Israeli measures in Jerusalem
Tuesday, 05 May 2009 00:00
Participants (without distinction): Adnan al-Husseini, Abdullatif Geith, Ahmad al-Reweidi, Aref Nasser Eldin, Hatem Abdul Qader, Hannah Amireh, Ibrahim Sha'ban, Jamil Hamami, Mahmoud Safadi, Mousa Qous, Muhammad Abed Rabbo.
Introduction: Israeli occupation measures and policies have recently accelerated in the occupied city of Jerusalem, which have impacted the social and economic rights of Jerusalemites in addition to their rights to housing and residency. This has added additional burden and pressures on the daily lives of Palestinians there. Following its accelerated land grab, occupation authorities are now focusing on displacing Palestinian Jerusalemites in line with their policies to convert Jerusalem into a center for the world’s Jews according to the so–called Master Plan 2020. The statement made by right-wing mayor Nir Barakat about the plans to construct 23,000 housing units for Arabs in Jerusalem by 2030, is only a sham.No political horizon in Jerusalem
According to the Oslo Accords, which were signed between the PLO and the Israeli government on September 13, 1993, the fate of Jerusalem was postponed until final status negotiations. Ever since and despite of signed agreements between both parties and the declaration of the Road Map by former US President George Bush on June 24, 2002, which calls for freezing settlement activities, successive Israeli governments have never halted their policies and measures particularly in regards to settlement expansion, house demolitions, appropriation of Palestinian property, imposing high taxation on Palestinians and depriving them of their residency rights in the city. Meanwhile, the Palestinian National Authority is banned from performing any activities in the city and Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem such as the Orient House, the headquarters of the Palestinian delegation continues to be served renewed closure orders. This is despite Shimon Peres' letter to his then-counterpart, Norwegian Foreign Minister Johan Holst on October 11, 2002, in which he promised not to "hamper their activity" and to encourage their important mission. The occupation has never shied away from declaring its intentions to proceed with its settlements schemes in E1, Sawahreh, Abu Dis, Ras Khamis and other areas which raise Palestinian fears of a repeat of the Abu Ghneim scenario. Since the beginning of the year alone, the Israeli occupation demolished 40 Palestinian homes leaving more than 500 displaced Palestinians with some 1,500 Palestinian buildings facing the threat of demolition in the city. If these demolition orders are carried out, more than 160,000 will be made homeless. Furthermore, there are demolition orders pending implementation in al-Bustan neighborhood, the appropriation of properties in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and settlement activities in Ras Khamis. Consequently, the continuation of such practices by the occupation, despite the signed agreements with PLO, leave no doubt that the political track has failed in meeting political achievements and eliciting a change on the ground to boost Palestinian confidence in the possibility of their freedom from occupation. On the contrary, the ongoing practices only encourage the belief that Jerusalem could face a similar fate as Jaffa. Henceforth, it is urgent to be courageous and dare to engage in a comprehensive evaluation process of the previous phase, thus halting not only the negotiations but security coordination in case Israeli policies in the city do not come to a halt. Any entity given to Palestinians is unacceptable if it excludes Jerusalem, the living heart of the future Palestinian state. Consequently, there is an urgent need to search for other practical means and options that would enable the Palestinians to achieve their internationally guaranteed rights and self-determination. Palestinian performance in Jerusalem Palestinian performance in Jerusalem suffers critical weaknesses and is characterized by individualism, reactions and a lack of clear plans and strategies. It can be described as a policy of extinguishing fires. The response to Israeli policies revolves around holding press conferences, issuing statements of condemnation and producing appeals calling for outside intervention. Furthermore, Palestinian performance is based on conflicting information, since there is no united database on what is taking place in the Holy City vis-à-vis Israeli measures. The active parties confronting Israeli policies in the city are the Jerusalem governorate, the Presidential Office and the Palestinian government in addition to the legal and religious organizations and civil society. Still, they lack coordination in their activities and concerted and systematic efforts. Some of them suffer from negative competition that does not serve the interests of the Palestinians or their necessary responses in Jerusalem. Regarding the legal proceedings against Israeli measures, their reference is the Israeli legal system which is totally compliant with the political will of the successive Israeli governments. Of all litigation cases, court verdicts which were found in favor of Palestinian interest form only 5%. Furthermore, resorting to the Israeli legal system serves only to delay the implementation of Israeli policies. As a result, there has been a stronger shift towards resorting to international law and litigation. Popular pressure obstructs occupation plans Palestinian efforts, although limited in their capabilities, have had a positive impact on strengthening Palestinian steadfastness in the city. There are several examples that deserve mention in order to build on them, popularize and reinforce. The core of these efforts is popular action, which has succeeded in obstructing the implementation of several Israeli court decisions regarding Palestinian home demolitions. This action had a major role in hindering the plans of Israeli right wing extremists to raid al-?Aqsa Mosque on April 16, although occupation authorities denied access to Palestinians under 50. Popular action also contributes to the delay in implementing Israeli occupation orders regarding house demolitions and other actions.No doubt, popular pressure even if below the aspired level, played a role in shifting international stances, which have recently become more critical of Israeli policies. For example, the European Union leaked its confidential report to the media last March. The EU Heads of Mission Report on East Jerusalem charged that Israeli measures such as settlement expansion, house demolitions, discriminatory housing policies and the West Bank barrier were a way of "actively pursuing the illegal annexation" of the city. It also maintained that "Israel's actions in and around Jerusalem constitute one of the most acute challenges to Israeli-Palestinian peace-making." On their part, Israeli officials responded by accusing the EU of continuing to shift its position on Jerusalem which began in 1999 when the German ambassador to Tel Aviv, during his country's presidency over the EU, suggested the division of Jerusalem. Moreover, there is the UN position which was articulated by its Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling on Israel to immediately freeze its settlement activities and house demolitions in Jerusalem in addition to calls by members of the international community to the current Israeli right-wing government to accept the two-state solution. The Popular Conference and its absent role Despite the convening of the National Popular Conference on Jerusalem in Ramallah on January 26 and 27, 2008 under the slogan (Jerusalem is ours) attended by 450 Jerusalemite participants, the conference suffered a lack of ability to shoulder its responsibilities and carrying out its important duties. There were high hopes for the conference given its representation of the majority of Palestinian factions. Unfortunately, not all pushed for its activation through referring it to the General Secretariat to devise plans and programs to respond to its delegated duties regarding the city of Jerusalem. Palestine Liberation Organization and its aspired role It is clear that the PLO suffers an unjustified weak role, which has reached a level of powerlessness, even though there is no disagreement over its sole representation of the Palestinian people. Other than the PLO’s call to Palestinians to head to al-Aqsa Mosque on April 16 to ban extremist Jews from raiding the shrine, its role remains impalpable. Henceforth, all the reasons for its current status need to be discussed in detail. Severe financial crisis Various institutions and the Palestinian population in Jerusalem suffer from a severe financial crisis caused by economic restrictions and high taxes and fines that are imposed by the occupation authority as a way to drive them into the ground financially and thus accelerate its goal of depopulating Jerusalem of its indigenous Arab citizens. This fact has regretfully obliged dozens of Jerusalemite institutions to move from the city to Ramallah where international funding is more available. Meanwhile, the institutions which have stayed in the city, suffer from a growing financial deficit, siege and negligence from various parties. They operate in an environment of semi–absent Arab funding to the city even though there are several Arab and Islamic funds established especially for projects in the city. Nonetheless, the money is not spent economically and is not directed towards the needed priorities of the city. On the other hand, the Israeli occupation allocates huge budgets for implementing it policies in the city. Furthermore, while several studies were prepared for various sectors of the city, their recommendations were never implemented due to a lack of funding. Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation uses various methods (taxes, fines, etc..) to collect billions of dollars from Palestinians in Jerusalem. Suggested Recommendations - Working out a strategy for Palestinian action in Jerusalem for the coming three to five years, in cooperation with Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem such as al-Quds University and others. However, this action shouldn't replace long term strategies regarding the status of the city.- Conditioning the resumption of negotiations with a change in Israeli policies in the Holy City particularly in regards to settlements activities. Palestinian action in the city should not be restricted to the negotiating table but should propose other options that could prove fruitful in halting Israeli policies in Jerusalem. - Activating the role of the PLO in the city with the knowledge that signed agreements do not prohibit this. - Establishing a united fund for supporting various sector needs in the city. For its part, the Palestinian Authority should allocate special budgets to the city. Moreover, it should adopt the appropriate measures to regain Arab financial support for the city since it should not be restricted to Europeans.- Forming a legal architecture commission for defending Palestinian cases in Jerusalem and seeking help from Arab and international experts in international law. In addition, there should be a follow up committee to set zoning plans for Palestinian construction in Jerusalem and to establish a Palestinian database pertaining to all issues of interest for the Palestinian population. - Establishing a frame of reference under PLO sponsorship to unite plans and actions for the various references in the city.