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BICOM

Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre

Analysis

BICOM Briefing: Jerusalem issues raised by BBC Panorama

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Introduction

This briefing is prompted by the BBC Panorama episode broadcast on 18 January focusing on Jerusalem, and aims to furnish the debate with additional facts. The issue of Jerusalem is undoubtedly vexed and difficult, and of great sensitivity to Jews and Muslims around the world as well as Israelis and Palestinians. Whilst the actions of some ideological groups may be controversial, it is important to recognise that the rule of law is applied in the whole of Jerusalem. For example, the percentages of construction permits approved, and the numbers of illegal structures demolished, are not significantly different in East and West Jerusalem. Furthermore, archaeological excavations in the Ir David area, which have been conducted since Ottoman times, are conducted today according to standards applied elsewhere in Jerusalem. In addition, the municipality of Jerusalem has plans to develop Arab as well as Jewish areas of the city and find constructive solutions for Arab houses built without permission. Plans to build 500 new Arab homes in Silwan, and legalise 500 existing homes built without permits have recently been announced. 

Israel’s official policies in Jerusalem

  • Under Israeli law, the government and municipality are free to authorise construction in all of the areas of greater Jerusalem annexed following the 1967 war. According to Israel’s interpretation, construction in these areas is not in violation of international law.
  • Government construction in Jerusalem is guided by the intention to avoid Jewish presence within Palestinian neighbourhoods. However, right-wing Jewish organisations have used legal means to acquire houses in Palestinian neighbourhoods. The Israeli government contends that in the same way that Arabs are free to live in Jewish neighbourhoods in West Jerusalem, Jews cannot be prevented from purchasing homes in the eastern neighbourhoods of the city.

The situation in Silwan/Ir David

  • The Arab neighbourhood of Silwan is located just east of Jerusalem’s Old City. The area is claimed by archaeologists and historians as the location of King David’s original capital some 3,000 years ago, and is therefore also referred to as Ir David (City of David).
  • Archaeological excavations in the City of David took place during Ottoman rule and British Mandatory rule, and have continued under Israeli rule, unearthing discoveries of Jewish life and artifacts from various ancient periods.
  • Some of the archaeology has been conducted under residents’ houses. This is a common practice that enables archaeological research while minimising the disruption of daily life. This has been done in Jewish and Arab parts of the city alike.
  • The deep valley that lies east of the Old City, adjacent to Silwan, is known as the King’s Garden, (Gan Hamelach in Hebrew or El Bustan – ‘the garden’ in Arabic). This is part of the Holy Basin – the area containing the Temple Mount, the al-Aqsa Mosque, the Mount of Olives, Mount Zion and a variety of Christian holy sites – that surrounds the Old City. For almost 100 years, since the British Mandate’s first master plan of the area, the site has been designated as an open ‘green zone’ and is now planned as a tourist park. In recent decades, several dozen Arab houses have been illegally built there.
  • In March 2009, proposals to evict 1,500 residents and raze 88 illegal Arab homes in El Bustan sparked international tension when it was criticised directly by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The demolitions have not been carried out.
  • Given the sensitivity of the issue, the Jerusalem municipality has been looking at various ways of resolving the needs of the Arab residents in the area without demolishing illegally built structures. Proposed solutions for Silwan include changing zoning plans in the area to legalise many of the illegally built structures. The municipality recently announced plans to legalise 500 buildings and approve 500 new houses for Arabs in Silwan.

The situation in Sheikh Jarrah / Shimon HaTzadik Tomb

  • Sheikh Jarrah is an Arab neighbourhood located at the foothills of Mount Scopus, northeast of the Old City. According to tradition, Shimon HaTzadik, a prominent Talmudic figure and his pupils are buried in a cave in the area. For centuries, the site has been frequented by Jewish pilgrims.
  • While this site was owned by Arabs for many years, in 1876 the cave and the nearby field were purchased by Jews. However, Jewish families were forced to leave after the area came under Jordanian rule in the 1949 Armistice Agreement. The Jordanian authorities settled Arab families in their houses.
  • Right-wing groups, often backed by American donations, have been making concerted efforts to establish Jewish homes in Sheikh Jarrah and other Arab neighbourhoods. Former Jewish owners of properties in the neighbourhood, encouraged by these organisations, have been seeking to reclaim their ownership of houses there. In seven cases, Israeli courts acknowledged Jewish legal ownership of the houses and allowed Jews to reclaim their homes. Dozens of other cases are pending court rulings.
  • In one of a recent series of evictions on 2 August 2009, 53 Palestinian refugees were forced out of their homes in Sheikh Jarrah by Israeli authorities following a ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court that Jewish families owned the homes. Families forced from their homes have been maintaining permanent protests in the area since then.
  • This area has a heavy international diplomatic presence – including the British consulate – closely observing the events there.

Construction permits and house demolitions

  • The Jerusalem municipality and the Israeli Ministry of Housing are responsible for providing permits for construction and for preventing illegal construction. This is carried out throughout the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, in Jewish and Arab parts alike.
  • As the Jerusalem mayor acknowledges, there is an imbalance between construction permits issued to in western and eastern parts of the city. However, while in the eastern neighbourhoods 55% of the requests are granted, the ratio is not significantly different in the western parts of the city, where 63% of requests are approved. A similar picture appears in terms of house demolition, one of the most sensitive issues in the city. In 2009, 65 structures have been demolished in eastern parts of the city and 57 in the western parts.
  • The Jerusalem municipality maintains that it is working to reverse the neglect of Arab East Jerusalem. The mayor has proposed permits for 13500 new homes in Arab neighbourhoods and committed to reversing inequalities in delivery of services such as education and sanitation.

The Jerusalem ‘envelope’ and the security barrier

  • Prior to 1967, Israeli-controlled West Jerusalem was vulnerable to being cut off from the rest of Israel, as happened during the 1948 War of Independence. Since the Six Day War Israel has built a number of settlements around Jerusalem to improve Israel’s strategic position around the city. Palestinians state that the expansion of these settlements into the West Bank is inhibiting their access to Jerusalem, and making it impossible to reach a future peace deal in which Jerusalem will be shared.
  • After the outbreak of the Second Intifada, Israel began to construct a barrier to protect Israel and major settlements close to the green line – including around Jerusalem – from suicide bombers. Today this barrier passes through Palestinian neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem, severely disrupting the lives of the residents and movement between East Jerusalem and other Arab areas of the West Bank.
  • Finding solutions to these problems will depend on the stance taken by Israel in final-status negotiations. Israel is calling for immediate negotiations. President Abbas is refusing without a complete freeze on settlement construction.
  • Israel’s policy in the meantime is no expansion of existing settlements, and a ten-month moratorium on new construction in existing settlements. However, Israel has not been willing to accept a freeze on construction in East Jerusalem, which it maintains is its united and sovereign capital and not a settlement.

Further Reading