Welcome Home | Print | E-mail Thursday, 20 October 2011 09:16 By MWC News Share Link: Share Link: Bookmark Google Yahoo MyWeb Del.icio.us Digg Facebook Myspace Reddit Ma.gnolia Technorati Stumble Upon Newsvine By Khalid Amayreh They call you terrorists and other nasty names; but as far as we are concerned, you are our ultimate heroes. Your sacrifices, self-abnegation and patriotism enabled us to live and be steadfast as well as survive the nefarious onslaught by the falsifiers of history, the world's greatest thieves. The martyrs, thousands of them, died so that we may live. You’re the suspended martyrs of Palestine since you were willing to die for the noblest and most sublime of all causes. Your place of honor will always be guaranteed in the hearts and minds of your people. Your unflinching will to pay the ultimate price for the freedom of Palestine will always serve as a guiding light for our people. You are the crème de la crème of Palestine. We will always be indebted to you and your sacrifices. You languished for many long, bitter years in their evil dungeons and concentration camps in order to keep the smile on our children's faces, a smile without which we can't live or survive. They thought in vain they were breaking your will to fight for life, freedom and humanity, only to discover that their torture and persecution steeled your will and made you triumph over their hatred, evil and racism. Your suffering enabled us to retain the hope for a better tomorrow, a tomorrow that is free from the haunting nightmares of roadblocks, checkpoints, home demolitions and haphazard murder by those barbarian racists who worship power and sanctify evil while calling their critics anti-Semites. They call you names because you dared say NO in the face of brutal force and blatant oppression. They expected you to behave submissively and capitulate to their insolence and arrogance of power and brutality. They utterly forgot that our resilience knows no limits if only because we Palestinians can't live without honor, dignity and freedom. Well, we must not pay the slightest attention to their mendacity and hatred. Let us be in the company of Jesus whom these self-worshiping psychopaths brazenly call the Hitler of Bethlehem because he sought to spread the message that all people were equal under God. They are immersed in self-denial; it is a collective psychosis. Otherwise, how could they have the rectitude to call us "heartless" and "having hearts of stone" for holding an Israeli occupation soldier? Well, do those holding thousands of men, women and children for insisting on obtaining their freedoms and human rights have hearts of gold? Theirs is a discourse of hypocrisy, moral duplicity, sanctimony and self-righteousness, stemming from an inherently faulty reading of the basic realities about God and man and existence. Ultimately, their demonizing and dehumanization of the "other," with all its diabolic ramifications, will cost them dearly because universal laws don't stop functioning. There are other great men and women who are still languishing in their hateful prison cells. To those known and unknown soldiers, we say "the darkest hour is the one that precedes dawn." Your appointment with freedom won't be far away. The walls of your jail complex may be high, the odds formidable, with no glimmer of hope to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But remember, in a world where every thing can be denied, there are forces undeniable. These are the forces that eventually made our heroes, long dismissed by arrogant Zionists as living corpses, reclaim their freedom. In the final analysis, there are true men behind you, who won't rest or know the taste of sleep as long as you remain behind bars. They won't betray you. You, too, will reclaim your freedom; it won't be far away.

ALERT : GADDAFI IS ALIVE Posted: October 20, 2011 by AX in Geo-Politics Tags: Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, news, truth 5 21 Votes Libyan media say Gaddafi is alive Gaddafi is safe, sound and alive, Al Libya web channel says warning that his “post mortem” photos had been fabricated. Earlier, Sky News TV channel had aired a photo of the mortally-wounded Colonel but his identity is doubted as the picture is of a low quality. (TASS) The Mujahid Muammar Gaddafi is in excellent health and has an excellent moral The Mujahid Muammar Gaddafi is in excellent health and has an excellent moral. The information in the capture of the Libyan leader is simply a lie spewed by the nth CNT / NATO is broadcast through the media lies that have sold their objective to become a real journalist NATO soldiers and members of The Qaeda. This lie was among others charged the CNT / NATO just to demoralize the troops of the Libyan resistance bravely defending the city of Sirte and in other cities are fighting to free them from the clutches of members of the Qaeda and the nato. This lie was announced today, to break the second day of the uprising Friday, October 21, 2011. Listen more bums of CNT and their sponsors. The Libyan leader is still alive and still determined to cleanse the country of these traitors and mercenaries West. Rumours of Muammar Qaddafi Spread by NTC for Hillary Clinton Rumours are circulating with once again European and American leaders misinforming the public, and the usual media culprits Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabia broadcasting the occupation NTC (National Terrorist Council) claim of the capture or death of Muammar Qaddafi. Green Committees have confirmed that the leader is alive, and that the enemy is seeking to take advantage of his being currently out of communications. The aim is to please Hillary Clinton who barked at her Arab slaves that she wants Muammar Qaddafi “dead or alive.” The analysts who are close to the Libyan leader have told Mathaba that the aim of the rumours is several fold. On the one hand, they wish to demoralize the Libyan resistance which has held out for over 7 months against the strongest terrorists and invading armies in the world. On the other hand, they wish to thus lure the Leader out to make a call in order to attempt to get a fix on his location. The Secretary-General of the International People’s Conference Organization told Mathaba that there is also another aim in this strategy of Clinton and her minions, which is to attempt to perpetuate the myth that the NTC controls all of Libya and that the Jamahiriya is no more, because the NTC has made it clear they cannot declare a government unless they control the entire country. NATO, the American-European armed forces, primarily cowardly Air Forces which have been bombing Libya non-stop since March this year, and special ground forces and foreign terrorists, have killed an estimated 60,000 Libyans thus far, but the Libyan Jamahiriya remains the only legitimate government because it rests squarely upon the Libyan people. The IPCO Secretary-General said “Clinton wishes to lay her hands on the over 100 billion dollars of Libyan Jamahiriya assets which have been frozen. She cannot do so legally nor hand over any of those funds on any legal footing so long as the Jamahiriya continues to exist. And it does continue to exist, because it consists of over 6,000 basic people’s conferences. “The fact that the basic people’s conferences could not convene at least twice a year as usual this year, has been because of the heavy NATO bombing and lack of security for the public to gather in their conference halls. However, in other countries around the world, elections take place only every 4, 5 or even 7 years, not several times a year as in the Jamahiriya, so the existing policies and legislation remain in force, as well as the existing authorities, until such time as the masses can convene again”, the Secretary-General said. Mathaba Libya news editor said that NATO and Clinton are desperate to show a “victory” in Libya, by way of a compliant media, and the NTC is anxious to provide that “victory” for their masters, in order to secure further support. The NTC leaders and their factions are all fighting amongst each other, and are dissatisfied with the spoils, which so far have not been forthcoming due to the armed population putting up a fierce resistance, and the globalist bankers being unable to keep their promises to the Libyan traitors. Libyans should continue their mass green demonstrations and resistance, and ignore all rumours, as it has been confirmed that Mu’ammar Qaddafi is alive and well and will not be in communications currently for security reasons. One of the main aims of Clinton has been to kill or capture Qaddafi, or otherwise force him to leave Libya, and none of those aims will be granted her. PakDefenceUnit He is alive or not, that later. If he dies, he will die as martyr. And if he is living, he lives like a lion. Atleast, he didn’t surrender in front of those cruel NATO. The worst thing is after him Libya will be a battle field just like Iraq where blood will flow on every path and at that time not much notice will be taken as what the media is concerned about today. What is shown on TV is another form of drama just like when Saddam was caught, few people came on streets and started celebrating.Who knows by themselves or were paid? Similar screen shots on TV are seen. But still many are un aware. Few people may consider it his going as liberty but no its a death of another Muslim nation. Murder of another Muslim land. Today or tomorrow he might leave the world liken “One Day Life of Tiger Is Better Than 100 Years Life of Jackal.” .The one who lived like a lion will leave this world similarly(InshaAllah).His actions will be between him and God alone. Shame to the few who will always be remembered in history as traitors for killing their leader who kept their country strong and debt free never bowed down to America or West, although a dictator but better then the demon’cratically elected coward and corrupt leaders the likes we have in Pakistan, who have sold their souls to the devil for few American dollars. Martyred never dies, he`s alive in the hearts of libyans! few hypocrites sold their soul,honor for money… It did`nt mean we will compromise, we will fight! One Day Life of Tiger Is Better Than 100 Years Life of Jackal. If he is no more… May his sole rest in peace!!! We will regroup and fight… Share this: Facebook Twitter Like this: Like Be the first to like this post. Comments infowars.com says: October 20, 2011 at 8:13 pm Real news: infowars.com This is who are behind it all: youtube”terrorstorm”,”obama deception”,”the american dream cartoon”.”fall of the republic”,”confessions of an ecconomic hitman” Reply Stefan Petkovic Srbija says: October 20, 2011 at 8:19 pm MUAMMAR GADDAFI!!!!!!!!!!! Reply AX says: October 20, 2011 at 8:41 pm Reply ALERT : GADDAFI IS ALIVE « PakDefenceUnit | OCCUPY TOGETHER – we are 99% says: October 20, 2011 at 8:55 pm [...] viaALERT : GADDAFI IS ALIVE « PakDefenceUnit. Bewerten: Share this:TwitterFacebookLinkedInStumbleUponDiggRedditGefällt mir:LikeSei der Erste, dem dieser post gefällt. Dieser Artikel wurde veröffentlicht in Bilderberger, Libyen, NATO und mit Gaddafi, Lybien getaggt. Füge den Permalink zu Deinen Favoriten hinzu. ← Gadaffi: Kopfschuss, beide Beide weg [...] Reply ALERT : GADDAFI IS ALIVE « PakDefenceUnit | OCCUPY TOGETHER – we are 99% says: October 20, 2011 at 8:55 pm [...] viaALERT : GADDAFI IS ALIVE « PakDefenceUnit. Bewerten: Share this:TwitterFacebookLinkedInStumbleUponDiggRedditGefällt mir:LikeSei der Erste, dem dieser post gefällt. Dieser Artikel wurde veröffentlicht in Bilderberger, Libyen, NATO und mit Gaddafi, Lybien getaggt. Füge den Permalink zu Deinen Favoriten hinzu. ← Gadaffi: Kopfschuss, beide Beide weg [...] Reply Leave a Reply Enter your comment here... Guest Log In Log In Log In Gravatar Email (required) (Not published) Name (required) Website Notify me of follow-up comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Pak can`t leave its borders insecure: Army officials

Don’t Collaborate with Apartheid -- a call on European academics, students and people of conscience Hide Details FROM: Palestinian BDS National Committee TO: bnc-announce Message flagged Thursday, October 20, 2011 4:39 PM http://www.bdsmovement.net/2011/dont-collaborate-with-apartheid-8202 Don´t Collaborate with Apartheid - a call from Palestinian civil society on European universities, academics, students and people of conscience The State of Israel practises a system of occupation, colonialism and apartheid over the Palestinian people, but it does not do so unaided. Israeli military companies are the main enablers of Israel´s persistent and grave violations of international law. They provide the weaponry and technology that allow Israel to commit atrocities and daily violations of human rights, and they directly participate in the construction of Israel´s Apartheid Wall, declared illegal by the International Court of Justice on 9 July 2004.[1] Israeli universities and research institutes are deeply involved in military research and weapons development projects that put them at the heart of planning and implementing Israeli war crimes.[2] Palestinian academics, students and civil society organisations therefore deplore the extensive research collaboration that takes place between European universities and Israeli military companies, universities and research institutes that are complicit with Israeli violations of international law and human rights. We call for an immediate end to all research collaboration with Israeli military companies and all Israeli research institutions that are involved in violating international law and human rights. The research collaboration that is facilitated by the EU-Israel Association Agreement is of particular concern. The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) is a multi-billion euro European Union research funding scheme that provides funds for universities and companies from different countries to work together on specific research projects. As a result of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, and despite Israel´s consistent violation of the Agreement´s human rights clause, Israeli military companies and research institutions are granted access to FP7 on an equal footing as those from EU member states.[3] Israeli military companies such as Elbit Systems and Israeli Aerospace Industries, both of which contribute to the ongoing construction of Israel´s illegal Apartheid Wall and both of which supplied drones that were deployed by Israel to kill civilians during Operation Cast Lead, receive public funding from the EU and collaborate with European universities through their participation in FP7 projects.[4] Deeply complicit Israeli academic institutions such as Technion, notorious for its role in developing weapons used in Israeli massacres of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, participate in `security´ projects that could clearly assist them in the development of technologies and knowledge used to oppress Palestinian rights.[5] Even Ahava, the Israeli cosmetics company that has been subjected to a highly effective international boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign focused on its location in and partial ownership by the illegal Israeli settlement of Mitzpe Shalem, participates in FP7 projects, granting it access to public funds and partnering it with universities in the UK, Italy, the Basque and beyond.[6] Such involvement of so deeply complicit companies and universities clearly violates the European Union´s own guidelines for participation in FP7 projects. European universities and research institutions that conduct joint research with Israeli military companies or other organisations that assist the suppression of Palestinian rights provide the material and political support that enable and embolden Israel to continue infringing upon international law with impunity. Not only does such joint research provide a false veneer of normalcy to institutions at the heart of Israel´s colonial system, but it is also likely to directly build on and further support the development of technology and techniques used to violently suppress Palestinian human rights. Far from existing in an "apolitical" bubble, joint research of this kind directly contributes to the injustices and violations of international law and basic rights faced by Palestinians. It makes these European universities and research centers directly complicit in violating international law and human rights. The nature of Israeli participation in FP7 projects provides further proof of the need for the EU to cancel the EU-Israel Association Agreement and impose a comprehensive military embargo on Israel and for European universities and research institutions to: 1. Immediately end all research collaboration with Israeli military companies and all Israeli research institutions that are involved in violating international law and human rights 2. Develop policies and mechanisms to ensure no further such collaboration can take place and ensure their effective implementation We call on academics and students and their union organisations, human rights and solidarity organisations and people of conscience across Europe to: 1. Work with the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), the largest Palestinian civil society coalition, to identify and expose research collaboration between European universities and Israeli military companies and all Israeli research institutions that develop expertise and technology used to suppress Palestinian rights or are otherwise complicit with Israeli violations of international law, particularly where this collaboration taking place within the FP7 scheme[7] 2. Develop long-term, effective mass campaigns capable of successfully pressuring European universities and research institutions to end their complicity with Israeli Apartheid and implement policies to prevent further such collaboration Signed by: Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC)* Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees (PFUUPE) Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign - Stop the Wall (STW) Palestinian Students´ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI) *The BNC is a wide coalition of the largest mass civil society organizations, unions, networks and political parties. To learn more about this campaign and for assistance with investigating the collaboration with complicit Israeli organisations taking place at your university, please contact info@bdsmovement.net [1]http://www.bdsmovement.net/2011/military-embargo-working-paper-7517 [2] http://www.bdsmovement.net/2009/academic-boycott-aic-5181 [3]According to research published in November 2010, no non-EU country has received more funding per capita than Israel and Israel is especially overrepresented in the security theme of the research program. http://www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/russell-tribunal-on-palestine-ben-hayes.pdf [4] www.bdsmovement.net/2011/stw-european-funding-7939 [5] www.bdsmovement.net/2011/stw-european-funding-7939 http://www.bdsmovement.net/2011/mcgill-concordia-technion-7102 [6] For details about Ahava and the campaign against it see http://www.stolenbeauty.org For information about the FP7 projects in which Ahava is involved see http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=FP7_PROJ_EN&QZ_WEBSRCH=ahava&QM_PJA= &USR_SORT=EN_QVD+CHAR+DESC [7] The European Union maintains a database of all FP7 projects at http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/projects_en.html _______________________________________________ BNC-announce mailing list

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas' leader in the Gaza Strip says the militant group has officially turned over a captive Israeli soldier to Egypt as part of a prisoner swap with Israel. In a text message, Mahmoud Zahar said Tuesday that his group is no longer holding Sgt. Gilad Schalit. Earlier, militants had whisked the 25-year-old soldier across Gaza's border to Egypt, which has acted as a mediator in the deal. Israel is freeing more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Schalit, who was captured by Gaza militants in June 2006. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas militants whisked a captured Israeli soldier across the Gaza border into Egypt early Tuesday, beginning an elaborate prisoner swap deal in which hundreds of Palestinian inmates are to be freed in return for the captured tank crewman. The officials said an SUV filled with armed men took Sgt. Gilad Schalit across the border and quickly returned to Gaza early Tuesday. Buses of Palestinian prisoners were also beginning to move from Israel into Egypt en route to Gaza, they said. A Gaza militant leader said the Palestinians were waiting until all 477 prisoners were moved into Palestinian territory before turning Schalit over to the Egyptians, who have acted as mediators in the deal. In the meantime, he said armed men would remain with Schalit in Egypt. "The captured soldier handover process is under way, and the Palestinian resistance groups are about to finalize his handover to Egypt," said Abu Mujahid, whose Hamas-allied group, the Popular Resistance Committees, helped captured Schalit in a June 2006 cross-border raid. Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV reported that a high-level Hamas delegation arrived on the Egyptian side of the border crossing in preparation for a formal handover of Schalit and to greet the returning prisoners. In an elaborate operation, Schalit was then to be taken across Egypt's border into Israel, and then flown to an air base in central Israel to be reunited with his family. Schalit's father, Noam, made a brief television appearance on his way to the base. Asked whether this was the happiest day of his life, he said: "Yes, you can make that assumption." Noam Schalit has become a ubiquitous figure in Israel since his son's capture and led a massive campaign to press the government into bringing the 25-year-old home. The deal caps a five-and-a-half year saga that saw multiple Israeli military offensives in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli blockade on the territory and numerous rounds of negotiations that ended in deadlock. Officials on both sides have said that conditions prompted in part by the recent Egyptian revolution helped drive them to an agreement. Both sides have been eager to have good ties with the new Egyptian regime, which brokered the deal. In all, Israel is slated to release 1,027 prisoners for Schalit — with the final 550 to be freed in about two months. Before dawn, convoys of white vans and trucks transported hundreds of Palestinian prisoners to the locations in the West Bank and on the Israel-Egypt border where they were to be freed. In Gaza, the Red Cross confirmed that the prisoners slated for release had arrived at the nearby border crossing. About 200 relatives of prisoners waited at a West Bank checkpoint as the exchange unfolded. "We're so excited we can barely breathe," said Mariam Shkair, waiting for her brother, 52-year-old Abdel Latif, who spent 25 years in prison for killing an Israeli soldier. "We are waiting to hug him." Some of the relatives raised Palestinian flags or the green banners of Hamas. A group of young men chanted, "We will continue our struggle." The exchange, negotiated through Egyptian mediators because Israel and Hamas will not talk directly to each other, is going ahead despite criticism and court appeals in Israel against the release of the prisoners. Nearly 300 of them were serving lengthy sentences for involvement in deadly attacks. The exchange involves a delicate series of staged releases, each one triggering the next. The Red Cross and Egyptian officials are involved in facilitating the movement of prisoners. In Gaza, Hamas militants deployed in force along the road leading into Egypt where Schalit was taken. Shortly thereafter, hundreds of returning Palestinians were slated to enter Gaza on the same road. When Tuesday's exchange is complete, 477 Palestinians held in Israeli jails, including 27 women, will have been released, several of them after decades behind bars. More than 200 prisoners, originally from the West Bank, will instead be sent to the fenced-off Gaza Strip. And some 40 prisoners will be deported to Syria, Qatar, Turkey and Jordan, Palestinian officials said. Little is known about Schalit's condition. Although he appeared healthy in the only time he has been seen in captivity — in a brief and scripted 2009 video released by Hamas — he was denied all visits, including by the Red Cross, and the state of his mental and physical health is unclear. Schalit will then be flown by helicopter to an air force base in central Israel, where he will meet his parents, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the defense minister and military chief of staff. An intense media campaign to free Schalit made him a national symbol in Israel, and all local radio and TV stations held special live broadcasts Tuesday, following every step of the exchange. @yahoonews on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook Editors' Picks Members of the Occupy Wall Street movement march through the financial district of New Yorkslideshow Occupy Wall Street protests A sign reading " Please stay off the beach" is posted at Papamoa beach damaged with fuel oil from the Liberian-flagged container ship Rena stuck aground on a reef off the coast of Tauranga, New Zealand, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. The calmest weather in days has given salvage crews hope they will be able on Friday to resume pumping the remaining fuel from the cargo ship stuck on a New Zealand reef. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)slideshow NZ ship cracking up, leaking oil FILE - In this May 29, 2011 file photo, IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon, of England, celebrates with the traditional bottle of milk after winning the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. Wheldon died Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011 in a fiery 15-car wreck during the Las Vegas Indy 300. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)slideshow IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon dies Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak points the way into an Apple store to buy a new Apple iPhone 4S in Los Gatos, Calif., Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. Wozniak waited 20 hours in line to be the first Apple customer at the Los Gatos Apple store to buy the new iPhone. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)slideshow Thousands line up for iPhone 4S FILE - This June 2007 file photo provided by Dr. William Petit Jr., shows Dr. Petit, left, with his daughters Michaela, front, Hayley, center rear, and his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, on Cape Cod, Mass. Dr. Petit was severely beaten and his wife and two daughters were killed during a home invasion in Cheshire, Conn., July 23, 2007. A trial for Joshua Komisarjevsky, the second of two men charged with the crimes, begins Monday, Sept. 19, 2011, in New Haven, Conn., Superior Court. (AP Photo/William Petit, File)slideshow Verdict in Conn. home-invasion trial slideshow Hurricane Jova slams Mexico Explore Related Content 1 - 4 of 12 Prisoner swap between Israel, Hamas moves aheadPlay Video Prisoner swap between Israel, Hamas … Palestinian Hamas militants stand guard on the main road in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 17, 2011. The exchange between Israel and Hamas in which 1,027 Palestinian prisoners will ... Palestinian Hamas militants stand guard … Israel Radio says deal reached with … Israel Radio says deal reached with Hamas to free captured Israeli soldier. Full Story »Israel Radio says deal reached with Hamas to free captured Israeli soldier AP Play Video Egypt generals on defensive over Copt … Top Stories » Hamas militants release captured Israeli soldier At debate, focus is on fast-rising Herman Cain Panetta hopeful of Iraqi deal on US troops Lawyer: Mom of missing baby has 'nothing to hide' Election-year goals of Christian group questioned Federal judge orders more review on polar bears Doctors: Pap remains best test for cervical cancer Most Popular Your Cheating Heart: iPhone App Finds Wife With Another Man Long ties to Koch brothers key to Cain's campaign Mexican drug cartels recruiting Texas children Chinese express horror at public indifference to toddler hit-run victim Lowe's closes stores, lays off 1,950 workers Challenges loom as world population hits 7 billion Today on Yahoo! 1 - 4 of 43 Gaga shocks Clinton with song lyrics Gaga shocks Clinton with song lyrics Racer's romantic act hours before death Racer's romantic act hours before death The best places to retire in America The best places to retire in America Israeli soldier turned over to Egypt Israeli soldier turned over to Egypt All Comments Shared On Facebook My Comments ZubaidaComment Guidelines your avatar Please Enter a Comment Manage Updates Your updates will be shared through Yahoo! Updates based on your preferences. Start sharing your updates on Yahoo! to Twitter based on your preferences. Add Twitter Your update will be shared to Facebook based on your Facebook preferences. 35 comments Popular Now Newest Oldest Most Replied GastricJuices 0Thumbs UpThumbs Down0 GastricJuices 14 seconds ago Report Abuse Ok. Reply De Greaser 0Thumbs UpThumbs Down0 De Greaser 50 seconds ago Report Abuse @ Rose ... I look forward to the day when the Palestine Pukes are bombed into the stone age . Reply kristian n 0Thumbs UpThumbs Down0 kristian n about a minute ago Report Abuse after that just wait for a couple of years or probablyy months those palestinian people will terrorist israel again ......people who did not know the history dont jump in conclusion...6 day war 1967.....muslim is a religion of peace WHAAAAAAAAT........religion of terrorist... Reply Vince 0Thumbs UpThumbs Down0 Vince 3 minutes ago Report Abuse who cares? Reply rose 1Thumbs UpThumbs Down1 rose 4 minutes ago Report Abuse I lookforward for a day to see al the palestin get free . ... Reply Jenny 0Thumbs UpThumbs Down0 Jenny 5 minutes ago Report Abuse My friend just met a milli○naire man on Searchrich'Singles ©○m, it's where for men and women looking for companionship for a fabulous lifestyle, maybe you want to try out :) @ F. U. .... why u mad??? @#$% racist50601155816 Reply Force Recon '68-'71 1Thumbs UpThumbs Down0 Force Recon '68-' ... 7 minutes ago Report Abuse No matter who it is, no matter what country or religion you come from...to allow a person to go home and be with his or her family is a good thing. A very good thing. It shows you still have a tiny spark of something left inside you. It shows there is still a tiny glow of hope for us all. Reply easy money 1Thumbs UpThumbs Down2 easy money 9 minutes ago Report Abuse Who Does The Land of Israel Belong To? An Israeli Sense of Humor at United Nations set the record straight.... More 1 Reply Dave 247 2Thumbs UpThumbs Down5 Dave 247 9 minutes ago Report Abuse Funny how all of the Zionists filthy garbage men here are calling the Palestinians who are being released terrorists. They have been defending themselves against vile and violent terrorists who have brought their religious freak show to Palestine. You are no different than the Bin Laden terror... More Reply Bryan 0Thumbs UpThumbs Down1 Bryan 11 minutes ago Report Abuse So if hamas can just capture 5 or 6 more israelis they will have all of their soldiers back. If you give a mouse a cookie... then? Reply easy money 1Thumbs UpThumbs Down1 easy money 13 minutes ago Report Abuse The first day the Hamas took over after they got voted in they l killed 125 Palestinians or there (own) people . So why is this such a Victory Celebration . they'll probably kill some of these to .just as easily. and celebrate that to. Reply mama.cat 4Thumbs UpThumbs Down2 mama.cat 14 minutes ago Report Abuse It just shows that ONE Israeli soldier is worth ONE THOUSAND Palestinians! Reply G1 2Thumbs UpThumbs Down4 G1 14 minutes ago Report Abuse Israel pays a heavy price for life again, just like before. God bless you, Israel for stepping out in faith. He will not let your enemies destroy you. I thank Christ The Lord for every day. Reply rose 2Thumbs UpThumbs Down6 rose 15 minutes ago Report Abuse Why these sick jesus killer would not free all the inocent jailed palestinian right now , why they keep them for another 2 months Reply Dan M 4Thumbs UpThumbs Down3 Dan M 15 minutes ago Report Abuse Palestinians proving to the world that 1 Israeli is worth over 1,000 of their own Reply Aaron Miller 3Thumbs UpThumbs Down5 Aaron Miller 17 minutes ago Report Abuse The illegal immigrant Jews will just compensate by making more arrests and keeping prisoners longer. 2 Replies Roger 1Thumbs UpThumbs Down1 Roger 17 minutes ago Report Abuse Louis Farrakhan is having a party now Reply banjo 0Thumbs UpThumbs Down0 banjo 18 minutes ago Report Abuse FREE..............ATLAST... Reply Roger 3Thumbs UpThumbs Down4 Roger 20 minutes ago Report Abuse This is a no brainer...1000 stone throwing malcontents and bomb makers- who wants to feed them, house them- even look at them? Israel definitely got the better end of this deal. Reply jack33 1Thumbs UpThumbs Down2 jack33 21 minutes ago Report Abuse shalit was raped in prison. 3 Replies More Post a comment News For You Emotions high ahead of Israel-Hamas prisoner swap Israel, Hamas begin elaborate prisoner exchange Egypt sees Israel prisoner swap soon: source Palestinian sources in Gaza: Israeli soldier Schalit has been moved from Gaza to Egypt Questions linger over why CIA operative is at NYPD Mike Daisey turns his wit on Apple's Steve Jobs US, Italy discuss ending NATO air war in Libya Israel starts freeing Palestinian prisoners Israel torn by morality of Shalit prisoner swap Israel moves 430 Palestinians near prisoner swap venue Sponsored Links ( What's this? ) Official TD Ameritrade Straightforward Pricing. Powerful tools. Sign up now at TD Ameritrade! TDAmeritrade.com Health Insurance Quotes Compare Health Insurance Companies. Blue Cross, United, Aetna & More! www.GoHealthInsurance.com money market funds See today's Money Markets from 100s of Banks. Plus news, calcs, tips. www.BankRate.com World News » A convoy carrying Palestinian prisoners is seen as it leaves the Ketziot prison in southern Israel Hamas releases Israeli soldier in prisoner swap: Hamas source Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - Gaza's Hamas Islamist rulers released captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit on Tuesday in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, a Hamas military source said, in a deal ending a … Kenya arrests two British citizens crossing into Somalia Beatrice Gachenge NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya has arrested two British citizens suspected of ties to Somalia's al Qaeda-linked rebels as they crossed the border into the Horn of Africa country, Kenyan police said Tuesday … Anti-Gaddafi fighters celebrate after destroying the residence of Muammar Gaddafi at the Bab al-Aziziyah complex in Tripoli NTC forces celebrate capture of Gaddafi bastion Bani Walid Barry Malone BANI WALID, Libya (Reuters) - Fighters with Libya's interim government have captured the town of Bani Walid, firing their guns into the air and hoisting the country's new flag over the center of one of … Evacuees who fled from Namie town near the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Fukushima victims: homeless,desperate and angry Yoko Kubota FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - At last, victims of Japan's nuclear crisis can claim compensation. And they are angry. Somali rebels bolster defenses in Afmadow, residents flee Sahra Abdi MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Residents fled Afmadow in southern Somalia Tuesday as al Qaeda-linked rebels rushed in reinforcements and dug defenses around the town in anticipation of clashes with advancing Kenyan-backed … Featured Photos: Hard times for veterans Military veterans can find it difficult to get hired. More »Photos: Hard times for veterans Vincent van Gogh murdered? New book presents different account of artist’s death. More »Vincent van Gogh murdered? The vote First chinks appearing in the armor of Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan? More »The vote Song has a very surprising end When her boyfriend unexpectedly enters a karaoke contest, it's the first clue Katrina's life will change. More »Song has a very surprising end Education Education Six quick-start careers See how you could prepare for a career with great earning potential in 1-2 years! 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THE MURDER OF OSAMA BIN LADIN AND 9/11`REMAIND DOUBTFULWill the Murder of Osama Bin Laden Remain doubtful Like 9/11 Posted: 07 May 2011 01:26 AM PDT First Americans said Osama was hit in head, afterward they deny that this picture was issued by US, now they claim that Osama was killed by his Kuwaiti Guards... From Truth by Kbaig According to Obama, “Justice has been done by killing Osama, the families of those slain in 9/11 terrorist attacks over World Trade Center will get relief. By killing Osama world has been made a safe place.” Hilary Clinton said, “Osama was not target of USA, they are fighting to end extremism, the war on terror will continue.” Barack Obama and his Foreign Minister maybe right what they said, (both should be congratulated in anticipation for effective policy to win Presidential elections 2012), but they should at least disclose the reason behind the enmity between USA and Osama. Osama was blue-eyed boy and closely linked with Bush family. His father Bin Laden had not only friendly but also business ties with the Bush family. That is why when two airplanes crashed with the Twin Towers of WTC, as a precaution all the planes were downed, but in this emergency one airplane was allowed to be airborne carrying children and siblings of Osama Bin Laden. On the orders of White House the airplane was secretly taking family of Osama to safe place outside of USA, At least why? Now Americans claim that in the operation against Osama, his youngest son has been killed along with wife of Osama. Osama on the Right... From Truth by Kbaig Here before discussing the dispute between Osama and USA, we should discuss the operation conducted in Abottabad on the midnight of 1st May. On the midnight of 1st May different private Pakistani TV channels gave the Breaking News that a helicopter of Pakistan Army has crashed in Abottabad near Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Kakul. Until sunrise, these TV channels were reporting that a Pakistani helicopter on training mission has crashed due to some technical fault, while the two pilots died in this crash. It was also reported that before crash, sounds of firing and blast were also heard. However, it was assumed that sounds of firing were probably of the rounds fired by under training cadets at PMA. International media was also reporting same news. Son of Osama, Hamza; according to Americans he has been also killed in the Operation From Truth by Kbaig After the late sunrise, American electronic media broke the brief news that Osama had died in a military operation conducted in Abottabad. Right after this American President Obama, congratulated Americans over the death of Osama. A tsunami of reports about the death of Osama was seen on the world media. One was trying to show exclusive reports of the celebrations by Americans, (the celebrations over the death of a person in the world’s most civilized nation is slap over civilization) other were telecasting analyses. In these analyses one was given by famous analyst Robert Fisk talking live to Al-Jazeera from Beirut said, “Lebanese do not accept American claim that Osama has been killed in Pakistani City Abottabad ”. Probably anchorperson was not ready for such reply, on his objection Robert explained that Lebanese are of the view, if in near future Osama returns in any new video recording than no one will be able to save Obama from defeat in Presidential election. In this way he explained that murder of Osama has been staged just to win the Presidential elections in 2012. Right after this conversation a footage of Benazir Bhutto’s interview in 2007 to Larry King, representative of Al-Jazeera TV was played in which she claimed that Osama has been killed. Osama Bin Laden Not only in Pakistan but also in international media Objections on the operation against Osama are raised as well. According to British News Network, when Osama got aware that he has been besieged, he offered arrest (perhaps to save his wife and son), but American soldiers fired at his forehead. Here objection is why Osama was not arrested alive while he was ready to surrender? There is evidence that Osama did not resist and was unarmed. Neither any weapon nor any explosives were discovered in the home. Moreover any possible resistance could have been handled by using paralyzing gas. American officials are claiming that Osama used women as hostage to avoid arrest, so his wife was killed as Americans fired bullets. Osama along with his siblings... From Truth by Kbaig At first the picture of a person looking like Osama was issued to the media, without any explanation. But when the critics criticized that dead person was of the half of the age of Osama and much healthy than Osama, after these objections on the 2nd day USA explained that no picture has been issued by US govt. However the video recording of the operation will be released soon. When this recording was shown, there was nothing more than American commandoes shooting in the dark without any target, but not a single human or living being was observed. How Osama was targeted, how his dead body was moved, and if US had really succeeded in killing one of the notorious terrorists why his dead body was buried at sea in such haste? He was murderer of hundreds of Americans, they were celebrating his death, in such a situation why did not American army shift his corpse to USA, shown it to international media, started a trial against him so that everyone could have seen the justice with his own eyes? Osama along with his father Bin-Laden and mother From Truth by Kbaig Than this means that the person slain by Americans was not Osama or he was not present there at all, actual story is much different. The month of June is on head, Obama is loosing his credibility in USA day by day, on the financial bills Republicans in Congress were giving hard time to ruling party. Only one year has been left from Presidential elections while Obama has yet to fulfill his promise of withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Whit House is also worried to safeguard its interests in Afghanistan. Under such pressures US is ready to give some provinces under control of Taliban. The painful talks are going on to reach a mutually accepted agreement. During this entire tense situation, suddenly MH-60 helicopters get airborne from Jalalabad in the dark of night, carrying personnel from CLASSIFIED STANDING TASK FORCE, SPECIAL MISSION UNITS & Navy SEALs. Through the satellite, President Obama was supervising the mission along with his defense team. Before entrance into Pakistan, with the support of Technical Application Programs Office and Aviation Technology Evaluation Group, RADAR system of Pakistan was partially jammed in such a way so that it cannot observe American invaders. As the Air Defense System of Pakistan is provided by USA, so they know how to hack it. According to White House they arrived in Abottabad, exchanged bullets for forty minutes, took the dead bodies of Osama and few other persons and departed back. Nothing has been disclosed about the persons arrested alive. At the same time White House claims that Osama did not resist and no weapons were discovered inside the house, than US commandoes were firing bullets for what for forty minutes (Perhaps to awaken the sleeping Pakistani nation)? 6 months old Osama... From Truth by Kbaig If you remember the hanging of Saddam Hussein, just in order to show and terrorize the world, he was tried in the court, than breaking all the rules and regulations of the civilized world, he was hanged without covering his face and video recording of this activity was also released. Nevertheless, in case of Osama why all this has been done in such haste? The purpose of throwing Osama’s dead body in the sea is that no evidence could be retrieved if someone goes to the court for DNA test of Osama. There is only one way to end this chaos, Pakistani govt. retrieves blood, finger prints, hair from the comb etc. and conducts a DNA test to verify that the person slain by US commandoes was really Osama. But our rulers can never dare to do that because if it is proved that Osama was not present in the house, Obama will die political death even before elections. Son of Osama, Omar Bin Laden along with his English wife living in USA From Truth by Kbaig Otherwise the story told by inhabitants of Bilal Town, Abottabad is true that near the affected house a person named as Zain Muhammad lived having the same looks as Osama. Now Zain Muhammad could not be traced right from the night of US operation. Moreover in the way US is repeating its demands aggressively and increasing pressure over Pakistan, we can face it only through National and Political Unity which is untraceable among us. Than realize it that our enemy has succeeded in its plans and is now working to cut down Pakistan from the international community before attack. Will talk on this next week… Urdu Copy: Written By Khalid Baig, Published in Daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Date: 07th May, 2011. You are subscribed to email updates from Truth by Kbaig To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Email delivery powered by Google Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 Truth by Kbaig By Truth By Kbaig ...| 332 photos View Slideshow Videos By klimaxxx85| 1 video

Hamas website lists prisoners to be freed | Print | E-mail Saturday, 15 October 2011 09:17 By Agencies Share Link: Share Link: Bookmark Google Yahoo MyWeb Del.icio.us Digg Facebook Myspace Reddit Ma.gnolia Technorati Stumble Upon Newsvine A website allied to Hamas, the Palestinian faction which governs the Gaza Strip, has released a list of Palestinian prisoners it expects to be freed from Israeli jails as part of an exchange deal between Hamas and Israel. According to the list published on Al-Aqsa TV station's website on Friday, Hamas leaders Rawhi Mushtaha, Yehieh al-Sinwar and Jihad Yaghmur are among those who will walk free as part of a swap for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Na'el Barghouti, the prisoner who has spent the most time - more than 30 years - in an Israeli prison, and 78-year-old Sami Yunis, the oldest Palestinian imprisoned, are also slated to be freed. Under the terms of the landmark Hamas-Israel agreement made earlier this week, Hamas is to release Shalit who has been held for more than five years, in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, who will be set free in two rounds. Deportation In the first phase, Shalit is set to be swapped next week for about 450 Palestinian prisoners. About 550 prisoners would be released two months later. Out of the 450, about 272 will be allowed to return to their homes in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jerusalem and Israel, a Hamas official said on Thursday. The remaining 178 are likely to be deported to third countries or the Gaza Strip, if they are not from that territory, the official said. The deportations will be a blow to the prisoners' families, many of whom have waited decades to see their loved ones return home. Turkish media reported on Friday that Turkey will take in 40 Palestinian prisoners set for exile abroad, after Israel refused to deport them to Egypt, Lebanon or Syria. Hurriyet, a Turkish daily newspaper, said that about 200 detainees will be exiled, 40 detainees overseas and 163 sent to Gaza. A full list of the prisoners set to be released in the deal will be released to the public 48 hours before the exchange takes place. Phase one Tuesday is most likely to be the day that the 25-year-old Israeli will return home, a spokeswoman for the Shalit family said, giving the highest level indication so far of the exchange's timing. Benny Gantz, the Israeli military chief of staff, had notified the Shalits of the date late on Thursday evening in their home in northern israel, Tami Shienkman, the spokeswoman, told the AP news agency. "If everything goes smoothly, on Tuesday he will be home,'' Shienkman said. However, Gantz warned that unexpected events could delay the deal, she added. Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, also said that the swap would take place on Tuesday "If God is willing, we have an appointment with a great Palestinian national wedding, a historical moment, this coming Tuesday,'' Haniyeh said in a speech during Friday prayers in Gaza. Nearby, workers were erecting a large stage where prisoners would be honoured after their release. Debating the swap Israeli police arrested a man on Friday on suspicion of of defacing a memorial to assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, in an apparent protest against the impending Palestinian prisoner swap, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The man was the son of a couple killed in a Jerusalem pizzeria suicide bombing in 2001, Rosenfeld said. Television footage from the scene showed the memorial covered in white paint and a man spraying graffiti on a wall calling for Rabin's killer to be freed and bearing the words "price tag" -- a slogan associated with hard-line Jewish West Bank settlers. Hamas's list of prisoners slated for release, include two Palestinians who helped carry out the attack that killed 15 people. Ahlam Tamimi, a Palestinian woman serving a life sentence for driving the suicide bomber to the pizzeria, is expected to be released and sent into exile to Jordan as part of the Shalit deal. The public debate in Israel over releasing such a large number of convicted Palestinians in exchange for one person. Many of those opposed to the deal are relatives of people killed in attacks who say the freed prisoners will wage similar assaults.

History Historical Significance: Linking Past to Present Jerusale throughout the Ages The British Mandate (1917-1948) The 1948 Arab-Israeli War - Al-Nakba Israeli Occupation 1967 Israeli Policies Since 1967 Legal Status Jerusalem in Negotiations Population Demographic Features Palestinian Neighborhoods in Israeli-Annexed East Jerusalem The PA Jerusalem Governorate Residency Rights Housing and House Demolitions Land and Settlement Israeli Settlements in East Jerusalem Recent settlement activities: Israel’s Separation Barrier around the City - The ‘Jerusalem Envelope’ The Old City Al-Haram Ash-Sharif Settlers in and around the Old City Israeli Municipal Policies Municipal Budget, Taxation and Infrastructure Education History Historical Significance: Linking Past to Present Throughout its 50,000 years of history, Jerusalem has continued to thrive as an important political and cultural center, and a house of faith for the three monotheistic religions. This city has withstood many wars and conflicts, and despite some turbulent events in its past, has still retained a peaceful image of unity and sacredness. However, due to its added importance as a political symbol and a geographic center in the region, it has aroused great struggle over who has the exclusive right of its possession. Its recent history, borne out of the Arab-Israeli conflict, has fueled a long dispute over its future, and has rendered Jerusalem a vital but unresolved question in Middle East politics. Till today, the city remains the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The overruling political powers have employed continuous and well-planned strategies of territorial, demographic, religious, and property claims in order to maintain control over the city’s sovereignty. Jerusalem throughout the Ages Throughout the ages, Jerusalem has had its prosperous times of co-existence and justice as well as some dark periods of oppressive rule and bloodshed. It remained under the rule of the Eastern Roman Emperor from 400 AD until it opened its doors to the Caliph Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, to whom the keys of Jerusalem were handed over by the Patriarch Safronios in 638 AD. The Muslim Caliph granted the citizens of the city, the status of “protected people” or dhimis, which gave them the freedom to practice their religion. It was Omar who permitted Jews to return to Jerusalem, five centuries after their expulsion by Hadrian. This was a period in which harmony and tolerance reigned. A darker period ensued at the beginning of the 11thth Century, when the Egyptian Caliph Al-Hakim persecuted Christians and Jews, and destroyed the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. A later conquest of the city by the Seljuk Turks caused many oppressive reprisals on the inhabitants of the city. The Crusaders (“Al-Firanja”), after capturing Jerusalem in 1099, massacred Muslims and Jews, and turned Jerusalem into a Christian city where non-Christians were not permitted to live. In 1187, Salah Eddin restored Jerusalem’s true role; he left the Holy Sepulcher open to Christians and reopened the city in 1192 for pilgrimage. Again, following the fall of Jerusalem to Fredrick II in 1229 the city was forbidden to Muslims and Jews, and in 1244 the city came under the rule of Egypt. The Mamluks governed Jerusalem from Cairo (1260-1516) and were followed by the Ottomans (1516-1918). The Mamluks and the Ottomans transformed the city’s physical attributes, endowing it with splendid religious monuments. The Ottomans built the walls and gates of the Old City (1537-1541) and renovated the Dome of the Rock. The city then remained under Islamic-Arab rule until it was captured by the Crusaders in 1099 AD. Christian rule lasted until 1187 AC when Salah Eddin re-conquered the city, which then was ruled by the Ayyubids until being recaptured by the Crusaders in 1129. Some 15 years later, the Muslims under the Turkish Rule, regained Jerusalem and the city remained in their hands until 1917. writings The British Mandate (1917-1948) Following the 1915 Hussein-McMahon correspondence and the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement concerning the future political status of the Arab lands of the Middle East, General Edmund Allenby’s troops and the Arab Revolt defeated the Turks. Jerusalem was captured on 9 Dec. 1917; under the British Mandate (1917-1948), it was recognized as the administrative and political capital of Palestine. A municipality was formed with a balanced share of power between the three monotheistic religions. In April 1920, the San Remo Conference awarded administration of the former Ottoman territories of Syria and Lebanon to France, and Palestine, Transjordan and Mesopotamia (Iraq) to Britain. On 24 July 1922, the League of Nations Council approved the Mandate for Palestine without the consent of Palestinians (the terms of the Mandate became official on 29 Sept. 1923). Palestinian resistance against British rule created pressure on the Mandate authorities to seek the assistance of the United Nations for an immediate solution. The British issued laws that prevented Jewish immigration to Palestine (White Paper). These laws infuriated the Zionist organizations in Palestine and pressured the British to allow more Jewish immigration. The Arabs also resisted the British, feeling that the British have replaced Turkish oppressive rule, and thus continued uprisings and revolts against the British (1921, 1923, and 1936). The British, however, were not consistent in their restrictions of Jewish immigration, and extensively supported Zionist groups in their attacks against Arabs. As the British prepared to withdraw from Palestine in 1947, the UN Partition Plan (Res. 181), proposed by the UN Special Com­mittee on Palestine (UNSCOP), recommended the partition of man Palestine into an Arab State and a Jewish State, and that "The City of Jerusalem (extending to Bethlehem) shall be established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime and shall be administered by the United Nations.” The city’s boundaries were to include the present (1947) municipality of Jerusalem plus the surrounding villages and towns. [At the time, Jerusalem - the Old City and Palestin­ian neighbor­hoods such as Tal­biyeh, Baq’a, and Katamon southwest of the city - was sur­rounded by 66 Palestinian villages (e.g., Deir Yassin, Lifta, Malha, Ein Ka­rem), while the mainly ultra-orthodox Jewish population was concentrated in part of the Old City and neighborhoods north-west of it.] However, this plan was never implemented and at the end of the 1948-49 war, Jerusalem found itself divided between Israel and Transjordan. map Prior to the 1948 War, Pales­tinians formed the over­whelming majority in the Jerusalem district and owned most of the land. The last British Sur­vey of Palestine (Dec. 1946) made the following demo­graphic esti­mates: Population of Jerusalem in Sub-Districts Palestinians 65,010 150,590 Jews 99,320 102,520 Other 110 160 Total 164,440 253,270 UN Partition Plan, 29 Nov. 1947 (Res. 181) Property Ownership 1948: West Jerusalem Jerusalem Sub-District Western Villages statistics (Source: A Survey of Palestine, Britain, 1946; Sami Hadawi, Palestinian Rights and Losses in 1948. London, 1988. NB: ‘Public’ includes land owned by Palestinian religious institutions and government land.) The Palestinians rejected the Partition reso­lution. On 14 May 1948 the Jewish Agency declared the estab­lishment of the State of Israel in the part of Palestine allo­cated to the Jews in UN Res. 181.These events culminated in the first Arab-Israeli War. The balance of power was very unequal with a well-equipped and trained Zion­ist army fight­ing against poorly armed Palestinian re­sis­tance groups, and many Pales­tinian civil­ians fled in panic after Jewish forces com­mitted a series of massacres in their vil­lages. Before the entry of the Arab armies, the Zionist forces launched two offensives - one from Tel Aviv and one from Jerusalem itself (Dec. 1947-May 1948) - which resulted in the conquest of West Jerusalem and the corridor leading to the coast - in violation of the UN Partition Resolution. Until today the international community, incl. the US, has never explicitly recognized Israeli sovereignty over even West Jerusalem. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War - Al-Nakba While Arabs refer to the 1948 War as Al-Nakba (“the catastrophe”), Israelis call it the War of Independence. During the course of the War of 1948, Jewish forces captured much of the territory as­signed to the proposed Arab state, incl. 85% of Jerusalem (mainly in the city’s western part and surrounding neighborhoods). The Jordanian Arab Legion took control of the West Bank, in­cl. 11% of the eastern part of Jerusalem (in­cl. the Old City and adjacent villages).The remaining 4% of the Jerusalem area was considered no-man's land in which the UN headquarters were established. Some 64,000-80,000 Palestinians were forcibly driven out of the west part of Je­ru­salem and the villages in the immedi­ate vicinity. In June 1948, their property (incl. 10,000 homes, furniture and busi­nesses) came under the control of the Israeli ‘Cus­todian of Absentee Property’ (Cat­tan, H. Jeru­salem, New York, 1981). Some 40 Pal­es­tinian villages in and around Jerusa­lem were depopulated and many of them destroyed. news The 1949 ceasefire/armistice agree­ment be­tween Jordan and Israel for­mally divided the city into Jor­danian-con­trolled East and Israeli-con­trolled West Jeru­salem. In 1950, the Israeli govern­ment passed the ‘Absentee Property Law’, which trans­ferred the own­ership of ‘left’ prop­erty to the Jewish state. This event marks the first division of Jerusalem into East and West Jerusalem. On 2 Feb. 1949, Israeli PM David Ben-Gurion uni­later­ally declared that Israeli-held (West) Jerusa­lem was no longer oc­cupied terri­tory but an integral part of the Israeli state, and on 13 Dec. 1949, West Jerusalem was illegally de­clared the capital of Israel. On 19 Dec. 1949, the UN General Assem­bly voted for Res. 303, restat­ing its intention to place Je­rusa­lem under a per­manent inter­na­tional regime, which should envis­age ap­propri­ate guarantees for the pro­tec­tion of the Holy Places, both within and outside Jerusalem, and confirm the provi­sions of the Partition Reso­lution 181 of 1947. However, this plan was never to be implemented. Partitioned Jerusalem partitioned Jerusalem Israeli Occupation 1967: hebron Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, incl. East Jerusalem, in the course of the June War of 1967. Ever since, Israeli objec­tives and policies re­garding Jerusalem have followed a clear pattern: to establish irre­versi­ble facts in the city that allow Israel to secure and maintain exclusive control. Im­medi­ately after the June War of 1967, the Israeli government began to redefine the municipal boundaries of both parts of Jerusalem. The Arab East Jerusalem mu­nici­pal bounda­ries, comprising 6.5 km2, were expanded through the annexation of an ad­ditional 70 km2 (70,000 dunums) of East Jeru­salem and some 28 sur­round­ing vil­lages into the State of Israel's ter­ritory (added to the 38,000 dunums of West Jeru­sa­lem at the time) (B’Tselem. A Policy of Discrimination. Jerusalem, 1995) The new mu­nicipal boundaries, now em­bracing 108 km2 (East and West Jerusalem) and represent­ing an area of 28% of the West Bank, were de­signed to se­cure geo­graphic in­tegrity and a demo­graphic Jewish majority in both parts of the city. Thus, many Pal­es­tin­ian populated areas such as Ar-Ram, Abu Dis, Izzariya and Qalandia Camp were ex­cluded. On 28 June 1967, the Knesset amended the Law of 1950, which pro­claimed Jerusa­lem as Israel's capital, to extend illegally Israeli jurisdiction to the eastern part of the city. One of the first moves after the war was the forceful eviction of over 6,000 Palestini­ans from the Old City’s Mughrabi Quarter and the de­struction of their houses (num­bering at least 135) in order to create a plaza in front of Al-Buraq (Western Wall). On 4 July 1967, UN General Assembly Res. 2253 called upon Israel to “rescind all meas­ures taken (and) to desist forthwith from taking any action which would alter the status of Jeru­salem.” In total disregard of the reso­lution, Israel confiscated over 25,870 dunums of Pales­tinian land in Jerusa­lem in the first three years of occupation alone (UN. Report of the Security Council Commission, Nov. 1980 – S-14268). Israeli Policies Since 1967 ma Israel’s strategies regarding Jerusalem, enacted at municipal level with the uncon­ditional sup­port of the na­tional govern­ment, were mas­terminded by former mayor Teddy Kollek whose plans and poli­cies, which are enthusi­astically carried out until this day, were driven by the idea of cutting ‘Greater Jeru­salem' off from the West Bank and facilitating its an­nexa­tion to Israel proper. The Israeli strategy of 'Judaization' has involved colonization of the Old City and its immediate and extended sur­roundings, and the building of sub­urbs with new road links in order to popu­late heavily the met­ropoli­tan area of annexed East Jerusalem. Pal­es­tin­ian-owned land was referred to as va­cant or unused in order to jus­tify expro­priation and to block Pal­es­tinian develop­ment and hous­ing to drive Pales­tinians out of the city. As stipu­lated in the Land Or­di­nance; Acqui­si­tion Public Pur­poses of 1943, the Israeli Finance Minister was au­thorized to issue ex­propria­tion orders for pri­vately owned land if a ‘public pur­pose’ existed, which had sim­ply to be defined as such by the Finance Minis­ter. Between 1967-1996 some 23,500 dunums were ex­propri­ated from Pales­tini­ans in Jerusalem under this ordi­nance (B’Tse-lem. A Policy of Discrimination. Jerusalem, 1995). On 30 July 1980, the Israeli govt. reaf­firmed the 1967 de facto annexation and de­clared Jerusa­lem the ‘eternal undivided capital’ of Israel through its Basic Law on Jerusalem. Constituting a harsh vio­lation of in­terna­tional law and the Fourth Geneva Conven­tion, it was con­demned by UNSC Res. 478 (20 Aug. 1980), which declared “that all legislative and ad­ministrative meas­ures and actions taken by Israel, the occu­pying power, which have altered or purport to alter the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusa­lem, and, in particular, the recent ‘Basic Law’ on Jerusalem, are null and void and must be rescinded forth­with.” Legal Status Under international law, East Jerusalem is occupied territory, which means that the Fourth Geneva Convention is applicable and Israel has no claim to East Jerusalem by virtue of having taken control of it militarily. The international community rejects Israel’s claim to both West and East Jerusalem as its “eternal undivided capital” and has consistently denounced Israeli attempts to change the status of the city. Those attempts and Israel’s ongoing policies and practices in the city violate the Fourth Geneva Convention as well as International Covenants and Conventions (e.g., the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Right, the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination). In dozens of resolutions the UN has repeatedly emphasized the illegitimacy of Jerusalem’s annexation and that Jerusalem is an integral part of the Occupied Territories. Under Israeli law, the legal status of East Jerusalem is different from that of the rest of the territories occupied in 1967, which are under military occupation. As permanent residents, Jerusalem Palestinians are entitled to certain benefits denied to Palestinians from the rest of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They are not subjected to the same restrictions on movement as imposed on other Palestinians. They are also entitled to health insurance and other social welfare benefits as all other Israeli residents. However, they are subject to discriminatory laws and policies intended to reduce the Palestinian population in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem ID: The Jerusalem ID was issued to Palestinian Jerusalemites in 1967 who had refused the offer of the Israeli citizenship after the annexation of East Jerusalem. Acceptance of citizenship in Israel would have required Palestinians to take an oath of allegiance to the Israeli state. Most Palestinians refused and opposed this “annexation policy”. Upon this refusal, the Israeli authorities decided to acknowledge Palestinians living in Jerusalem as residents and issue “Jerusalem Identity Cards” for them. The meaning of the cards remained unclear until the term “permanent residents” was used in reference to Palestinian Jerusalemites. (see also Chapter on Residency Rights below). id Jerusalem in Negotiations Peace Talks in Madrid in Oct. 1991 delayed settling the issue of Jerusalem to “the final status negotiations”, because Israel refused to accept it on the agenda of the negotiations. Furthermore, Israel also demanded that the Palestinian delegation to the peace talks not include representatives from Jerusalem. Neither the “official” talks in Washington during 1992-93 nor the Sept. 1993 Declaration of Principles, resulting from the secret Oslo talks, or any of the subsequent Oslo Accords (of May 1994 and Sept. 1995) added any significant momentum to the issue of Jerusalem. Only “The Framework for the Conclusion of a Final Status Agreement” (better known as Abu Mazen-Beilin Agreement), which was drawn up by then PLO Sec.-Gen. Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Deputy FM Yossi Beilin in Oct. 1995 (but was denied its existence for five years) dared to draft concrete proposals for the solution of the Jerusalem Question, incl. dividing the city, with Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem becoming part of the Palestinian state, the capital of which would be Abu Dis, and Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem being part of Israel. The first time the issue of Jerusalem was officially tackled in negotiations, however, was only in the July 2000 Camp David Summit, where the Israeli side, led by PM Ehud Barak, “offered” the Palestinians, led by Pres. Yasser Arafat, re­sponsibilities over some neighborhoods in Jerusalem (mainly in the north of the city), and where plans for the joint admini­stration of the Old City were discussed. However, Israeli demands that Palestinians recognize its settlements established within the WJM boundaries as well as the historic and religious relationship of the Jews to the Haram Ash-Sharif and thus their right to share “sovereignty” over the site, was unacceptable and led, inter alia, to the failure of the Camp David Summit. After the breakdown of those talks, negotiations continued between the two sides and gaps between the parties on various issues were narrowed. In a last ditch effort, US Pres. Clinton offered his "Parameters" to Israeli and Palestinian negotia­tors at a meeting in the White House on 23 Dec. 2000, to serve as guidelines for final accelerated negotiations, which, he hoped, could be concluded in the coming weeks before he would leave office in Jan. 2001. Both sides eventually accepted those parameters, though with questions and reservations, and they laid the foundation for the Jan. 2001 Taba talks that took place in before the election of Ariel Sharon in Feb. 2001 that effectively ended the peace process. With regard to Jeru­salem, Clinton’s general principle was “that Arab areas are Palestinian and Jewish ones are Israeli”, that “maximum contigu­ity for both sides” should be created, and that the Haram Ash-Sharif/”Temple Mount” was less an administrative than a symbolic issue of sovereignty and should be treated as such. Since then, peace initiatives included the 2002 Saudi peace plan, the Quartet’s Road Map (2003) and the Geneva Docu­ment (2003), which, however, have all failed to bring the issue of Jerusalem any closer to a solution. Meanwhile, Israel continues to create facts on the ground, which further obstruct, if not have made impossible, a viable solution for the city. Population Since 1967 there has been a clear strategy employed by the Israeli government to limit the number of Palestinians living in Jerusalem. Immediately after the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967, the Israeli government conducted a census that counted 66,000 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem within the new municipal borders (44,000 in pre-1967 East Jerusa­lem and 22,000 in the area newly annexed by Israel). While these Palestinians were classified as permanent residents of Jeru­salem (according to the Law of Entry into Israel 1952, Entry to Israel Regulations 1974), those who were not re­corded due to absence – whether studying abroad, visiting relatives else­where, etc. – had later to apply for family reunification to the Ministry of the Interior (see Residency Rights). In 1967, the population ratio in the city - according to Israeli records - was 25.8% Arabs and 74.2% Jews (Jerusa­lem Institute of Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 2005). Ever since 1967, the Israeli government has encouraged Jews to settle in East Jerusalem and has provided numerous incentives such as favorable apartment purchase terms, subsidies, and exemption from municipal taxes (or reduced rates) for certain periods. As a result, the settlers in East Jerusalem comprise an es­timated 75-80% of the total in­crease in Jerusalem's Jewish population since 1967. Nevertheless, by 2005, the population ratio had changed in favor of the Palestinian population with 33.0% Arabs to 66.0% Jews (Jerusalem Institute of Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 2005). The Jerusalem Institute of Israel Studies counts a total population of 719,900 for the end of 2005 (=10.3% of Israel’s total population), of which 475,100 were Jews and 244,800 Palestinians (the remainder being “others”, for details see table overleaf). One-third of the Jewish residents are ultra-Orthodox. In late 2004, some 176,153 were listed as “Jewish residents in East Jerusalem.” (Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook, 2005). According to the Israeli CBS, the population of the Jerusalem district was 851,400 at the end of 2005, incl. 582,700 Jews and 235,500 Arabs. bab Palestinian figures are much higher – around 250,000 by the end of 2004 (PLO-NAD, Israel’s Wall, July 2005) - although it is estimated that at least a third of the Palestinian Jerusalem ID card holders reside outside the city in nearby West Bank towns. The PCBS estimates the Palestinian population in the Jerusalem Governorate at 402,712 at the end of 2005, incl. 251,289 living in Israeli-annexed Jerusalem. Jerusalem’s Arab popu­lation is growing much faster – about three times - than the Jewish popula­tion, which is growing even slower than the rest of Israel (see graph overleaf). For the past few years, the city has witnessed a net loss of Jewish residents. Some 313,000 Jews have left Jerusalem between 1980-2005, 105,000 more than those who moved to the city during the same period. (Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, quoted in Ha’aretz, 15 Sept. 2006). In 2005 alone, 16,200 people left the city, and 10,400 moved in (resulting in an inter­nal migration balance of -5.800). In addition, the Palestinian popula­tion is significantly younger than the Jewish. In 2004, the median age for Jews & others was 25.4, it was only 19.3 for Arabs (see also table below). Annual Growth Rates (%) by Population Group and Area figure (Source: Jerusalem Institute of Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem 2004-05). According to the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, some 59% of Jerusalem residents (or 413,300 people: 182,000 Jews and 231,300 Arabs), live in areas of the city that came under Israeli rule after the 1967 War. Thus, some 59% of all residents in the city live in illegally annexed East Jerusalem, 44% of whom are Jewish settlers, constituting 39% of the city’s Jewish population. (Ha’aretz, 24 May 2006). Some 105,000 Jews live in West Bank areas considered part of the metropolitan Jerusalem area, mainly in Ma'ale Adumim, Betar Illit, Gush Etzion, and Givat Ze'ev. (Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, quoted in Ha’aretz, 24 May 2006). According to the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies and the Israeli Defense Ministry, approx. 90,000 Palestinians East Jerusalemites (Israeli identity card holder), lived outside the city's municipal boundaries before the separation barrier was built. Since construction began, tens of thousands of them have been moving back into the city, as a result of which housing prices have soared. (Ha’aretz, 6 Oct. 2005). Demographic Features Jews & Others Palestinians Total Total Population (2005) of which - settlers in East Jerusalem - Jews - Muslims - Christians 475,100 (66.0%) ca. 180,000 464,300 (64.5%) 244,800 (33.0%) 232,300 (32.3%) 14,900 (2.1%) 719,900 Population Growth Rates (%) 2005 - total 1967-2002 1.2 132.3 3.3 223.3 1.9 155.7 Population ratio 2005 (%) Projected ratios 2010/15/20 66.0 64.6 / 62.2 / 61.2 33.0 35.4 / 37.8 / 38.8 100 Population by age (2005) in % - 0-14 yrs. - 15-44 yrs. - 45-64 yrs. - 65+ yrs. Jews only: 31.4 40.9 17.0 10.8 41.8 (Muslims:42.8, Christians: 21.4) 44.1 (Muslims:43.9, Christians: 45.9) 10.9 (Muslims:10.4, Christians: 20.5) 3.5 (Muslims:2.9, Christians: 13.1) 34.7 42.1 15.0 8.3 Birth Rate (2002 - birth per 1,000 pop.) 24.7 31.8 27.1 Fertility Rate (2002) 3.8 4.1 3.9 Internal Migration Balance (2004) -5,800 -5,800 It is against the background of such demographic development that the Israeli government has used various methods to counter the trend, incl. drafting various plans to expand the municipal boundaries; isolating East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank through its settlement policies and by building the separation barrier; discriminating in land expropriation, planning, and building, and demolition of houses; revoking residency and social benefits of Palestinians; dividing the municipal budget in favor of the west part of the city, with harmful effects on infrastructure and services in East Jerusalem. Palestinian Neighborhoods in Israeli-Annexed East Jerusalem Neighborhood Area in dunums Popula­tion Remarks At-Tur 1,745 21,379 Pop. includes Sawaneh Ath-Thori 1,736 14,230 includes Hirbet Beit Sahur Jabal Mukabber 2,949 15,347 incl. Arab As-Sawahreh, except area Al-Issawiyya 2,394 11,463 Bab Az-Zahrah 823 6,458 includes Nablus Road area Beit Hanina 5,294 23,824 Beit Safafa 1,577 7,814 pop. incl. Sharafat, Zuhu and Der Karmizan Sheikh Jarrah 711 2,754 Shu’fat 2,546 33,693 incl. Shu’fat Camp (347 dunums) excl. Anatot industrial area (1,731 dunums) Silwan 537 10,755 Sur Baher/Im Tuba 5,333 12,885 Wadi Al-Joz 347 7,666 Old City 900 35,894 incl. Jewish Quarter and 3,932 Jews Arab As-Sawahreh 2,342 incl. in Jabel Al-Mukabber incl. Um Leisan Wadi Hilweh 506 4,257 Kufr Aqab 2,441 11,350 pop. incl. Atarot Industrial Zone Ras Al-Amud 1,262 14,227 area includes Wadi Qadum Sharafat 8,939 incl. in Beit Safafa incl. Zuhur, Der Karmizan Sawaneh 851 Pop. included in At-Tur Due to Israel’s restrictive policies, there is a large housing shortage for Palestinians in the city; housing densities are accordingly unequal: while the average number of persons per household is 5.2 on the Palestinian side, it is only 3.3 in the Jewish areas. 45.5% of Palestinians live in households of 6 persons and more, while only 13.5% Jews do. Reversely, while 46.8% of Jews live in households consisting of 1 or 2 people, only 14.6% of Palestinians do (Jerusalem Institute of Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 2005). The PA Jerusalem Governorate The Jerusalem governorate of the PA has different district boundaries than the Israeli municipal area of Jerusalem, which includes illegally and unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem. Consequently, the statistical areas both sides refer to differ in scope and range. The map on the right shows the PA governorate in dark and the Israeli municipal area in lighter shade. The total land area of the Jerusalem governorate comprises 319,790 dunums, 117,551 of which are located within the part that was annexed by Israel in 1967. map According to the PCBS Census of Dec. 1997, 323,837 Pales­tini­ans were living in the Jeru­salem Gov­er­norate, 210,209 of whom resided inside the Israeli municipal boundaries and 113,628 outside. The numbers projected for 2007 were 420,409 (governorate), 259,896 (inside) and 160,513 (outside), the latter of which being distributed as follows: Estimated Palestinian Population - Jerusalem Governorate, excl. Israeli-Annexed East Jerusalem, 2007 Locality Pop. 2007 Built-up area Locality Pop. 2007 Built-up area Abu Dis Al-Izzariyya Sawahreh Ash-Sharqiya Sheikh Sa’ad Az-Za’yim Anata Biddu Nabi Samwil Jab’a Al-Judeira Dahiet Al-Barid Ar-Ram Al-Jib Al-Qubeia Beit Ijza Beit Iksa 12,648 18,170 5,441 2,513 2,568 10,048 6,650 228 3,382 2,215 26,730 4,848 2,160 700 1,639 2,033 2,101 1,307 387 287 1,275 1,601 104 342 288 3,178 475 477 379 279 Beit Hanina Al-Balad Beit Diqqu Beit Surik Beit ‘Anan Bir Nabala Hizma Kharayeb Im Al-Lahm Rafat Qatanna Qalandia Qalandia Camp Kufr Aqab Mikhmas Bedouins (Jahalin, Tajamu) Others Total 1,447 1,671 3,987 4,453 6,360 6,367 389 2,218 7,829 1,205 9,466 10,873 1,962 2,277 65 160,513 393 450 777 1,545 1,158 644 5 447 2,740 190 320 1,922 406 -- 24,510 (Source: PCBS, Jerusalem Statistical Yearbook, no. 8, 2006.) The average household size in the Jerusalem Governorate was 5.3 in 2005, compared to 5.9 in the remaining WBGS. In the Governorate, the average number of rooms is 3.7, in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem 3.1. Some 14.8% of the households in the Governorate comprise of 3 or more persons, whereas this is the case with 18.1% of the households in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem 3.0. The average housing density (persons per room) is 1.8 in the Governorate. (Source: PCBS, Jerusalem Statistical Yearbook, no. 8, 2006.) Residency Rights Israeli demographic strategies vis-à-vis Pales­tinian Jerusalemites - such as restric­tive residency and housing policies - aim at both sepa­rating them from the Palestini­ans in the West Bank and driv­ing them out of the city in order to secure a long-term Jewish majority. Until this day, any Palestinian who is not classified by the Israeli government as a permanent resident of East Jerusalem - incl. spouses, children and other relatives of East Jerusalem permanent residents - must apply for family reunification to reside legally there. The decision to grant or deny these applications is, according to Israeli Law, ultimately at the discretion of the Interior Minister, who is not required to justify refusal. Israel applies a number of discriminatory methods to control the number of Palestinians who legally re­side in the city. The confiscation of ID cards under bureau­cratic pretexts is one of these. Instrumental in this are the 1952 Law of Entry to Israel and the 1974 Entry to Israel Regulations, both of which regulate resi­dence in Israel. The following restrictive provisions do not apply to Jewish permanent residents or Israeli citizens but only to Palestinian Jerusalemites. Those who: wish to travel abroad must obtain an Is­raeli re-entry visa; otherwise, they lose their right of return; hold or apply for residency/citizenship elsewhere lose their residency right in Jerusalem; this policy relates to a Dec. 1995 decision by the Interior Ministry to make permanent residency status depending on proofs of whether one’s "center of life" was within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. Over some 3,000 individuals lost their ID cards on those grounds between 1995-99. In March 2000, then Interior Min. Sharansky submitted an affidavit to the High Court of Justice, ceasing this policy and restoring some residency rights that had been revoked. live abroad for more than seven years lose their residency rights; in 1996, the Israeli government decided that any Jerusalemite who lives in the ‘territory’ (West Bank) more than seven years, would also cease to be an Israeli resident; want to register their children as Jerusalem residents can do so only if the father holds a valid Jerusa­lem ID card; as a consequence, there are countless cases of ‘unregis­tered’ children of couples liv­ing ‘illegally’ in Jerusalem - who are de­nied access to the city’s educational and health serv­ices - and of Jerusalemite women who are forced to leave the city. marry non-resident spouses (from the WBGS or abroad) must apply for family reunifi­cation in order to live le­gally with their spouses in Jerusalem. Most of these applications are turned down, with no need for justifi­cation. The Israeli policy of ‘quiet deportation’ in East Jerusalem – through court judgments, legal and administrative tactics – has resulted in the revocation of over 6,500 ID cards from Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem since 1967; this number does not include the dependent children of those who lost their ID cards. Year No. of revoked ID Cards Year No. of revoked ID Cards Year No. of revoked ID Cards Year No. of revoked ID Cards 1967 105 1977 35 1987 23 1997 1,067 1968 395 1978 36 1988 2 1998 788 1969 178 1979 91 1989 32 1999 411 1970 327 1980 158 1990 36 2000 207 1971 126 1981 51 1991 20 Till April 2001 15 1972 93 1982 74 1992 41 2002 No Data 1973 77 1983 616 1993 32 2003 272 1974 45 1984 161 1994 45 2004 16 1975 54 1985 99 1995 91 1976 42 1986 84 1996 739 Total 6,396 Source: B’Tselem. http://www.btselem.org/English/Jerusalem/Revocation_Statistics.asp. The Interior Ministry reinstated the residency rights of 83 Palestinians in 2003 and of 16 Palestinians in 2004. In addition, Israel’s policy on residency in the Occupied Territories as always been restrictive: Israeli policy on residency in the Occupied Territories: 1967-2000 Period Policy Family unification requests approved Family unification Visitor's permits Child registration 1967- 1972 First-degree relatives who became refugees follow­ing the war, except for males aged 16-60, are allowed to return. Issued primarily for the summer months, up to three months. Renewal dependent on three-month waiting period (six months for Gaza) abroad. Up to age 16 for children regardless of place of birth, provided one of the parents is a resi­dent of the OPT. 45,000-50,000 per­sons, from a total of 140,000 requests. 1973- 1982 Strict confidential criteria. Unchanged. Unchanged. About 1,000 requests approved yearly. In early 1980s, 150,000 requests remain unan­swered. 1983- Aug. 1992 Requests are based on administrative and hu­manitarian needs. In 1985, the procedure is changed to require the subject of the family unification to remain abroad until approval of the request. As previously. Now visitor's per­mits were renewed at six-month intervals for the first High Court population (1990-31 Aug. 1992). In many cases, permits were issued for only one month. In 1991, relatives of non-members of the High Court population were required to deposit a NIS 5,000 guar­antee as a condition for issuing the permit. In 1987, a military order is issued prohibiting regis­tration of a child whose mother is a non-resident. A few hundred re­quests yearly. Sept. 1992- Oct. 1995 In Aug. 1993, Israel sets a quota of 2,000 requests a year. The requests of members of the first High Court population are not in­cluded in the quota. In 1994, the second High Court popu­lation alone is exempted from the re­quirement that the non-resident remain abroad while the request is being processed. As in previous years. In addition, granting of visi­tor's permits renewed every six months is approved for the second High Court population (1 Sept. 1992-31 Aug. 1993). In practice, many permits are issued for only one month. In January 1995, Israel cancels the 1987 military order, but the Civil Ad­ministration ignores the change. No more than 2,000 requests are approved yearly. Precise figures for each year are unavailable. Nov. 1995- 1997 Even after the Interim Agreement, Israel contin­ues to have power over requests. From Nov. 1995 to Aug. 1996, Israel freezes the proc­essing of requests by the first High Court popula­tion. Permits are conditioned on prior approval of Israel and are given for three months. The PA has the power to extend permits once for four months. Israel has power to renew permits for the first High Court popula­tion. From Nov. 1995 to Aug. 1996, Israel refuses to renew permits of the High Court populations. PA has power to register children under 16. Children over 16 must be handled through the family unifica­tion procedure. A few requests for the first High Court popu­lation are approved, from Aug. 1996 to the end of 1997. 1998- Sept. 2000 In 1998, the quota rises to 3,000 a year, and in 2000, to 4,000 requests a year. Unchanged. Unchanged. According to PA fig­ures, requests were approved up to the quota in effect, except for the year 2000, in which 3,600 were approved. Source: Perpetual Limbo: Israel's Freeze on Unification of Palestinian Families in the Occupied Territories, Jerusalem: B’Tselem and Hamoked - Center for the Defence of the Individual, July 2006. In Oct. 2000, several days after the outbreak of the second Intifada, Israel imposed a new policy: freeze on processing family unification requests. In May 2002, the Israeli govt. officially decided to stop processing all family unification applications submitted by non-Jerusalemite Palestinians. On 31 July 2003, the Knesset approved by a vote of 53 to 25 a bill to prevent Palestinians who marry Israeli citizens from receiving Israeli citizenship or permanent residency status, thus prohibiting them from residing in Israel or Jerusalem. The law is to become an amendment to a clause in the Citizenship Law relating to family unification (Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law - Temporary Order 2003) and applies retroactively. The pretext for this policy is ‘security’ though the real reason is demographically motivated: to prevent further increase of the Arab population in Israel. Also children born in the Occupied Territories to permanent residents of Israel are affected as they will only be recognized as Israeli residents upon an approved family unification application; however all such applications were frozen in May 2002. On 21 July 2004, the Knesset voted to extend the Citizenship Law by another six months. It was re-extended since, most recently on 14 May 2006, when the Israeli High Court upheld the law; the court’s president, Aharon Barak, had described the law as an infringement of human rights but was outvoted by six to five on the grounds that it was appropriate to limit human rights in order to enhance Israel's security. According to the latest version of the law only Palestinian women over the age of 25 and men over the age of 35 have the right to join their partners in Israel. It is estimated that if Israel would begin again to handle family unification requests and apply the quota set in 2000 (i.e., 4,000 a year), it would take at least 30 years (!) to process the more than 120,000 requests that have so far accumu­lated. (B’Tselem, Hamoked. Perpetual Limbo: Israel's Freeze on Unification of Palestinian Families in the Occupied Territories, 2006). (On the impact of the separation barrier on residency issues see also chapter 14.6 on Land & Settlement below.) Housing and House Demolitions Facts & Figures In June 1967, Israel unilaterally expanded the boundaries of Jerusalem by annexing some 70 km2 to the munici­pal boundaries of West Jerusalem. Some 24 km2 of the area were expropriated primarily to build new Jewish neighbor­hoods for which master plans were developed (covering 17.5 km2), while for the remaining 45 km2 no such plans exist. Only 5 km2 of the area for which master plans exist are allocated for Palestinian housing needs (about 8% of the total area of East Jerusalem; of these, only approx. 7.3% is available for residential and only some 0.6% for commercial and industrial construction. (IrShalem. East Jerusalem - The Current Planning Situation. A Survey of Municipal Plans and Plan­ning Policy, 1998.) As Israel’s policy in East Jerusalem is politically motivated, aimed at maintaining a Jewish majority in the city, it is very difficult for Palestinians to obtain building permits. It is estimated that some one-third of the buildings in East Jerusalem (some 10,000 houses) were built without permits and are thus ‘illegal’ under Israeli law, and that four out of every five houses built are illegal every year. (JSCER, Chronic Racial Discrimination in East Jerusalem, 2003.) house One of the main obstacles in obtaining building permits is that large areas of East Jerusalem land have been declared ‘unfit for building’ or as ‘green’ or ‘open space,’ where construction is forbidden. The same goes for areas allocated in Israeli future building plans for public buildings and in areas lacking infrastructure (e.g., roads, water and sewage). In addition, there is in many cases the difficulty of proving land ownership as Palestinians did not document their land ownership under Ottoman rule, the British Mandate, Jordanian or Israeli rule. A complicating factor is the fact that land is often owned by several inheritors some of whom are difficult to locate in order to obtain the required letter of approval. Another problem are the very high costs for issuing a building permit, paying direct and indirect taxes, engineers’ and planners’ fees and other charges levied by the WJM; those costs are often higher than the actual building costs. (JSCER, Chronic Racial Discrimination in East Jerusalem, 2003). Due to Israel’s restrictive policies, there is a large housing shortage for Palestinians in the city; housing densities are accordingly unequal: while the average number of persons per household is 5.3 on the Palestinian side, it is only 3.4 in the Jewish areas (Jerusalem Institute of Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 2004). Unlicensed - and thus ‘illegal’ - construction provides the WJM with a pretext to demolish Palestinian homes (over 2,500 since 1967). As a result of these dis­criminatory policies, thousands of Palestinian Jerusalem­ites live under severely over­crowded or similarly inadequate condi­tions. ICAHD reports that in 2005, Israeli forces destroyed 94 Palestinians homes in the city, and in 2006 (as of Nov.) 40, in addition to other structures, such as pirate gas stations. According to ICAHD, over there are over 10,000 outstanding demolition orders pending against Palestinian buildings in East Jerusalem, which can be enforced at any time without warning. B’Tselem’s statistics count 706 house demolitions in East Jerusalem in the period 1987-2005, incl. 104 in 2004, 94 in 2005 and 32 as of 31 Aug. 2006. Another source has these numbers for home demolitions and illegal construction in East Jerusalem: House demolitions, 1994-2005 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 WJM 7 15 6 9 12 17 11 32 36 66 128 76 Interior Ministry 22 10 11 7 18 14 7 9 7 33 24 18 Total 29 25 17 16 30 31 18 41 43 99* 152 94 * Excl. four homes in Silwan destroyed for “security reasons.” (Margalit, M. Discrimination in the Heart of the Holy City, ICCP, 2006) Illegal Construction in East Jerusalem, 2000-2004 Year Total residential apartments More than in preceding year Permits issued for buildings Illegal construction 2000 35,388 1,008 129 879 2001 36,821 1,433 110 1,323 2002 37,993 1,172 97 1,075 2003 39,428 1,435 59 1,376 2004 40,661 1,233 49 1,184 (Margalit, M. Discrimination in the Heart of the Holy City, ICCP, 2006) In 2004, the WJM demolished 53% of the illegal structures it located in East Jerusalem, compared to 26% in West Jerusalem. In the WJM implemented 95% of the demolition orders it issued against illegal structures in East Jerusalem, but only carried out 65% of those in West Jerusalem. Demolition in East Jerusalem concerns mostly residential buildings housing families, while in West Jerusalem mostly extensions, such as porches, are destroyed. Despite the ongoing demolition practice, according to Meir Margalit of ICAHD, municipal data shows that some 1,500 houses were added in East Jerusalem in 2005. (Ha’aretz, 17 May 2006). Discrimination in the Application of Israeli Law, 2004-2005 2004 2005 West Jerusalem East Jerusalem West Jerusalem East Jerusalem Infractions recorded 5,583 1,386 5,653 1,529 Charges brought 980 780 1,272 857 Admin. demolition orders 50 216 approx. 40 approx. 80 Actual demolitions 13 114 26 76 (Margalit, M. Discrimination in the Heart of the Holy City, ICCP, 2006) Another Israeli strategy to restrict Palestinian construction in East Jerusalem is the Town Plan­ning Scheme (TPS): without an approved TPS that complies with the infrastructural, zoning, and housing require­ments of the WJM’s planning goals, no building permits will be issued. TPSs are compre­hensive, costly and re­quire extensive coor­dination with the municipal authorities; their stipulations make it nearly impossible for Pal­es­tinians to obtain permits for development and housing plans. ruins It must be noted in this context that while Israeli settlements were growing, not a single new Palestinian neighborhood has been planned since 1967 and the size of the existing ones was reduced by spot zoning plans, which designated all adjacent land surrounding Palestinian built-up areas as ‘green areas’, where Palestinian construction is strictly prohibited Land and Settlement Land Control in East Jerusalem At least 66% of today’s Jerusalem is territory seized by force (5% of the old Jordanian municipality and 61% of former West Bank territory). Within this area, Israel has expropriated approx. 24,500 dunums - over one-third of the land illegally annexed to Jerusalem, most of which was privately owned by Palestinians - mainly to establish the 12 settlements existing today in the city. (B’Tselem, Land Grab, Draft Report. May 2002). These settlements - with a population of 185-200,000 - are intended to secure Israeli supe­riority over the entire Jeru­salem region. They form two rings around the city - the inner ring in East Jeru­salem and the outer ring (‘Greater Jeru­salem’) reaching far into the West Bank - isolating Arab East Jerusalem, cutting the West Bank in half, and imposing economic strangu­lation as the city is the natu­ral center for all trade and movement routes in the Palestinian Territories. Almost half of the area of Arab East Jerusalem has been slated as ‘Green Areas’, i.e., public space, on which construc­tion is not allowed. In fact, these areas serve as land reserves for set­tlements construction or expansion: formerly designated ‘Green Areas’ are rezoned to allow for Jewish building. The most recent case (1991) was Har Homa set­tlement, built on land (Jabel Abu Ghneim) classified as ‘Green Area’ since 1968. fig2 On 13 Sept. 2004 the WJM mayor Uri Lupo-lianski disclosed a Town Planning Scheme for “united Jerusalem,” known as Master Plan 2000, to serve as a mandatory map for land use and a blueprint for other municipal planning purposes until the year 2020. The ‘stated’ target of the plan is a city population made up of 70% Jews and 30% Palestinians, while the current trend suggest a population ration of 60:40 by 2020. Geographic and demographic manipulations to counter the trend and achieve the aim include the separation barrier which excludes over 150,000 Palestinians from municipal borders, the closure and house demolition policies, and expropriation of Palestinian land as well as of private property (through attempts to apply the 1950 Absentee Property Law). The plan provides for the establishment of more Jewish settlements and numerous other Jewish public institutions, while hampering Palestinian development and contributing to the further isolation of Palestinian suburbs. Land Expropriation in East Jerusalem Neighborhood Date of expropriation Amount of land taken (dunums) Size of neighborhood (dunums) French Hill & Mt. Scopus 8 Jan. 1968 3,345 2,019 Ramot Eshkol & Givat Hamivhar 8 Jan. 1968 588 Ma'alot Dafna (East) 8 Jan. 1968 485 380 Neve Ya'akov 14 April 1968/30 Aug. 1970 765 / 470 1,759 Old City (Jewish Quarter) 14 April 1968 116 122 Ramot Alon 30 Aug. 1970 4,840 2,066 Shu'afat 30 Aug. 1970 2,240 No Data East Talpiyot 30 Aug. 1970 1,196 Gilo 30 Aug. 1970 2,700 2,859 'Atarot (incl. the airport) 30 Aug. 1970/1 July 1982 1,200 / 137 3,327 Ben-Hinnom Valley 30 Aug. 1970 130 - Jaffa Gate 30 Aug. 1970 100 - Ramat Rachel area 30 Aug. 1970 600 264 Pisgat Ze'ev 20 March 1980 4,400 5,468 Har Homa 16 May 1991 1,850 2,523 Total 23,378 22,571 Source: B’Tselem. http://www.btselem.org/English/Jerusalem/Land_Expropriation_Statistics.asp Israeli Settlements in East Jerusalem Settlement Year Es­t. On Land belonging to Area in dunums Popula­tion Pop. Density/ (person/dunum) Ramot Eshkol 1968 Lifta 985 6,139 6.2 Ramot Allon 1973 Beit Iksa, Lifta, Beit Hanina 4,979 40,027 8.0 Neve Ya’acov 1972 Hizma, Beit Hanina 1,759 20,218 11.5 Pisgat Ze’ev 1985 Hizma, Beit Hanina 5,468 40,665 7.4 Atarot 1970 Qalandia, Beit Hanina 3,327 - - East Talpiot 1973 Sur Baher 1,196 12,238 10.2 Gilo 1971 Sharafat, Beit Jala, Malha 2,859 27,309 9.6 Mt. Scopus 1968 Shu’fat, Issawiyya, At-Tur 1,048 1,205 1.2 Givat Shapira 1968 Shu’fat, Issawiyya 970 6,630 6.8 Ramat Shlomo 1994 Shu’fat 1,126 13,888 12.3 Givat HaMatos 1991 Beit Safafa, Beit Jala 310 429 1.4 Har Homa 1991 Um Tuba, Sur Baher 2,523 2,925 1.2 (Source: Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 2002/03 and 2005; except column three: PCBS.) Recent settlement activities: (see also the Old City/Jerusalem Maps in this Diary’s map section) ‘Givat’ or ‘Nov Yael’ – launched in June 2004 to eventually provide 13,600 housing units for some 60,000 settlers on 2,000 dunums of land near Walaja village close to Bethlehem (inside and beyond the WJM border) with the aim to link Jerusalem and the Etzion bloc. Construction in ‘Nof Zion’ in Jabel Mukabber begun in 2004, continues; first occupancy is expected in Spring 2007. ‘Kidmat Zion’ is being built (planned are 200 housing units) on some 1,000 dunums in Abu Dis next to the separation barrier. Two new houses have already been turned over to settlers. Israel recently handed de facto control of the national park that surrounds the Old City on its south and east – incl. the many religious and historic sites it contains - to the extremist settler group El Ad. Another national park northeast of the Old City will soon be placed under the control of Jewish extremists. Har Homa area: The Ministry of Housing and Construction has begun planning a new settlement south of the Mar Elias Monastery, west of Har Homa. In addition, a new residential area (‘Hirbat Mazmuria’) is being planned east of Har Homa, aiming at extending Har Homa up to the WJM border. (Ir Amim, Continuation of the Annexation Under Cover of the Disengagement from Gaza, Aug. 2005) recent Ma'ale Adumim and E-1: Israel’s separation barrier is built some 15 km into the West Bank in order to include the entire Adumim settlement bloc (approx. 47 km2). In addition, Israel recently announced plans to more than triple the current size of Ma'ale Adumim by developing the 12 km2 area (“E-1 Plan”, incl. 3,500 housing units for up to 20,000 settlers, hotels, an industrial park, commercial and entertainment buildings) in order to connect it to Jerusalem. With its current eastward expansion and the planned construction, a Palestinian state will be practically impossible as the West Bank will be cut into two – thus preventing territorial contiguity - and the last area of undeveloped access will be taken, thus preventing any meaningful Palestinian capital in the city. (PLO NAD, Israel's Wall, July 2005). Construction of the new “Judea and Samaria District Police” building in the E1 area between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim has commenced on 14 dunums of land on 14 March 2006. In July 2005, the right-wing 'Bukharan Community Committee' and Israel Police (through National Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi) signed an “exchange deal” according to which the Committee will build the new police station in the E1 area and receive, in return, the current police building, located in Ras Al-Amud, to use it for residential purposes, i.e., incorporate it to the adjacent Ma’ale Zaytim settlement, which is expected to double in size (Ha’aretz, 26 April 2006). Plans are underway to establish a new Jewish settlement - 90 apartments, a synagogue and kindergarten - around the Shepherd's Hotel in Sheikh Jarrah between the National Police HQ and the Hyatt Hotel. A construction request was submitted to the WJM in late Oct. 2005. The land in question was apparently acquired by Jewish millionaire Irwin Moskowitz in 1985. (Ha’aretz, 3 Nov. 2005). In March 2006 settlers took over a compound in Silwan, consisting of three buildings, from which 30 members of the Ghuzlan family were evicted. In Ath-Thori (Abu Tor) settlers took over a Palestinian property which was being used to serve the mentally disabled. In April 2006 settlers took over two large buildings in At-Tur on the Mt. of Olives, marking the first time since 1967 that settlers succeeded in acquiring property in this neighborhood. Apparently, this is part of new settler efforts to create outposts in East Jerusalem and thus an irreversible situation in the “Holy Basin” area. Almon (Anatot) settlement near Anata will expand to connect to the Military Camp running to the northeast. Lands isolated in Beit Surik (northwest Jerusalem) will become a new industrial settlement to be connected with Ramot settlement. www.stopthewall.org, Save Jerusalem from the Apartheid Wall and Ethnic Cleansing, 2006). In Beit Safafa, the caravans of the Hamatous settlement are to be replaced by high-rise buildings and a new bypass road to connect it with the rest of nearby settlements. (www.stopthewall.org, Save Jerusalem from the Apartheid Wall and Ethnic Cleansing, 2006). On 25 July 2005, the WJM’s Local Planning Committee approved an amended Town Planning Scheme (21 instead of 30 residential units) that will allow the construction of a new Jewish settlement on a 3.8-dunum site near the Burj Al-Laqlaq in the northeastern corner of the Old City. The Israel Land Authority owns 1.9 dunums ("absentee property") of the land in question and Himanuta Ltd., a JNF subsidiary owns 1.3 dunums, reportedly acquired privately from the White Russian Orthodox Church in the 1980s. The plan is pending with the Regional Planning Committee of the Interior Ministry. According to the ARIJ Database 2006, Israeli forces have confiscated or razed some 30,308 dunums of Palestinian land in the Jerusalem Governorate between Jan. 2000-July 2006 and uprooted 23,420 trees. (ARIJ, Ethnic Cleansing in Beit Hanina, 12 Sept. 2006) Israel’s Separation Barrier around the City - The ‘Jerusalem Envelope’ On 20 Feb. 2005, the Israeli government confirmed the route of the separation barrier in the Jerusalem area based on the declared intention of providing security to the residents of Israel. In fact, the barrier serves to redefine Jerusalem's borders and is routed in such a way as to maximize the number of Palestinian Jerusalemites behind the Wall, while maximizing the amount of Palestinian land on the "Israeli" side of the Wall. On 30 April 2006, the Israeli cabinet approved a revised route of the separation barrier. Revisions in the Jerusalem area included: -Beit Iksa and its surrounding lands are removed from the Jerusalem side of the barrier and placed within the Biddu/Beit Surik group of West Bank villages; - Al-Walaja is encircled by the barrier, isolating it from its farmland; - Al-Jaba’ is included in the Etzion settlement bloc. There are currently 12 routes and crossings to enter Jerusalem from the West Bank. Palestinian traffic into Jerusalem is limited to four Barrier crossings: (1) Qalandia from the north, (2) Gilo from the south, (3) Shu’fat Camp from the east, and (4) Ras Abu Sbeitan for pedestrian residents of Abu Dis, and Al-Izzariyia. The eight other routes and crossing points into Jerusalem, now closed to West Bank Palestinians, will remain open to residents of Israel and non-Israelis with valid visas, are Ar-Ram, Beitunia commercial crossing, Hizma, Az-Za’im, the tunnels on north-south bypass Road 60, Ein Yalow near Gilo, Ramot Alon, and Bir Nabala-Atarot. In addition, there are four more crossing planned: one each near Bethlehem, in Ras Al-Amud, in Nabi samwil, and in Shikh Sa’ad/Jabel Mukabber. (UN OCHA, Humanitarian Update, Feb. 2006). wal Approx. 25% of the Palestinians holding East Jerusalem ID Cards are located on the West Bank side of the separation barrier. (OCHA, Preliminary Analysis of the Humanitarian Implications of the April 2006 Barrier Projections – Update 5). A recent survey on the impact of the wall on Jerusalem showed, inter alia: that 32.9% of the Palestinian Jerusalemites have changed their last place of residence due to the separation barrier (29.7% of those living in localities inside and 83.3% of those outside the wall). In addition, some 63.8% are currently thinking to change their place of residence due to the wall and its associated regime (78.9% inside and 58.0% outside the wall); that some 19.2% of households in the Jerusalem governorate had all or part of their land confiscated (5.3% inside and 31.4% outside of the wall); that 21.4% of Palestinian households had at least one member separated from relatives (15.5% inside and 32.6% outside of the wall); that the ability of 84.6% of the households in Jerusalem to visit family and relatives has been affected by the wall (84.3% inside and 85.2% outside of the wall); that 80.0% of the households with students in higher education and 75.2% of those with students enrolled in basic/secondary education reported use of alternative roads to reach university/college or schools; that access to health centers was a difficulty for 34.5% of the households in Jerusalem governorate (5.8% inside and 88.3% outside of the wall); that the time spent to pass checkpoints was an obstacle for 94.7% of the households (94.5% inside and 95.0% outside of the wall); (PCBS & Badil, Impact of the Wall and its Associated Regime on the Forced Displacement of the Palestinians in Jerusalem, June 2006.) In 2005, it was estimated that some 55,000 Palestinian Jerusalemites (e.g., residents of Kufr Aqab, Salam, Ras Khamis, Anata, Qalandia and Shufat RC) will be transferred to the West Bank, while an additional 60-80,000 Palestinian Jerusalem ID card holders – unable to afford the housing prices in Jerusalem – live already outside the Jeru­salem municipal boundary (e.g., in Ar-Ram), and will be cut off from the city. (Ministry of State for Jerusalem Affairs, Out of Gaza, Into Jerusalem: Israel’s Threat to the Two-State Solution, Aug. 2005). The Old City Founded around 4000 BC, the Old City is divided into four quarters: Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Armenian. The pre­sent walls surrounding the Old City were built by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman Al-Qanouni in 1542. The walls stretch over approx. 4 km and encompass an area of barely 1 km². Population and Areas in the Old City Quarter Population Area in dunums Persons per dunum 1 Incl. the 135 dunums of Al-Haram Ash-Sharif compound. If this area is not counted, the popu­lation density in the Muslim Quarter rises to over 78.6! 2 Excl. over 1,500 settlers occupying houses in the Muslim and Christian Quarters. Muslim 25,639 4611 55.6 Christian 5,366 192 27.9 Armenian 2,438 126 19.4 Jewish 2,451 122 20.1 Total 35,894 900 39.9 (Source: Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 2005) Since 1982, the Old City of Jerusalem is listed on the World Heritage List as well as on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Old City houses 25 mosques, 65 churches and 19 Synagogues. The wall surrounding Jerusalem’s Old City has 11 gates, seven of which are presently open: Damascus Gate, Herod's Gate, Jaffa Gate, Zion Gate, Al-Magharbeh Gate, Lions' Gate/St. Stephen's Gate, and New Gate, while the Golden Gate remains closed (was sealed during the Crusader Period). jerusalem Open Gates: Damascus Gate: Located on the northern side, Damascus Gate is the main gate into Jerusalem's Old City. It was built in 1542 by Ottoman Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent. Arabs refer to it as Bab Al-Amud ("Gate of the Column") because of a pillar that stood there in Byzantine times. It consists of one large center gate originally intended for use by persons of high station, and two smaller side entrances for commoners. Jaffa Gate: was given this name because it is on the road that leads to the city of Jaffa. For the same reason it is called Bab Al-Khalil (“Hebron Gate”) in Arabic. This is the only gate on the western side of the Old City. A low part of the wall was torn down and the Crusader moat of the Citadel filled in 1898 for the visit of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. It was here that General Allenby entered Jerusalem in 1917. Lion’s Gate/St. Stephen’s Gate: St. Stephen's Gate is so named because, according to some traditions, St. Stephen was martyred near there. It has also been called Lion's Gate because of the four lions that decorate it on the outside. Finally, it has also been called St. Mary's Gate because of the nearby tomb of St. Mary. This is the only Jerusalem gate that opens to the east of the Old City. Zion Gate: Located along the southern wall of the Old City, Zion Gate was built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1540 CE. The name comes from the belief that the southern extension of the nearby hill was the biblical Mt. Zion. Arabs call it "Bab Nabi Daoud," which means "Gate of the Prophet David" because tradition has it that the tomb of David was located nearby on Mt. Zion. In the Middle Ages it was also called the Gate to the Jewish Quarter because it led to the Jewish section of the Old City. gate 1 gate 2 Dung Gate/Al-Magharbeh Gate: Found in the south wall and is a main passage for vehicles. Derives its name from the fact that in the 2nd century, refuse has been hauled out of the city through this gate. The name Magharbeh Gate stems from the Moors' history in the area. Herod’s Gate: The entrance into the Muslim quarter through the northern wall. The name was given by pilgrims, who erroneously believed that it led to Herod's palace. It is known in Arabic as Bab Az-Zahra (“the Flower Gate”). New Gate: named so because it was constructed relatively recently - in 1889 - with permission of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. The gate is located near the northwestern corner of the city and leads into the Christian quarter. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, when Jordan captured East Jerusalem (which includes the Old City of Jerusalem) it was sealed off. It was reopened again in 1967 after Israel's capture of East Jerusalem during the 1967 War. old city Closed Gates: The Golden Gate: is the oldest of the current gates, probably built in the 520s CE, on top of the ruins of an earlier gate. Another theory suggests it was built in the later part of the 7th century by Byzantine artisans employed by the Umayyad khalifs. In Arabic it is known as Bab Al-Rahmeh (Gate of Mercy). Jewish tradition has it that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem via this gate when he comes, so Muslims during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566) sealed the Golden Gate to keep him Al-Haram Ash-Sharif 1. Islamic Museum 2. Bab Al-Maghrarbeh (Moroccans Gate) 3. Bab As-Silsileh (Chain Gate) 4. Bab As-Salaam (Tranquility Gate) 5. Silsileh (Chain) Minaret 6. Bab Al-Matarah (Ablution Gate) 7. Bab Al-Qattanin (Cotton Merchants Gate) 8. Bab Al-Hadid (Iron Gate) 9. Bab An-Nazir/Majlis (Council Gate) (Waqf office is outside the gate) 10. Minaret of Ghawanimah 11. Bab al-Atim (Gate of Darkness) 12. Bab Al-Huttah (Gate of Remission) 13. Minaret Al-Asbat 14. Bab Al-Asbat (Gate of the Tribes) 15. Bab Az-Zahabi (Golden Gate) 15a. Bab Ar-Rahma (Door of Mercy) 15b. Bab At-Tauba (Door of Repentance) 16. Cradle of Jesus 17. Al-Mussallah Al-Marwani (Solomons’ Stables – substructure) 18. Al-Masjidul Aqsa – Al-Aqsa Mosque 19. Fakhriya Minaret 20. Dome of Yusuf Agha 21. Station of Buraq 22. Al-Kas (The Cup) 23. Minbar of Buran Eddin 24. Dome of Yousef 25. Dome of An-Nahawiyyah (School of Literature) 26. Dome of Moses 27. Fountain of Qasim Pasha 28. Pool of Raranj 29. Fountain of Qayt Bay 30. Muezzin’s Dome 31. Dome of the Chain (Silsileh) 32. Dome of the Rock (Qubbat As-Sakhra) 33. Dome of the Prophet 34. Dome of the Miraj 35. Dome of Al-Khalili 36. Mihrab Ali Pasha 37. Dome of Al-Khidr 38. Dome of the Spirits (Ruh) 41. Dome of the Lovers of the Prophets 39. Fountain of Sha’lan 42. Fountain of Sultan Solomon 40. Solomon’s Dome 43. Solomon’s Throne aqsa map Settlers in and around the Old City The Old City, the adjacent village of Silwan, and, more recently the neighbor­hoods of Ras Al-Amud, Sheikh Jarrah and Musrara (between Damascus Gate and Hanevi'im Street) are ex­posed to ex­tremist Jewish settler groups, such as Elad, Ateret Cohanim, Hay VeKayam and Amana, which enjoy wide public sup­port in their effort to take over as much Pales­tinian property as possible. Currently, Jewish settler spots in East Jerusalem established outside of the major settlements built after the 1967 War include the Old City’s Muslim Quarter; St. John's Hostel in the Christian Quarter; the City of David in Silwan (at least 30 settler); Bet Orot on the Mt. of Olives; Ras Al-Amud; Shimon Hazadik in Sheikh Jarrah; and Ath-Thori (Abu Tor). Recent take over and/or construction plans include a site at Burj Al-Laqlaq, in the northern sector of the Old City, near Herod’s Gate, the area around the Shepherd’s Hotel building in Sheikh Jarrah, and the Al-Bustan area in Silwan. (See Recent settlement activities above – page 327 – for details). At issue is also the fate of two hotels and a row of stores owned by the Greek Orthodox (Christian) Patriarchate in the Jaffa Gate area of the Old City. In addition, the Israeli Government handed over to the Ateret Cohanim settler organization a new project to “restore” a 3000-year-old quarry running under the Muslim Quarter, from Herod’s Gate 280 m toward the Haram Ash-Sharif. Israeli Municipal Policies Municipal Budget, Taxation and Infrastructure pic jews Arab Jerusalemites make up 33% of the city's residents but get no more than 12% of its welfare budget, even though their poverty rate is more than double that of Jewish residents. They get 15% of the education budget, 8% of engineering services, just 1.2% of the culture and art. (Meir Margalit. Discrimination in the Heart of the Holy City, Jerusalem: ICCP, 2006) Budget Distribution by Departments Department General Budget (2003) East Jerusalem % Welfare 342,784,401 41,603,273 12,13 Education 637,550,984 94,042,000 14,75 Health 46,253,551 9,531,039 20,60 Society & Youth 64,395,662 1,111,798 1,72 Cultural 81,866,002 970,698 1,18 Sport 19,252,145 308,557 1,60 Art 13,275,982 158,800 1,19 Youth Development 20,878,710 1,858,809 8,90 Religious Affairs 22,813,050 0 0 Cleanliness 206,341,684 35,038,562 16,98 Beautification 83,396,089 810,000 0,9 Fire Engine 38,270,150 7,654,030 20 Engineering services 81,936,798 6,535,000 7,97 City Planning 9,807,539 1,285,927 13,11 Municipal Supervision 24,187,966 2,273,914 9,40 Guardianship & security 87,904,818 0 0 Parking Department 46,333,640 0 0 Absorption 4,651,229 0 0 Buildings 6,773,150 1,990,360 29,38 Irregular Budget 727,378,654 95,805,365 13,17 Total 2,566,052,204 300,978,132 11,72 Source: Meir Margalit, Discrimination in the heart of the Holy City, Jerusalem:ICCP, 2006. The WJM development budget for 2003 was NIS 768,563,000. Of this, 13% were allocated to East Jerusalem, if the East Jerusalem proportion for the planned Light Railway is included; thoerwise, the East Jerusalem share was only 9%! That year, the municipal budget per capita amounted to NIS 5,968 for West Jerusalem and to NIS 1,311 for East Jerusalem. Examples for Discrepancies in Selected Municipal Facilities and Services West Jerusalem East Jerusalem Sport facilities 634 41 Ratio of residents to Youth Clubs 27 9 Ratio of residents to Elderly Clubs 90 7 Ratio of residents to Community Workers 21 1 Ratio of residents to Community Centers 30 5 Municipal libraries 36 3 Swimming pools 36 0 Basketball and football playgrounds 92 26 Gymnastic and fitness halls 130 1 Children per health center 1,821 6,882 Garbage containers 11,040 655 Garbage transport vehicles 2,371 49 Laying of new waterways (in km) Replacement of old waterways (in km) 6.0 6.6 1.1 1.6 Laying of new sewage courses (in km) Replacement of old sewage courses (in km) 3.1 9.9 0.9 8.4 Laying of new canalization canals (in km) Replacement of canalization canals (in km) 0.7 5.3 0.3 4.8 Source: Meir Margalit, Discrimination in the heart of the Holy City, Jerusalem:ICCP, 2006. In addition, Palestinians are exposed to an unfair tax system (e.g., arnona tax), which requires them to pay the same rates as their Israeli counterparts whose per capita income is approx. 8 times higher. Arnona tax covers residential taxes - depending on the neighborhood, the state and construction quality of the build­ing and its size -, and business taxes, where commercial property is graded by size, and not by economic activity or income. In top areas (‘Area A’) the average arnona amounts to NIS 245 per m2. The arnona tax burden has forced many Palestinian businesses, especially inside and around the Old City, to close. Similarly unfair is the treatment of Palestinian Jerusalemites by the National Insurance Institute (health and social welfare system whose benefits include income mainte­nance, wage substitution, child allowances, pensions, maternity benefits, and rehabilitation). Palestinians - unlike Jews - must prove their residency in Jerusalem, and while the NII investigates the properness of claims, no benefits are paid. About 70% of investigated claims are eventually approved (B’tselem). On 7 Aril 2002, the Israeli govt. approved a proposed revision to the National Insurance Law that would make families of Palestinians, who died while carrying out attacks in Israel, ineligible for orphan and widow entitlements. The NII also investigates eligibility for health insurance for children whose parents are recognized as residents; those children remain without health insurance until completion of the investigation. Physicians for Human Rights estimate that there are currently some 10,000 children residing in East Jerusalem who are not covered by medical insurance. Education The education system in East Jerusalem itself is divided into the ‘government schools' maintained by the WJM, but teaching a separate "Arab Educational System" and non-municipal schools, which are owned and run by either churches, the Waqf in coordination with the PA, or private bodies, and serve approx. the same number of students. The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies estimates that some 21,000 pupils were enrolled in private Arab education in 2004/05. Palestinians in East Jerusalem have "permanent resident" status in Israel, which grants them the same social entitlements granted to every citizen, incl. the right to public education. The Israeli Compulsory Education Lawrequires that all children are registered for school and their attendance is assured. However, only about half the Palestinian children in Jerusalem currently attend public schools, while several thousand others must pay for private or unofficial education, attend Waqf schools, or do not attend school at all. In Aug. 2001, the Israeli High Court ruled that the Jerusalem Education Authority must register all school aged children, even if no classrooms are available to serve them. Also in 2001, the Ministry of Education and the WJM obliged themselves to the Court to allocate funds for, and to build, 245 additional classrooms within four years. However, as of 2006, only 48 of these had been built. Thousands of Palestinian children in East Jerusalem were denied access to the free public education in 2006, and many of those attending public schools must study in classrooms that are nothing more than crowded bedrooms of private homes rented by the WJM in buildings unfit for instructional purposes. Approx. 14,000 children are not registered at all due to the intolerable conditions in the school system (Ir Amim, Inadequacies in the Public Education Infrastructure for Palestinians in East Jerusalem: Overview, Sept. 2006). The Palestinian school age population in East Jerusalem grows at a rate of 6% per year, which translates into the need to build some 160 classrooms per year. Under current rates of construction, the classroom shortage will continue to grow from year to year. (Ir Amim, Inadequacies in the Public Education Infrastructure for Palestinians in East Jerusalem: Overview, Sept. 2006). Palestinian School-Age Children in East Jerusalem, 2004/5 Type of school No. of pupils Municipal schools 35,984 Recognized, unofficial 8,189 Waqf * 6,408 Private* 13,955 Total Known 64,536 School age population Approx. 79,000 School Age population unknown to Education Authority Approx. 14,500 *Based on estimates from the 1990s. Source: Access to Public Education for Palestinian Residents of East Jerusalem, Ir Amim, 2005. Israeli Municipal Education, 2004/2005 Jews Palestinian Total J’lem Education Authority - Hebrew Education System Ultra-Orthodox Division J’lem Education Authority - Arab Education System Preschools1 9,405 17,511 3,505 30,421 Primary Education 23,647 40,564 20,671 84,882 Post-Primary Education 27,656 24,048 17,210 68,914 Special education 1,631 1,100 677 3,408 Total 62,339 83,223 42,063 208,628 Total no. of classes 2,559 3,214 1,377 6,843 New classrooms built, 1994-2004 409 625 389 1,621 1 incl. non-municipal kindergartens (Source: Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 2004/05.) According to the PCBS, there were 26,524 Palestinian pupils enrolled in the non-municipal school system in Israeli-annexed Jerusalem in 2005-06; of these 9,412 attended one of the 29 government schools, 3,741 one of 7 UNRWA schools and 13,371 one of the 37 private schools (PCBS, Jerusalem Yearbook No. 8, 2006)