aspects of daily living.2 Deprived Palestinians residing outside Jerusalem from accessing Jerusalem for worship, social visits, health care or employment. Labor market: Economy in Jerusalem is primarily dependent on tourism, services and commerce. In contrast, industry comprises a very small part and agriculture is non-existent.
1

The Impact of the Apartheid Wall on the Different Economic Sectors in Arab Jerusalem. Azzam Tawq Abul-Suood, Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Arab Jerusalem, a special paper. The Wall and Its Long and Short Term Psychological Effects, a paper presented by Rana AlNashsashibi, Palestinian Counseling Center.

12

About 9,000 new workers enter the labor market annually. About 15% of those are university graduates. The rest are either school dropouts or students completing the secondary school level. The Israeli labor market absorbs 35-40% of these workers. The rest join the Palestinian labor market in Jerusalem and in areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA), either in the public or private sectors. The capacity of the public sector to absorb these newcomers dos not exceed 10% at best. Hence, the private sector has a very large share of this responsibility.

FACT SHEET ON J E R U S A L E M

13

Residency rights:
In 1993, the Israeli Ministry of Interior started to check the status of Jerusalemites in terms of who is residing in Jerusalem and who has left to live outside the city boundaries. It is estimated that between 50,000-80,000 Palestinians have moved to live in the city suburbs and subsequently their residency status in Jerusalem has been at risk of being cancelled, combined with forfeiting the related social and economic rights. A total of 3,874 cases of residency have been cancelled between 1967 and 1996 and 2,722 cases between January 1996 and August 1999.3 Presently, about 10,000 children are living in East Jerusalem without being registered in their parents ID cards. The proportion of such children who cannot register at public schools or receive medical care due to their non-registration is estimated to be 23.6%.4

3 Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Jerusalem, Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights, March 2003, pp. 28-30. 4 Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Jerusalem, Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights, March

14

Jerusalemites right to housing and land:

A decision was issued in 1973 by the Israeli inter-ministerial committee on Jerusalem affairs to limit the percentage of Arabs to 22% of the Citys total population. Following the construction of the Wall, the Israeli intentions have become to reduce the proportion of Arab residents to 12%. The Israeli policy of land expropriation has deprived the Palestinian Jerusalemites from using 86% of their lands. In 2000, the number of housing units inhabited by Jerusalemites was about 32,800 units. The average number of rooms per housing unit was 3.3 rooms and the average number of persons per unit was 7.7. The population growth rate among Arabs in Jerusalem stands at 3%. About 35% of lands were conscated for the use of the Israeli occupations expanded municipality. About 52% of the lands are classied as green (where construction is not allowed). The remaining area of Arab lands that can be used for construction does not exceed 9500 dunums out of a total area of 72 sq. km. This area is denitely inadequate to meet the needs of the population growth. The occupying authorities did not approve any structural scheme for Palestinians in East Jerusalem up to early 1980s. After 39 years of occupation, the occupation authorities mayor announced that 50 structural schemes will be released in Jerusalem. However, these schemes have never been released. In the period between July 2005 and July 2006, 98% of housing units built in Jerusalem were built for Jewish settlers. Only 2% of the housing units or even less were built for Palestinians.

FACT SHEET ON J E R U S A L E M

15

The average cost for obtaining a permit for a housing unit is about US $25,000. 5 The Palestinian Housing Council offers loans not exceeding US $30,000 to families that already have a construction permit. The property tax (Arnona) differs according to the house classication and reaches about 6,600 NIS per housing unit. Apartment rent fees may range between $600-1000 for a 3 bedroom apartment. The number of houses demolished in Jerusalem since June 1967 and by the year 2006 is over 8,500 houses, whether for security or structural allegations.6 A total of 782 cases of house demolition, closure, evacuation or appropriation have been documented since the beginning of 2000 and by end of August 2006, all on the pretext of violation of construction laws. Palestinians are allowed to build on a maximum of 75% of the land area, whereas the Jews are allowed to build to an extent reaching 300% of land area. About 1400 houses within the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem are in urgent need for renovation and full rehabilitation.

A paper submitted to the Coalition of Jerusalem NGOs on land, properties and population by Arab Studies Society Department of Maps and Geographic Information Systems. Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights.

16

Elections:
The Interim Agreement signed between PLO and Israel on elections states that voting in the elections in East Jerusalem can take place in 5 post ofces run by the Israeli Postal Authority (include 11 electoral stations). The capacity of such post ofces does not exceed a total of 5367 electors on the election day. Thus, this number represents the maximum number of East Jerusalem residents who can vote in these post ofces. The remaining Jerusalemites living in East Jerusalem have to vote in electoral centers located in Jerusalem suburbs. The number of Jerusalemites who have the right to vote is estimated to be between 130,000 and 190,000!

FACT SHEET ON J E R U S A L E M

17

Health status:7
Jerusalem is a main center of health services for Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, providing types of services that are lacking in other Palestinian areas. However, Palestinians from the West Bank and Jerusalem suburbs are continually banned from entering the City for medical treatment. Health status in Jerusalem is affected by the increasing poverty levels due to the economic isolation, closures and violations against Jerusalem on one hand, and the continued need for emergency services on the other, negatively affecting health development in the City. There is a real risk of severe decline in health services in the form of shortage of certain medical specializations, inadequacy of emergency and ambulance services, lack of mental health and rehabilitation services, including treatment of drug users, and lack of comprehensive health care based on a developmental approach. Some health centers have entered into contracts with the Israeli patients funds to provide secondary services, but the primary health services are almost non-existent.These centers often work without any type of monitoring, supervision and reference. There is a general lack of funds and dependency on external funding. The sanitary infrastructure in Jerusalem is very poor, compared to West Jerusalem, and suffers from multiple problems, such as environmental pollution, overcrowding, inadequate waste management, and poor sanitary facilities, including water and sewage networks. Some health status indicators: Natural growth = 3.5%, fertility rate = 5.2, average . Children under 15 years comprise 45% of the population and elderly people over 65 years are 4%.
7

Source: Union of Health Work Committees.

18

Average life expectancy at birth = 70 years, infant mortality rate = 17 per 1,000 live births. There are 9 Palestinian hospitals in Jerusalem with a total of 646 beds. The occupancy rate is 54%. Overall, 83.7% of the Jerusalemites are covered by health insurance. This percentage increase to 90% inside the municipal boundaries and decreases to 71% outside. The Israeli governmental health insurance was imposed on holders of Jerusalem IDs since 1995. Jerusalem IDs have been withdrawn from about 300 persons during the Intifada, depriving them from health services.

FACT SHEET ON J E R U S A L E M

19

Freedom of worship:
In 1993, the Israeli authorities established its policy of isolating Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings by banning West Bank residents from accessing Jerusalem unless they obtain a specic entry permit from the Israeli military administration. After the outburst of Al-Aqsa Intifada on 28 September 2000 and the construction of the apartheid Wall around Jerusalem, there has been a sharp decline in the number of worshippers entering Jerusalem, as the number of people attending the payers at AlAqsa mosque has often become limited to only few thousands. The same applies to the access of West Bank worshippers to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in religious events.

20

Legal status:
On July 30, 1980, the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) endorsed the basic law: Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel, where article 1 stipulated that Jerusalem united in its entirety is the capital of Israel. On August 20, 1980, the UN Security Council issued its resolution No. 478, stating that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, which have altered or purport to alter the character and the status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and in particular the recent basic law on Jerusalem, are null and void and must be rescinded forthwith. The international law does not acknowledge unilateral annexation and does not grant the occupying Power, no matter how long the occupation lasts, sovereignty over the occupied territory. Rather, sovereignty remains in the hands of the occupied people, i.e., the Palestinian people living in the City, who have the right to self-determination. In light of the international law, Jerusalem has been and remains an occupied territory, exactly as the case with the West Bank. Thus, the occupying Power is banned from altering its character and geography and from harassing its population with the aim of forcing them out.

FACT SHEET ON J E R U S A L E M

21

Jerusalem in 2020:
A structural scheme has been developed for Jerusalem for the year 2020 aiming at developing the City and strengthening its weight as the capital of the State of Israel and a center and a holy city for the Jewish people. The central element in this plan is the demographic conict. The plan aims at reducing the Arab population density in the Old City by direct intervention from the government and active involvement of colonial societies in the appropriation of houses by several means and regulations. Colonial societies are running a campaign to transfer Palestinians from East Jerusalem abroad. This campaign is managed by Arie King, the head of Ateret Cohanim society.8 The population-related envision, on which the plan is based, is to cut out Arab neighborhoods that were annexed to Israel following the 1967 war, where over 150,000 Palestinians live, and transfer them to the PA. At the same time, Israel will annex the Israeli settlements both within the municipal boundaries and outside in the West Bank in order to create an absolute Jewish majority beyond 88%.

Kol Hair, 4 May 2002.

22

Jerusalemite prisoners:9
There are 525 Jerusalemite prisoners in the Israeli jails. The number of Jerusalemite detainees who have been held in Jail since the pre-Oslo period and have not been released yet is 51 prisoners. Sixteen of Jerusalemite prisoners are children. There are six female prisoners from Jerusalem. Twelve Jerusalemite prisoners died in Jail. Jerusalemite ex-prisoners are not allowed to work in Israeli workshops and institutions unless they obtain a certicate of good conduct, which they would never obtain from the Israeli intelligence. This situation increases the problem of unemployment, especially in view of the limited employment capacity of Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem. In legal terms, the Jerusalemite prisoners are dealt with as Palestinians when they demand their rights and as Israeli citizens when there are prisoner exchange deals.

From a study by a law institution published in Al-Quds Newspaper, 18 April 2007, p. 21.

FACT SHEET ON J E R U S A L E M

23

The Wall:10
Upon the completion of the Wall in Jerusalem governorate, its total length will be 181 kilometers. It isolates Jerusalem from its geographic and strategic contact with the West Bank. Bir Nabala, Al-Jdeireh, and Old Beit Hanina have become a closed ghetto. More than 15,000 Jerusalemites living in Qalandia and Kufr Aqab area have been deprived from easy access to their work and markets in Jerusalem, especially after transforming the Qalandia military checkpoint to a crossing. About 17% of Jerusalem residents have been displaced due to the Wall. Lands of 19.2% of households in Jerusalem governorate have been partially or totally conscated (5.2% inside the Wall and 31.4% outside the Wall). About 21.4% of Palestinian families in Jerusalem governorate have been separated from relatives, either the entire family or at least one family member (15.5% inside the Wall and 32.6% outside the Wall). The father was separated from the family in 18.0% of the families (14.3% inside the Wall and 26.2% outside the Wall). The mother was separated from the family in 12.7% of Palestinian families in Jerusalem governorate (12.9% inside the Wall and 12.3% outside the Wall). Members of 72.1% of the families were forced to be absent from university/college for several days due to the closure of the area. In addition, members of 69.4% of families enrolled in basic/ secondary education were forced to be absent from school. In 94.7% of the families, the time consumed in moving through the checkpoints has been an obstacle for their members (94.5% inside the Wall and 95.0% outside the Wall). The timing of allowed passage was a problem for 92.7% of the families (93.4% inside the Wall and 91.2% outside the Wall).
10

A study by Badil Center and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Mid 2006.

24

Israeli settlements within the Jerusalem municipal boundaries, their area and population11 Settlement East Talpiot Gilo Abu Ghneim Mountain, Givat Hamatos Givat Hamegtar French Hill Maalot Dafna Nevi Yaakov Jewish Quarter Pisgat Zeev Ramat Eshkol Ramat Shlomo Ramot Sanhedria Total Area 1195 2859 2523 + 310 Population 12591 27569 1125

588 2948 2018 6631 380 3617 1759 20250 122 2348 5467 38684 397 3046 1126 12822 4979 38992 378 4994 24764 dunums, i.e., 175,617 settlers in 35% 2002 182,000 settlers in 2006

11

Department of Maps and Geographic Information Systems, Arab Studies Society.