Wildfires erupted near West Jerusalem again, a day after firefighters put out massive blazes in central Israel after 30 hours of effort, Israeli media reported on Friday. Hours after firefighters took control of a massive fire in the Latrun area between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Thursday, a new fire incident was reported, according to the Maariv daily. In response to the blazes, the Israeli Fire and Rescue Service said the firefighting teams utilized aircraft to extinguish the fires and were able to bring them "under full control." On Thursday, Israel announced that massive wildfires that erupted in the Jerusalem area had been brought under control after nearly 30 hours and the destruction of 20,000 dunams (4,942 acres). The Fire and Rescue Service declared full control over the massive fires that erupted in the Jerusalem Hills on Wednesday, according to Israel's public broadcaster KAN and Channel 12. The state broadcaster said a special investigation team has been formed to determine the cause. Contrary to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's accusation that individuals deliberately started the fires, Channel 12 reported that "the main fires in the Jerusalem Hills were not set intentionally, and assessments indicate they were caused by negligence." Authorities are continuing investigations to determine the cause of the blaze in the same area, which experienced less severe wildfires last week. Thousands of residents from several towns were evacuated Wednesday as a result of the wildfires, which raged between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with dozens of cars trapped and drivers walking across the road to escape the flames. You don't have permission to access the page you requested. What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed. 2025At least 20 people have been injured from smoke inhalation as Israeli authorities evacuated several towns and closed a major highway in central Israel amid wildfires caused by high temperatures with Tel Aviv requesting international assistance to contain the rapidly spreading flames Israel's Channel 12 said on Wednesday the fires now exceed the scale of the devastating 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire Assaf Harofeh Hospital confirmed receiving 10 people for treatment Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth daily said that 12 people were injured in the raging fires Estimates from the Jewish National Fund indicated that the current wildfires in the West Jerusalem hills have destroyed approximately 2,891 acres of forest land A statement by the Fire and Rescue Service said many communities in several areas were evacuated The evacuations were triggered by raging fires that erupted in several areas due to soaring temperatures and strong winds as 111 firefighting teams and 11 aircraft battled to extinguish the flames KAN also reported a raging fire in the Eshtaol Forest between West Jerusalem and Tel Aviv authorities issued instructions for possible evacuations of more communities due to the wildfires The Fire and Rescue Service raised its alert level to its highest point due to the raging fires and asked for international help to extinguish the flames between West Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Authorities also closed the main highway connecting the two cities as a precaution Israel has requested firefighting aircraft from Greece Italy and the Greek Cypriot Administration to help put out the fires Channel 7 reported that air force bases are prepared to accommodate foreign militaries' firefighting planes if necessary Israel's Minister of Transport Miri Regev issued directions to concerned authorities that diesel-powered trains be prepared for deployment if the country's electrical grid is compromised by ongoing wildfires West Jerusalem District Fire Department Commander Shmulik Friedman said these wildfires may be "the largest in Israel’s history." Defense Minister Israel Katz declared a nationwide state of emergency earlier in the day and ordered the army to assist firefighters in the West Jerusalem Hills region Channel 12 said that Israel canceled all scheduled Independence Day celebrations due to the massive wildfires marking the 1948 creation of Israel on historic Palestine coincides with occupied Palestine's commemorations of the Nakba referring to the mass forced expulsion of some 800,000 Palestinians during that period when Zionist gangs carried out massacres against civilians.​​​​​​​ Israeli authorities evacuated residents from several towns in central Israel amid widespread wildfires triggered by soaring temperatures and strong winds which destroyed 2,471 acres and injured nine people Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article Responsibility for the city’s holy places and religious communities is vested in Israel’s Ministry of Religious Affairs, which has a liaison for each of the main denominations and care of holy places are in the hands of the respective religious authorities Penalties of several years’ imprisonment may be inflicted for desecrating these places and many reservoirs and rainwater cisterns date from ancient times Since the 1950s the New City has been supplied from the Israeli national water grid; East Jerusalem was reconnected to the west Jerusalem system in 1967 By the early 21st century the water network was extensive yet the supply was under considerable strain as reserves were being steadily depleted Municipal services of all kinds in Arab areas of the city remain significantly deficient by comparison with those in Jewish districts which provide additional emergency services Medical insurance is by law obligatory for all Israeli citizens. Most families are insured by one of the public kupot holim (medical insurance funds) or other nongovernmental bodies. The municipal social welfare department takes care of social cases that are not covered by medical insurance Municipal clinics have been established for mothers and children All health services are subsidized by the Israeli government condemned efforts by Israeli officials on Tuesday to shut down an UNRWA-run training centre in occupied East Jerusalem Agency chief Philippe Lazzarini said that Israeli forces and personnel from the Jerusalem local authority “forcefully entered” the Kalandia Training Centre and ordered its immediate evacuation “At least 350 students and 30 staff were present and impacted The development comes after a ban on UNRWA activities in Israel came into effect in line with laws passed in October by the Israeli Knesset At least 350 students and 30 staff were present in the centre at the time Israeli police accompanied by municipal staff also visited several other UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem The incidents have disrupted learning for approximately 250 students attending three schools alongside the trainees now locked out of the training centre In an interview with UN News’s Abdelmonem Makki on Wednesday Director of UNRWA affairs in the West Bank spoke at length about the incidents and explained that the agency is committed to continuing its services These include education for 50,000 children healthcare for 500,000 patients in the occupied West Bank and emergency education programmes for 200,000 children in Gaza This interview has been edited for clarity and length forcefully entered our education training center in Kalandia and ordered it to be closed That vocational training center provides training to more than 350 vulnerable Palestinian youth from all over the West Bank and it is located in what Israel considers the sovereign territory of the state of Israel Israeli security forces and the municipal representatives left but this was the first time that an educational installation in East Jerusalem was forcefully entered by Israeli security forces employees of the Israeli government paid visits to three schools in the occupied East Jerusalem and threatened to close them which was another breach of privileges and immunities of UNRWA Roland Friedrich: On the 30th of January the [Knesset legislation banning UNRWA] entered fully into effect three in Shu'fat Camp refugee camp on the Palestinian side of the barrier one in the old city of Jerusalem and the other one in Shu'fat Camp refugee camp the rest of vocational training center in Kalandia we continued to deliver our services to the patients and to the children We also do the garbage collection in the Shu'fat refugee camp and these basic services continue for the time being Regarding our headquarters in East Jerusalem we are asking staff not to work from there and after these bills were formally adopted Roland Friedrich: These laws are in contravention of Israel's obligations as a Member State The charter has a very clear provision on what is expected Israel is party to the general Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations the obligation to protect UN facilities and to ensure that privileges and immunities are respected This is extremely problematic both in terms of what international law has to say but also concerning our work on the ground Another impact of those laws has been on the impediment of coordinating directly with Israeli duty bearers and particularly the Israeli military we can't raise issues concerning our installations and we can't address access issues directly anymore It's even more problematic because now we have an unprecedented situation of forcible displacement in the northern West Bank with more than 40,000 people displaced because of heavily militarized Israeli security forces operations since the 21st of January And that has never happened in the history of the West Bank since Israel's occupation that started in 1967 Roland Friedrich: We have a very clear mandate and we are committed to continue delivering our services as effectively as possible we run 96 schools with more than 50,000 students the number of students registering to go to UNRWA schools in the West Bank has increased because of the socioeconomic deterioration of the situation on the ground We provide primary health care to half a million patients We run 43 health centers and a hospital on the ground We provide cash assistance and relief services to more than 200,000 vulnerable Palestinians some of that in close coordination with other UN agencies and we're committed to doing that as long as we can Roland Friedrich: I think we have to differentiate between East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank because the situation there is slightly different in issues concerning the schools that we run and the places where we run these schools And there's certainly no alternative to the Kalandia Training Centre where we provide this vocational training to the 350 trainees who come from the West Bank That's the training facility that UNRWA has been running since the 1950s When we look at the situation in the West Bank because of the ongoing Israeli operation it has a very direct impact on children's ability to access education because of the displacement in the northern West Bank and because of the ongoing operations There are 13 schools in four refugee camps that have not operated since 21 January which means roughly 5,000 children who do not have access to education now We try to provide alternative means of learning but clearly this is an unprecedented situation of displacement It's not easy to reach all the children and their families and we're very concerned that there is no clear end to this operation that would allow us to reopen the schools and get the children where they belong Roland Friedrich: In the OPT [Occupied Palestinian Territory] generally, UNRWA has long been the second biggest provider of education, and we do that in line with UN values, in line with UNESCO's standards We have a very robust human rights tolerance-oriented curriculum we used to provide education for more than 300,000 kids there are 600,000 children that have been out of education for more than a year and a half And everybody should have an interest to make sure that these children have access to education We're committed to doing this to the extent possible We have started the emergency education program in Gaza with more than 200,000 kids signed up for these emergency education programs in Gaza going forward And we are continuing to provide those services and we'll do that as long as possible.  The forced displacement of Palestinian communities in the northern part of the West Bank is escalating at an alarming pace the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees UNRWA warned on Monday.  Israeli police arrested 12 protesters near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence on Gaza Street in West Jerusalem on Wednesday night amid demonstrations against the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and the government’s handling of hostages in Gaza police said: “Riots broke out in Jerusalem and we arrested 12 suspects for disturbing public order and assaulting civilians and officers.” continued efforts to restore order in the area Protesters reportedly set fires in the middle of the road and prompting police to use fire extinguishers to contain the blaze Clashes erupted between demonstrators and security forces with police using skunk water to disperse the crowd One officer and a civilian were reportedly assaulted a police officer sustained minor injuries during the clashes and was taken to a hospital for treatment The report also said demonstrators blocked Gaza Street near Netanyahu’s residence including the resumption of military operations in Gaza and plans to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said at the demonstration: “I am very optimistic about what is happening in Israel in the past 24 hours The people of Israel will not give up on democracy more than 100,000 have arrived in Jerusalem.” We are fighting for democracy and for the attorney general You are not alone—we are with you.” Radman called for a general strike and urged labor and business leaders to take action Tensions escalated as protesters attempted to breach security barriers near Netanyahu’s residence Hebrew media aired footage showing a taxi running over a demonstrator and dragging him for several meters Israel is witnessing growing internal unrest amid sharp political divisions over the war in Gaza and government plans for security and judicial reforms A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel Netanyahu later backed away from implementing the second phase of the deal which was supposed to involve additional prisoner releases in exchange for ending military operations in Gaza Analysts suggest Netanyahu’s decision to resume military strikes is linked to his efforts to secure the state budget and maintain his coalition The renewed offensive helped him bring back far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir into the government ensuring his party’s support for the budget proposal You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed Days before the deadline set by the High Court of Justice, the government is expected to hold another discussion on Monday during its weekly cabinet meeting about establishing a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7 the court instructed the government to discuss creating a state commission of inquiry within 60 days the government held a discussion on the matter dduring which Netanyahu and most ministers expressed opposition to the commission’s creation Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas blamed Hamas for aid lootings in the Gaza Strip The Palestinian outlet quoted a PA presidential statement saying that "it held Hamas-affiliated gangs primarily responsible." He also emphasized that all of the looting gangs were "known to the Palestinian public and will top the blacklist to be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with the law at the appropriate time." The security cabinet agreed on Friday night to expand operations in Gaza. Several IDF reserve brigades will be mobilized and the 8th Infantry Division will be deployed Israel is currently not planning a full-scale manoeuvre in hopes of securing another hostage deal to see the 59 captives returned home Netanyahu said earlier in the week that it is currently believe that fewer than 24 less than half the number of hostages being held Five Syrian-Druze citizens were evacuated to receive medical treatment in Israel on Friday The injured citizens were evacuated to the Ziv Medical Center in Safed after sustaining injuries in Syrian territory The individuals being treated are aged 19-43 with some receiving wounds sustained days ago while others sustained injuries to their limbs and back Disturbing reports and videos are circulating on social media that appear to show the deliberate targeting and dehumanization of the Druze community in Syria After a fabricated audio recording of a man cursing Muhammad, the Prophet, was released early last week and was associated with a Druze cleric, violent clashes erupted outside Damascus, Syria, targeting the minority Druze community. The violence resulted in more than 100 deaths, with a majority of them being Syrian Druze Some of those videos and reports include the execution of dozens of Druze men traveling in a convoy on a highway when they were ambushed and the forcible removal of a Druze man’s mustache which holds significance to their culture and beliefs “The beard for the Druze is like a kippah,” said Israeli Druze Nisreen Abo-Asale who lives in the predominantly Druze community of Daliyat al-Karmel The Houthis claimed a missile that triggered sirens near Haifa the terrorist organization claimed on Telegram.  "The missile force of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation targeting a vital Israeli enemy target in the occupied area of Haifa using a hypersonic ballistic missile," the post reads The Houthis claimed that the missile " forced millions of settlers to flee into shelters." The IDF intercepted a missile fired from Yemen on Friday afternoon that triggered sirens in the Galilee and Carmel areas of Israel's North Magen David Adom (MDA) stated that a woman had been injured while heading to a protected area as the sirens sounded No other reports of any individuals injured or wounded from the incident were reported Israel Police said that forces were prepared to conduct searches in the area to locate potential impact sites from the missile.  Sirens sounded in the Galilee and Carmel areas in northern Israel due to a missile that was fired from Yemen The humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip is on the verge of "total collapse" amid the Israel-Hamas War Eyal Zamir has evaluated all of the key fronts faced by the military in his first nearly 60 days since taking the IDF's helm and reached a number of important conclusions Regarding aid to Gaza Zamir's position is that the IDF cannot allow Palestinian civilians to starve cannot be directly involved in distributing food aid and cannot allow Hamas to control the food aid his position is that international groups and private companies should distribute food aid though he believes in leaving the choice of which groups to the political echelon Relatives of Israeli captives in Gaza demonstrated in west Jerusalem Tuesday to demand the government complete a prisoner exchange agreement with Palestinians Scores of Israelis blocked a main highway in the city ahead of a security cabinet meeting on Tuesday to discuss the fate of the Gaza ceasefire agreement with Hamas A statement by the captives’ families accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “procrastinating and doing everything” to sabotage the agreement Families of Israeli hostages demonstrated in Jerusalem, demanding the continuation of the prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas• Protesters blocked Highway 1 between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, urging Netanyahu’s government to finalize the agreement and bring back… pic.twitter.com/lAoNo0357T Palestinian resistance group Hamas said that it will delay the next hostage release in response to Israeli violations of the Gaza agreement Israel estimates that 76 Israelis are still held in Gaza but doesn't know how many of them are dead or alive holds over 10,000 Palestinians in its jails amid reported torture US President Donald Trump proposed the cancelation of the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas if all the hostages in Gaza are not released by Saturday noon The three-phase ceasefire deal has been in place in Gaza since Jan which has killed more than 48,000 people and left the enclave in ruins The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave Israel’s security cabinet approved a new settlement road near occupied East Jerusalem late Saturday paving the way for further Israeli construction in the contentious “E1” area and two settlement chiefs welcomed the decision on Sunday The project includes an underground road in the occupied West Bank allowing Israel to move forward with plans to expand settlements in E1 While the road would link Palestinian towns it would also separate them from the rest of the West Bank and restrict Palestinian movement on key routes between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement which would remain accessible primarily to Israelis the move could facilitate the formal annexation of Ma’ale Adumim with significant political implications for the West Bank Netanyahu said Sunday: “We continue to strengthen Israeli security and develop settlements.” He added that the new road would “benefit all the area’s residents by improving traffic flow and security” while serving as a “strategic transportation corridor linking Jerusalem Katz called the road’s approval a “historic decision” that would “strengthen settlement expansion and residents’ well-being” while consolidating Israeli control over the West Bank He further claimed that the road project would ease traffic congestion prevent “unnecessary friction” (between Palestinians and illegal Israeli settlers) and ensure a seamless connection between Jerusalem Ma’ale Adumim settlement official Guy Yifrah hailed the decision calling it an “unprecedented financial achievement” after the government allocated 303 million shekels ($82.25 million) for the project the plan includes a tunnel connecting the Palestinian towns of al-Eizariya and al-Zaim allowing Palestinians to travel between the northern and southern West Bank without using Israeli-controlled roads mayor of the Beit El settlement northeast of Ramallah said the project serves a broader goal – “to impose sovereignty over all of Judea and Samaria.” “I congratulate the government for taking a bold just step toward Jewish settlement in E1 and burying the idea of a Palestinian state,” Alon said The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced Israel’s decision and called for “immediate global action to halt settlement and annexation initiatives.” The statement urged the international community to take a “serious stand” and called for a political solution describing it as “the only path to rescue the region from a cycle of wars and violence It warned of “grave dangers” stemming from undermining the two-state solution predicting “catastrophic impacts” on the conflict and the broader region The E1 plan involves confiscating 12,000 dunams (nearly 3,000 acres) of Palestinian land to build over 4,000 settlement units and several hotels linking Ma’ale Adumim to roads leading into West Jerusalem warn that the project would make a two-state solution impossible by severing East Jerusalem from Palestinian areas and splitting the West Bank in two The plan dates back to 1994 but has faced repeated delays due to pressure from the EU and previous US administrations Hamas warned of the consequences of the Israeli decision saying in a statement that the project aims to “further isolate Palestinian communities and strengthen settlement expansion” while pushing Palestinians out of Jerusalem Palestinians accuse Israel of accelerating efforts to “Judaize” East Jerusalem including expanding settlements and displacing Palestinian residents They insist that East Jerusalem remains the capital of their future state citing UN resolutions that do not recognize Israel’s occupation of the city since 1967 or its 1981 annexation Hundreds of Israeli protesters on Monday evening broke through a police barrier near the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu triggering violent clashes with the police.  Several rallies across Israel took place in the evening demanding a cease-fire and hostage-prisoner swap deal in Gaza and to protest Netanyahu's insistence on staying in the Gaza-Egypt border area - known as the Philadelphi Corridor Netanyahu reaffirmed his intention to stay in the Philadelphi Corridor earlier in the day we won't (be able to) return there — not for 42 days and not for 42 years," Israel’s Channel 12 reported him as saying at a Cabinet meeting Israel has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians since an Oct 7 cross border attack by Hamas that claimed 1,200 lives and around 250 were taken as hostages.  According to the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper the protesters carried six empty coffins to represent the six captives announced dead in Gaza last week The Times of Israel news website said at least 10 Israelis were arrested outside Netanyahu's residence in West Jerusalem the Israeli army reported finding the bodies of six hostages adding to the ongoing tension as the war enters its eleventh month some of whom were believed to have already been killed and Egypt have been trying to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas Israeli authorities will approve on Wednesday the construction of over 1,000 additional settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem The public broadcaster KAN said the Planning and Building Committee of the Israeli Municipality in Jerusalem will approve the new settler homes in different existing settlements in East Jerusalem 380 settlement units will be built in the Nof Zion settlement near the Jabal al-Mukaber area in addition to a school and kindergartens will also be built between Kibbutz Ramat Rachel and the Har Homa settlements near the Palestinian neighborhood of Sur Baher in southern East Jerusalem a proposal was sent last week by Jerusalem's Deputy Mayor Arieh King to the Israeli government to promote the expansion of the Jerusalem municipality boundary to include settlements classified in the West Bank areas in a move that would strengthen the Jewish majority in Jerusalem the Palestinians represent 39% of the residents of both East and West Jerusalem considers the Israeli settlements to be illegal under international law The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution a framework seen as key to resolving the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem Firefighters work to extinguish a forest fire burning on a freeway to Jerusalem Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app We know it's a hassle to switch browsers but we want your experience with CNA to be fast Upgraded but still having issues? Contact us from the Arabic word for “fifty,” as it is said to come some 50 days per year) Average daily humidity is about 62 percent in the daytime but may drop 30 to 40 percent under sharav conditions Summer exposure to the sun’s rays in Jerusalem is intense because of the lack of clouds and the low humidity but also because the sun reaches such a high angle (80° above the horizon) at that season Jerusalem has no serious air pollution Its elevation ensures the free mixing of surface air Lying on the watershed between the relatively rainy Hare Yehuda (Hills of Judaea) and the dry Judaean desert Jerusalem has both Mediterranean and Irano-Turanian vegetation The various red and brown Mediterranean soils formed by the different types of limestone chalk covering the hills masses of wildflowers proliferate on slopes and wastelands Jerusalem is exceptionally rich in birdlife, which includes 70 resident species and about 150 winter visitors. Those most commonly seen are the hooded crow, jay, swift (which nests in old walls and buildings), and bulbul. Large flocks of white storks overfly the city. In the winter, starlings and white wagtails roost in the thousands at various points in the metropolitan area Also often observed within the city are the lesser kestrel and the Palestine sunbird The only venomous snake is the Palestine viper The smooth lizard and common chameleon frequent gardens and the walls of houses which leads from Jaffa Gate and the old Ottoman Citadel toward the Temple Mount and Bayt Ḥanīnā in the north and villages such as Silwān and Bayt Ṣafāfā in the south which combines Romanesque with Middle Eastern elements which is Romanesque in its upper part but Byzantine in its lower Ottoman architecture of the early 16th century continued the Mamluk style and is represented in some structures of the Temple Mount The rock-cut tombs east and north of the Old City exemplify architecture of the first half of the 1st millennium bce (Tomb of Pharaoh’s Daughter) and the Second Temple period (Tombs of the Kings More-contemporary trends are represented by the Bank of Israel Religious buildings remain a prominent part of the urban scene How can so many people who have never been to this city Few places loom so large in so many imaginations for so many thousands of years Jerusalem has been the Jewish people’s capital city Jerusalem has been the founding city of the Christians Jerusalem has been one of the three holy cities of Islam – with Muslims all over the world today viewing the Dome of the Rock as symbolizing Jerusalem bashana haba’ah beyerushayim.” Jews have shouted this for thousands of years and still end every Passover seder by singing it expressing an eternal hope of return and redemption when Rastafarians wanted to express their longings and hopes when we remembered Zion,” the central mountain of Jerusalem One way of understanding Jerusalem’s magic pull is to consider four of its nicknames it was the City of David — the Jewish capital the city that King David united in 1000 BCE the city where King Solomon built the first Holy Temple 40 years later the city that became the symbol of the Jews’ love of God through two destructions and years of exile the universal Jewish symbol of loss and sorrow Shortly after one of Napoleon’s great victories “Why aren’t they celebrating?” Napoleon asked his lieutenants indignantly this is the day they all mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and their two temples Napoleon said “a people who remember their past so intensely will surely return to Jerusalem – and rebuild it” evokes the mystical calming power so many Jews felt in it nourished by mighty oceans or rolling rivers defined by magnificent monuments or majestic towers Jerusalem is a desert city in a mountain range most famous for its stones the natural beauty of its surroundings clashed with the Jewish tragedies reflected in its ruins The founder of the modern Zionist movement disgusted by “the musty deposits of two thousand years of inhumanity and uncleanliness” which “lie in the foul-smelling alleys,” said after his one visit to the city in 1898: “When I remember thee in days to come But perhaps it is in the city’s very sandy in the absence of some overwhelming natural or man-made presence that so many people could put material concerns aside and find a sense of godliness And the magic certainly lies in its extraordinary ability to be a blank canvas stirring people’s dreams and moving them to make it their own Inspired by “the silhouette of the fortress of Zion the citadel of David,” Herzl would write: “if Jerusalem is ever ours and if I were still able to do anything about it That spiritual pull also made Jerusalem “The Crossroads of the World” – its third name a corridor of power for empire after empire to plow through has been the great cost of being Jerusalem… after it was conquered – making Jerusalem one of the great architectural “tels” or mounds of debris in the world while keeping Jerusalem’s history alive and layered and a reflection of so many peoples across the world and throughout the ages The name evokes Jerusalem’s latest incarnation as the old- and new – capital of the democratic Jewish state of Israel now symbolizing the Jews’ return to their homeland Jews still feel connected to one another and to Jerusalem Just like its history over thousands of years Jerusalem’s history over the last hundred years has been a roller coaster ride too Just three years after the Nazis killed six million of their people They had dreamed of this state for nearly 2,000 years when Israel’s war of Independence ended in 1949 losing part of Jerusalem left a hole in many Jews’ hearts Israel won – successfully fighting off six Arab armies — but it lost the Old City of Jerusalem “Even your foes knew you as the children of the loftiest Mount,” the poet Uri Zvi Greenberg wrote “And your kings’ psalms spring forth from their mouths… Israel without that Mount is-not Israel.” like the rest of the new country of Israel The Jordanians who controlled the Old City banished the Jews who had lived there for centuries defiled hundreds of holy scrolls and desecrated the Mount of Olives cemetery where thousands of Jews had been buried for centuries using many Jewish tombstones to pave new roads up to the Intercontinental hotel Popular legend has it that only one of the Old City’s 35 synagogues remained undamaged as the Arab custodian whose family had taken care of it for decades continued doing his job when Israel fought off another joint Arab attack Jerusalem’s liberation felt so miraculous to so many people Recognizing the city’s international importance democratic Israel wisely allowed Jews to administer the Jewish holy sites while Moslems and Christians each administer their own holy sites Israel with a full Jerusalem represents the ancient heart and soul restored to the renewed body of the Jewish people when most people enter Jerusalem’s Old City they don’t walk alone They wander around imagining someone from history on their shoulder – be it religious figures from Mary Magdalene the follower of Jesus to Mattathias – the high priest and father of the Maccabees or friends and relatives – a grandmother a great-grandfather – who dreamed of visiting the Holy City but never actually made it they also do not walk alone – they dance with King David judge wisely with King Solomon; they purify the Temple with the Maccabees and live simply like millions of their ancestors; they model a new approach of protecting the holy sites of their Christian and Muslim neighbors; and they dream of ever-improving this ancient city that now houses high-tech firms and cutting-edge hospitals along with government offices and educational institutions – in short the Crossroads of the World and Zion itself the holy – ancient – modern city which is the forever-capital of the Jewish people while precious to humanity all over the world Following antisemitic ‘F–k the Jews’ incident at Barstool bar, Dave Portnoy calls for Holocaust education — will it have an impact? Netflix hit drama about a hot Jewish serial killer, ‘You,’ is over. Was the ending dead wrong? Jerusalem’s hidden scrolls: The earliest evidence of the Hebrew bible Everything you thought about the Messiah is wrong What is Yom Ha’atzmaut? When and how do we celebrate Israel’s Independence Day? As Israel marks Yom HaZikaron, 59 hostage families still wait for their loved ones to come home Each week we bring you a wrap-up of all the best stories from Unpacked Stay in the know and feel smarter about all things Jewish The Jewish holidays in 2025 Everything we know about Benny Blanco’s Jewish identity 5 women who transformed the IDF Contact UsMastheadAbout UsAuthor BiosPitch UsCareers An OpenDor Media brand © 2025 OpenDor Media These territories were all captured by Israel though the Sinai Peninsula was later returned to Egypt when Israel launched a preemptive assault against the Egyptian and Syrian air forces the information further heightened tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors capturing it from Syrian forces after a day of heavy fighting The Arab countries’ losses in the conflict were disastrous. Egypt’s casualties numbered more than 11,000 The Arab armies also suffered crippling losses of weaponry and equipment The lopsidedness of the defeat demoralized both the Arab public and the political elite Nasser announced his resignation on June 9 but quickly yielded to mass demonstrations calling for him to remain in office which had proved beyond question that it was the region’s preeminent military power This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page economic confidence erode as war continues This article is the third in a series about life in Israel and in the West Bank and East Jerusalem almost one year after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct Note: Gallup’s past surveys in the State of Palestine* have included Gaza Gallup was not able to survey Gaza in 2024 because of ongoing security issues The data in this article represent the views of Palestinians living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem Jewish Israeli-majority areas within the West Bank and East Jerusalem are not included LONDON -- Although most of the war between Israel and Hamas is being fought in the Gaza Strip life has changed in the past year for Palestinians living in the nearby West Bank and East Jerusalem Here are five key insights into life in these territories since Oct The Cantril Scale which asks respondents to rate their current and future life on a scale of 0 to 10 (where 10 is the best life possible) gives an insight into people’s wellbeing and how they evaluate their lives Palestinians living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have rated their lives between 5.0 and 5.5 out of 10 which is as positive as they have been since Gallup began measuring life evaluations there in 2006 Palestinians’ evaluations of their current lives have dropped by nearly 1 point to 4.6 More people than ever (13%) in the West Bank and East Jerusalem now rate their lives as a 0 out of 10 how people have rated their lives in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has often been closely related to how safe they feel Since 2008, a majority of Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have felt safe walking alone in their area at night with 56% in 2024 saying they feel safe walking alone at night The past year has seen rising tensions in the West Bank more than 600 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem Israel’s defense forces have launched nearly daily military arrest raids in heavily Palestinian areas as part of counterterrorism operations There has also been a rise in settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis The West Bank and East Jerusalem have a young population and more Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem now believe the prospects for their youth are bleak The percentages who feel that children are respected (26%) and have the opportunity to learn and grow (22%) both fell in 2024 Since the World Poll began surveying the world -- including the Middle East and North Africa -- in 2006 no country in that region has scored lower than either of these readings on child welfare from the West Bank and Jerusalem The recent conflict has had significant economic consequences as well the proportion of Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem who said their local economy was getting better grew steadily from 17% to 41 Twenty-eight percent say they are finding things “very difficult” on their present income real gross domestic product (GDP) has contracted by more than 20% in the West Bank with almost all businesses facing adverse effects from the war in Gaza according to the International Labour Organization Palestinians’ approval ratings of Mahmoud Abbas -- who for nearly two decades has led the Palestinian Authority that controls parts of the West Bank -- continued to slide in 2024 Abbas’ approval rating reached a high point of 64% but it has fallen to 29% today in the West Bank and East Jerusalem with twice as many (59%) now disapproving of his leadership Even though the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas has been mostly limited to territory within Gaza its effects have been felt much more widely in the region Changing public opinion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is testament to this Palestinians there are rating their lives worse increasingly fearing for their safety and their children’s wellbeing and growing more pessimistic about their economic future *Gallup refers to the Palestinian Territories as the State of Palestine in accordance with the naming conventions used by the United Nations and International Organization for Standardization To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on X @Gallup For complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works Results for this Gallup poll are based on face-to-face interviews conducted July 7-Aug living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem Areas with population concentrations under 1,000 people were excluded The excluded areas represent approximately 2% of West Bank and East Jerusalem Interviewing was not conducted in Gaza Strip For results based on the total samples of national adults the margin of sampling error in the most recent survey is ±3.5 percentage points in the West Bank and East Jerusalem All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls Subscribe to the Front Page newsletter for weekly insights on the world's most pressing topics hopes for permanent peace and support for a two-state solution remain equally low in Israel Gallup surveys show hopes for a two-state solution and peace are further out of reach most Palestinians distrusted Biden's ability to mediate peace and support for a two-state solution dropped to 24% If the war between Israel and Hamas spills into Lebanon it could further destabilize a country still struggling from years of economic and political crises Israeli forces have perpetrated atrocity crimes in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups have also perpetrated likely atrocity crimes Over the course of fifteen months Israel launched relentless bombardments from air as well as imposed a complete siege on Gaza in response to a deadly assault by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups into Israel on 7 October 2023 approximately 70 percent of whom are women and children An estimated 14,000 more individuals are likely missing or buried under rubble of destroyed buildings Nearly 70 percent of civilian infrastructure across the Gaza Strip has been damaged or destroyed The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Israel determined that Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during its military operations and attacks in Gaza including starvation as a method of warfare intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities and others On 19 January 2025 a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel came into effect in Gaza The ceasefire agreement – brokered by the United States (US) Egypt and Qatar – consists of three phases a sequenced set of measures would lead to a surge in humanitarian aid the exchange of all hostages in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners and detainees the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza the return of displaced Palestinians to what is left of their homes and a permanent cessation of hostilities and the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the OPT has concluded that since 7 October 2023 Israel has committed at least three of the constitutive acts of genocide in Gaza and that statements made by high-level Israeli military and government officials are evidence of genocidal intent In response to the case brought by South Africa against Israel for allegations of genocide against the Palestinian people since January 2024 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued three binding sets of provisional measures that list urgent measures the Israeli authorities must take to prevent genocide and allow necessary aid to enter Gaza Israel has consistently defied these provisional measures orders and its obligations as an occupying power under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) The UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories also determined that Israel’s warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide On 21 November 2024 the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for two Israeli government officials – including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – and a Hamas official The ICC judges determined that there are reasonable grounds to believe that these senior Israeli leaders and Hamas official bear responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups attacked civilian areas in Israel and perpetrated flagrant violations of international law including capturing and forcibly taking hundreds of civilians as hostages At least 1,200 Israelis were killed and over 5,400 injured The CoI found that members of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes injuring and mistreating civilians and taking hostages The CoI identified patterns indicative of sexual violence including sexual desecration of corpses and using women and women’s bodies as “victory trophies.” Palestinian territory – encompassing the Gaza Strip and West Bank including East Jerusalem – has been occupied by Israel since 1967 The UN Special Rapporteur has determined that Israel has imposed a system of racial oppression and discrimination that satisfies the prevailing evidentiary standard for the crime of apartheid On 19 July 2024 the ICJ issued an advisory opinion – endorsed overwhelmingly by a subsequent UNGA resolution – detailing that Israel’s continued presence in the OPT is unlawful asserting Israel must end its presence as rapidly as possible immediately cease all new settlement activities and evacuate all settlers Since 7 October 2023 existing patterns of violence in the Occupied West Bank have escalated resulting in hundreds of Palestinian fatalities and injuries The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that settlers carrying out these attacks are acting with the acquiescence and collaboration of Israeli forces and authorities including members of the Israeli forces and 828 Palestinians have been killed in 2023 Israel seized more Palestinian land than in any year in the past 30 years There has also been a sharp increase in unnecessary and disproportionate force by Israeli forces violent military tactics during search-and-arrest operations and incursions by armored personnel carriers and bulldozers sent to refugee camps OHCHR has reported a significant increase in extrajudicial executions mass detentions and enforced disappearances – with thousands held in detention in deplorable conditions without charge or trial – as well as sexual violence and ill-treatment that may amount to torture against Palestinian detainees Since 21 January Israel has launched a large-scale military operation in the northern Occupied West Bank, with a marked escalation during February following the deployment of tanks for the first time in over two decades The ongoing assault has killed over 50 Palestinians damaged critical infrastructure and forcibly displaced over 40,000 Palestinians marking the largest wave of forced displacement in the Occupied West Bank since 1967 On 30 January legislation passed by the Israeli parliament to effectively dismantle the work of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in territories under Israeli control came into effect and the closure of several of its facilities in the Occupied West Bank UNRWA has continued its operations across the OPT in an attempt to pressure Hamas to change the terms of the ceasefire agreement closing border crossings and blocking the entry of all goods and supplies On 9 March Israel halted electricity supply to Gaza While the ceasefire agreement provides long-awaited relief to Palestinians in Gaza and families of hostages atrocity risks remain until a permanent cessation of hostilities is achieved the root causes of violence are addressed and a sustainable political solution is realized Israel’s ongoing military assault on the Occupied West Bank – resembling its conduct in Gaza – has heightened the risk of further atrocity crimes against Palestinians as well as the collapse of the already fragile ceasefire in Gaza Both sides have already threatened to withdraw from the ceasefire due to actual and alleged violations of the agreement For fifteen months Israel subjected Palestinians in Gaza to genocidal acts causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about their destruction coupled with the conduct in Gaza have reflected an accompanying intent to destroy a substantial part of the Palestinian population The mass displacement of Palestinians in Gaza likely amounts to the war crime and crime against humanity of forcible transfer the latest siege likely amounts to intentional starvation of civilians as a method of warfare – a war crime – and may amount to a crime against humanity Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups perpetrated likely war crimes as well as potential crimes against humanity Hamas’ indiscriminate rocket attacks are also in violation of international law Hamas’ security forces have also committed grave abuses against Palestinians in Gaza an occupying power is prohibited from transferring parts of its civilian population into occupied territory also known as “settler implantation.” Seizures and demolitions of Palestinian and Bedouin land and property leave communities at risk of forced evictions arbitrary displacement and forcible transfer Israel’s permanent occupation endangers the cultural existence of the Palestinian people and violates their right to self-determination The international community has largely struggled to speak out resolutely in defense of international law and the protection of civilians Since 7 October the UN Security Council (UNSC) has voted multiple times on draft resolutions with many failing to pass due to insufficient votes or vetoes cast by Permanent Members The US has a long history of using its veto to protect Israel A permanent ceasefire must be urgently reached and monitored by an independent UNSC Resolution 2735 must be implemented without delay Israel should immediately lift the siege of Gaza Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups must safely and unconditionally release all individuals taken hostage All states must cease arms exports to Israel as well as apply other economic and political measures necessary to ensure respect for international law and the implementation of legally binding UNSC Resolution 2728 anti-Arab and Islamophobic hate speech and leaders must refrain from spreading and engaging in dehumanizing rhetoric and actions Governments with influence must use all diplomatic means to urge the Israeli government to repeal the legislation dismantling UNRWA’s work in the OPT Israel must immediately implement the ICJ’s provisional measures and its allies must ensure Israel’s compliance States parties to the Genocide Convention should support proceedings before the ICJ and refrain from attempts to impede the independent work of the Court or discredit the merits of the dispute The ICC must be allowed to conduct its mandate with independence and impartiality and all states should cease any impediments retaliation or improper influences against the Court and its officials Israel should ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC and cooperate with all UN-mandated investigative mechanisms The root causes of violence and atrocities must also be addressed Israel must lift its blockade on Gaza and cease illegal settlement-related activity and apartheid policies Israel should also end the occupation of Palestinian territory and collective punishment of Palestinians All parties should work toward a sustainable political solution consistent with international law and various UNSC resolutions Sign up for our newsletter and stay up to date on R2P news and alerts The works at the Western Wall plaza following its liberation in 1967 | Photo: Kurt Meyerowitz / KKL-JNF archive marking the 57th anniversary of the reunification of the holy city the unforgivable trivialization of the term "war crimes" by the Palestinians is coming face to face with an additional victim – the Western Wall The Palestinian media are now recycling the false claim that the evacuation of the residents of the Mughrabi Quarter in the southeast corner of the Old City of Jerusalem its subsequent demolition and construction of the Western Wall Plaza to be used for Jewish prayers on that site The Palestinians are also taking this story onto the international stage and in the process they are spreading more lies and disinformation regarding the Western Wall: "the Jews have no ties with the Western Wall"; "the fabricated link of the Jews to the Western Wall is a matter of no more than 400-500 years"; "the Muslims own the exclusive religious historical and legal rights to the Western Wall The Palestinian Authority (PA) took this one step further when it published that there is no documented record of the fact that the Jews designated the Western Wall as a site for ritual worship at any time only doing so after the Balfour Declaration in 1917 and on another occasion it even reported that the Mughrabi Quarter would be rebuilt on the Jews' prayer plaza The Palestinians are essentially turning history upside down then we need some degree of order and precision in the Palestinian compendium of lies and falsehoods: When thousands cried at the Western Wall only a few months ago during a special prayer session for the safe return of the hostages I was reminded of the words of the poet Avigdor Hameiri who wrote in his poem about "the last rain of tears" and the eyes "looking (from the Western Wall NS) back at all the generations" (from the poem "By the Kotel") when the Palestinians spread lies regarding the Western Wall and accuse us of committing war crimes there it is both possible and in fact obligatory to debunk them it might be a good idea to adopt the approach taken by Rabbi Kook when faced with similar falsehoods regarding the Western Wall that were spread at the turn of the twentieth century "By relying on certificates," Rabbi Kook said to the members of the Shaw Commission years before the ICC came into being at The Hague and that is – one of the most famous and well-known facts that need no evidence (the ties of the Jews to the Western Wall; NS) To someone holding up a candle in order to boost the sunlight." Hamas gave a name to this current war: "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" just like the myths regarding the Western Wall is a pure expression of tremendous deceit and falsehood a double lie: the many Muslims who are convinced that Al-Aqsa is in danger are also convinced that "their" Al-Aqsa that is at risk lies in a location where our Temple was never situated; that the Temple on the Temple Mount is nothing more than a forgery and an invention Part of the legitimacy that terrorism draws upon from this lie is based on this addition as it is much more legitimate to falsely accuse and murder Jews in order to "protect the 'captured' Al-Aqsa and to liberate it from the Jews who are planning to destroy it," when Israel and the Jews "are planning to target the place" whose connection to the Jews is nothing more than a lie and a forgery This is how the lie that supports the accusation intensifies the legitimacy to murder in its name As far as the Hamas Nukhba terrorists and those who sent them are concerned they are not merely murdering the Jews whose very souls are intertwined with the Temple Mount and its history simply to redeem Al-Aqsa from the impurity of the Jews and their hold over it; from their point of view they are also murdering the forgers of history they seek to liberate the Mount on the conceptual level Rabbi Kook said to the members of the Shaw Commission: "The connection of the Jews to the site is one of the most famous and well-known facts that need no evidence To someone holding up a candle in order to boost the sunlight" just as with the story of the Western Wall there is an entire spectrum of evidence and sources – Torah historical and archaeological sources – which completely refute the Muslims' blanket denial of the Jewish affinity to and precedence in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount the situation is akin to "someone holding up a candle in order to boost the sunlight," but here we also hold an additional trump card: a long list of Muslim sources and clerics who for some 1,350 years have identified the Temple Mount as the site of the Jewish Temple and Israel would do well to finally take this trump card out from its sleeve and actually play it was the Persian historian Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (838-923) most prominent and renowned commentators on the Qu'ran and the Muslim tradition which bears the seal of Al-Azhar – the most important study institute in the Sunni Muslim world – was photographed and smuggled years ago by Noha Hassid (originally an Egyptian Muslim named Noha Hashad) and was given over to the Middle East scholar Dr among others: "Bayt al-Maqdis (the Temple Mount) was built by Solomon rubies and the peridot gemstone; it was laid with silver and gold clearly contradicts the efforts of many Muslims to rehash the history of the Temple Mount in recent years according to which "the myth of the false temple is the greatest crime of forgery in history," and entire books have been written in this spirit there are dozens more Muslim clerics from earlier periods in history "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" in effect erases their writings on the topic of the Mount and its history These writings do not fit in with the philosophy of destruction of the Jews and the State of Israel espoused by the new Nazis from Hamas and their collaborators in the PA and with the role assigned to Al-Aqsa as an instrument for attaining that goal This orderly ideology was incorporated about three years ago in the content of the 'End of Days' Conference' held in Gaza under the auspices of the Hamas leader Here they did not only deal with Al-Aqsa but also the issue of the "right of return" The conference and its content was exposed by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) but the Israeli media did not attribute much significance to it which spoke of "the full liberation of Palestine and the return of the Palestinian refugees to their homes." explained that the organization is in possession of "...lists of the numbers of the apartments and the Israeli institutions and there is no choice but to prepare to run them.. We believe that the liberation will be completed within a few years this will be an unprecedented historical event both on a regional and a global scale and it will indeed have global implications." The conference's closing announcement included descriptions of the various dimensions of the "liberation" and the "return" to the 1948 lands and it also mentioned the practical assistance that would be provided to those returning refugees as well as the plans for the absorption of the Palestinians back in their cities of origin One of those cities of origin is of course Jerusalem that documented 7,000 buildings (in western Jerusalem) in which Arabs had resided prior to the War of Independence addresses and their land registration extracts Apart from winning the war over hearts and minds for the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Hamas and the PA also seek to implement the plan for the return of the Palestinian refugees and not to do so in theory but in practice This is something else that we really do need to remember on Israel's 57th Jerusalem Day Demographic maths has accompanied us here in Jerusalem since the city was reunified the various Ministerial Committees for Jerusalem have even defined the positive Jewish demographic balance as a target and from time to time have updated this in terms of the numbers involved we began with 74 percent Jews and 26 percent Arabs the ratio in terms of percentage is 60:40 in favor of the Jews In 1967 there were 69 thousand Arabs in Jerusalem there are some 400 thousand Arabs resident in the city In 1967 there were only 200 thousand Jews living in Jerusalem and today there are some 600 thousand Jews in the city The photocopy of al-Ṭabarī's ancient manuscript contradicts the rewriting of the history of the Temple Mount in recent years conducted by the Muslims "the myth of the false temple is the greatest crime of forgery in history." Despite the reversal in the fertility rate – in the Jewish sector of the population this stands at 4.3 children per woman while among the Arab sector this amounts to 3 children per woman – the Arab majority has been growing mainly due to the negative Jewish migration from Jerusalem Approximately 18 thousand Jews leave the capital each year Much less Jews come to live there annually This is referred to as a "negative migration balance." Over the last 45 years hundreds of thousands of Jewish residents have left the city There is a relatively simple method that should make it possible to contend with the Jewish demographic plight in Jerusalem but that requires political courage and vision The Arab neighborhoods located beyond the security fence complete with a huge Israeli governmental vacuum are inhabited by about one third of the population of east Jerusalem; some 140 thousand residents It is possible to remove these neighborhoods form the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem without removing them from the territory of the State of Israel and then to establish for them a separate local Israeli council or councils The residents permits that the inhabitants of these areas possess from across Kafr 'Aqab and the Shuafat refugee camp and by virtue of the fact that they live within the bounds of the State of Israel they will continue to enjoy their resident's status along with the economic benefits that are part and parcel of this we should begin to establish an official municipal link between Jerusalem and the Jewish settlements in the "Greater Jerusalem" area the first government of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to establish an umbrella municipality for Jerusalem and its Jewish satellite towns but this decision was never actually implemented even though it merely involved municipal annexation rather than the application of the Israeli law when the deck of cards has been reshuffled it might be a good time to revisit that idea If the northern Arab neighborhoods are removed from Jerusalem and the Jewish neighborhoods in the surrounding communities are municipally annexed to the capital the demographic situation in Jerusalem will dramatically improve in favor of the Jews This will also facilitate an end to the insufferable crowding of Jerusalem within its current municipal boundaries which has an adverse effect on both the beauty of the city and the quality of life of its inhabitants as well as enabling much more expansive construction of housing units for the Jewish population in "Greater Jerusalem" Jewish Agency Chairman Major General (Res.) Doron Almog met with new Olim soldiers.. "I know there's a lot of responsibility on me the scale and nature of the tragedy in the Lapu Lapu festival that killed 11 feel alien... Analysis  Archaeology Blogpost Business & Finance Culture Exclusive Explainer Environment Features Health In Brief Jewish World Judea and Samaria Lifestyle Cyber & Internet Sports Diplomacy  Iran & The Gulf Gaza Strip Politics Shopping Terms of use Privacy Policy Submissions Contact Us The first issue of Israel Hayom appeared on July 30 Israel Hayom was founded on the belief that the Israeli public deserves better more balanced and more accurate journalism [contact-form-7 id=”508379″ html_id=”isrh_form_Newsletter_en” title=”newsletter_subscribe”] restrictions in Beit Iksa have become even more suffocating In January this year, four-year-old Ruqayya Jahalin, her mother and her five siblings were waiting in a taxi at the checkpoint that is the only way in and out of their home, the occupied West Bank village of Beit Iksa Inspections by the Israeli military or border police mean it often takes a long time for Palestinians to enter the besieged village the border police started shooting indiscriminately The border police say they aimed at a car behind the taxi which sped into the checkpoint without stopping Israeli authorities maintain the incident was a terrorist attack although the couple’s family disputes this Murad Zayed Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum/The Guardian“There are so many problems at that checkpoint … It is the only way into the village and it’s the source of all our problems,” said Beit Iksa’s mayor “Living in Beit Iksa is like living in a prison.” Beit Iksa’s location on the outskirts of Jerusalem makes it a uniquely isolated village, even by the already punishing standards of Israeli restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement in the West Bank as well as teachers and medics with special permits and there are strict rules for everything else too – food “My grandchildren are registered in their mother’s village so they can’t come visit me here,” said Zein Habak Since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October last year and the ensuing war in Gaza these regulations have become even more suffocating An informal crossing – little more than a gap in the fencing to walk through near the settlement of Har Shmu’el a mile away – was the main route for Beit Iksa villagers with Jerusalem permits to get to the contested city without adding hours to the journey even that has been sealed by a security order The only passage that Beit Iksa residents can use to get to the city: cars can drop passengers off either side Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum/The Guardian“We are appealing but the court so far says it is a temporary measure This is always how it starts: a new restriction comes in it becomes permanent,” said Firas al-Assli All coordination with the Israeli civil administration in the West Bank has been cut so there are no longer permits for outsiders to visit for events such as weddings and funerals Deliveries of cooking gas canisters have been limited to once a week rather than twice; only certain types of animal feed are permitted; tractors and agricultural machinery have been turned back Residents say they are faced with new rules all the time “Because so little is coming into the village “And we are not allowed to work in Jerusalem any more teachers at Beit Iksa’s two primary schools have been stopped from entering the village several times this year and sick people seeking medical help have not been allowed to leave The closed road that used to link Beit Iksa to Jerusalem via the Israeli settlement of Ramot Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum/The Guardian“As well as [the Ruqayya Jahalin incident] a construction worker was injured and it took an hour to get him to a hospital in Ramallah they held up some high-school students going to take their final exams,” he said we have to get security clearance for them,” the mayor continued at a community meeting during the Guardian’s recent visit to Beit Iksa “I need to send someone to the checkpoint to go receive them.” the Israeli army said it was responding to an uptick in Palestinian attacks on Israelis since the 7 October attack by Hamas “The security forces operate in the area of Judea and Samaria in accordance with the situational assessment in order to provide security to all residents of the area,” it said using the Israeli nomenclature for the West Bank there are dynamic checkpoints and efforts to monitor movement in different areas in the region.” Israel’s border police did not respond to the Guardian’s requests for comment Over the years Beit Iksa land has been seized one chunk at a time by the Israeli state for the expansion of Ramot a settlement Israel considers a suburb of annexed East Jerusalem as well as plots the state says were purchased by Jewish people before the creation of Israel in 1948 land was also confiscated for the construction of the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv railway; today the train is visible from almost everywhere in the village speeding past over a bridge built over the village’s hilly fields and orchards The electric rail line connecting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv is seen from Beit Iksa Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum/The GuardianBeit Iksa is only 200 metres away from the west side of Ramot there is no fence or wall separating it from where Israelis live – just a valley Afraid that Palestinians would use the village to enter Jerusalem during the second intifada it was instead cut off from neighbouring Palestinian communities by an electric fence that connects to the West Bank separation barrier it was supplemented by the permanent closure of the old road leading from Beit Iksa to Jerusalem and a new checkpoint on the other side of the village With the informal walking crossing at Har Shmu’el now sealed too the checkpoint where Ruqayya was killed in January is the only way in and out owns the only house in the valley that leads up to Ramot An Ottoman-era stone dwelling surrounded by roses and olive trees he has been unable to live there since the Israeli military declared the road off limits these Israeli youngsters came when they got lost hiking,” he said “I gave them a ride back to Jerusalem in my car Israel on Friday has severed ties between the Spanish Consulate in Jerusalem and Palestinians from the occupied West Bank Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that “in response to Spain's recognition of a Palestinian state and the anti-Semitic call by Spain's deputy prime minister to not just recognize a Palestinian state but to 'liberate Palestine from the river to the sea,' I have decided to sever the connection between Spain's representation in Israel and the Palestinians.” Katz added that he has also decided to “prohibit the Spanish Consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians from the West Bank.” hate-filled individual wants to understand what radical Islam truly seeks she should study the 700 years of Islamic rule in Al-Andalus—today's Spain,” he added This action follows Spain's recognition of a Palestinian state and remarks by Spanish deputy prime minister who called for the "liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea.” Deputy Premier Yolanda Diaz's comments came on Thursday at the end of a social media video where she explained Spain’s move to recognize Palestinian statehood on May 28 is just the beginning Israel has never resorted to such a measure including when Sweden recognized Palestine in October 2014 While the embassies in Tel Aviv specialize in providing services to Israelis the general consulates in East Jerusalem specialize in providing services to the Palestinians and political relations and Ireland announced on Wednesday their decision to recognize the State of Palestine The recognition comes as Israel continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct 2023 despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the enclave At least 35,800 Palestinians have been killed the vast majority of whom have been women and children and 80,200 others injured since last October following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas More than seven months into the Israeli war vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice which has ordered it to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that the Gaza Strip belongs to the Palestinians along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem "Just like East Jerusalem and the West Bank our brothers and sisters in Gaza will continue to live forever on the land where they were born," Erdogan said in remarks after a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara Citing the Turkish-hosted April 18 meeting of the Group of Parliaments in Support of Palestine Erdogan said Türkiye's support for the Palestinian cause “is well known to the entire world.” “The Palestinian people have repeatedly shown that they will not surrender and will never bow to oppression – despite all the hardships and all the acts of barbarism,” Erdogan said Gaza has witnessed not only some of the most brutal massacres of the past century but also an epic resistance that stands as a source of pride for all humanity,” he added Erdogan underlined that nothing can be achieved in Gaza through Israel's current course of bloodshed and cutting off food and medical aid "Now it must be recognized that no place can be reached in Gaza by shedding more blood Urging everyone to “come to their senses and avoid recklessly squandering the windows of opportunity that have opened for stability in our region,” Erdogan said that that is what Türkiye seeks and coexistence of all the peoples in our region we will continue to work for peace and stability in the future as well,” he added The BIST name and logo are protected under the "Protected Trademark Certificate" and cannot be used or altered without permission.All rights to the information disclosed under the BIST name are entirely owned by BIST and cannot be republished Market data is provided by iDealdata Financial Technologies Inc The conflict between Israel and Palestinians — and other groups in the Middle East — goes back decades These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them JERUSALEM — Tens of thousands of Israeli nationalists marched through the streets of Jerusalem on Wednesday they marched from the western part of the city and into predominantly Palestinian areas sometimes chanting religious songs and other times anti-Arab slurs shuttering their stores as groups of Israeli teen boys harassed and taunted them breaking glass and throwing goods to the floor pushing at least one to the ground and causing blood to pour down his face Leftist Israeli activists were also present trying to protect Palestinians from attacks and calm tensions “Troublemakers!” Palestinian shopkeeper Rimon Himo yelled as Israeli teens surrounded his juice shop in the Old City’s Muslim quarter One boy flipped both his middle fingers at Himo jumping and chanting “Wipe them out,” referring to Palestinians Eventually a burst of pepper spray dispersed the crowd Jerusalem Day marks the anniversary of the Six-Day War between Israel and its neighbors in 1967 Israel also gained control of the West Bank Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula (which Egypt later reclaimed) Those territories – including East Jerusalem – remain disputed and most countries do not recognize Israel’s claim to them The Palestinians consider East Jerusalem to be the capital of their hoped-for future independent state The annual march regularly inflames Israeli-Palestinian tensions but this year those tensions are even higher because of the war in Gaza which started after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel last Oct They killed 1,200 people in that attack and took more than 240 hostage Israeli attacks have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians Around 3,000 Israeli police officers were deployed for the event lining the streets and patrolling the Old City They stepped in to try to disperse the teens and keep crowds moving Hamas had issued a statement calling on Palestinians to rise in a “day of anger” against the march Israelis marching expressed a need to show unity “Jerusalem is our heart,” said 63-year-old Mati Elkayam “The attack made it even more crucial for us to come here and be part of the nation Some of the most prominent far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet were in attendance including Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir He made remarks about Jews being able to "pray anywhere" in Jerusalem calling for a change in Israeli policy to allow Jewish prayer at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound Netanyahu later said the status quo at the site would not change the Israeli military launched a new offensive in central Gaza A Palestinian hospital director there told NPR more than 140 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombardment in the area since Tuesday Itay Stern contributed to this report in Jerusalem Become an NPR sponsor The top United Nations court in the Hague said Friday that Israel’s 57-year occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem is 'unlawful' and called on Israel to cease its presence in the occupied territories including dismantling Israel settlements there and paying reparations The advisory decision by the International Court of Justice is non-binding and is unlikely to have much real impact on the ground in the West Bank and East Jerusalem But the decision was the first time the court had issued an opinion on the legality of Israel’s occupation and will be another blow to Israel’s international standing "The State of Israel is under the obligation to bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible," said ICJ President Nawaf Salam who delivered the decision for the 15-member court Israel Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the decision condemning its reasoning as “lies.” Netanyahu said “The Jewish people are not conquerors in their own land.” The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the decision “historic” and demanded that “Israel be compelled to implement it," in a statement carried by the official Palestinians news agency Wafa The ICJ is also weighing charges brought by South Africa that Israel’s 10-month war against Hamas in Gazaamounts to genocide It launched its devastating campaign to destroy Hamas after the Palestinian militant group mounted a surprise attack against Israel killing around 1,200 people according to Israel The war in Gaza has killed more than 38,000 people Israel captured the West Bank – together with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip – in the 1967 war against its Arab neighbors Israeli settlers – who call the area Judea and Samaria – have built communities in the region which the international community has long deemed illegal Settlements in the Gaza Strip were dismantled in 2005 when Israel withdrew from the southern coastal enclave took control of the territory in a brief civil war with its secular rivals Fatah Israel imposed restrictions on goods entering the area a blockade that tightened even further during its military campaign after the October 7 attack by Hamas which runs parts of the occupied West Bank wants to build an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank The current Israeli administration rejects calls for an independent Palestinian state violence has also increased in the West Bank where Israeli forces have carried out increasing raids on Palestinian militant groups and where settlers have stepped up their own attacks on Palestinians The ICJ opinion delivered on Friday predates the current war in Gaza was drawn up after a request was made by the U.N General Assembly before the current conflict on Gaza President Recep Erdogan on Monday reiterated his support for the people of Palestine “Just like East Jerusalem and the West Bank Gaza belongs to the Palestinians,” Erdogan said after a cabinet meeting in Ankara “God willing,” the president added “our brothers and sisters in Gaza will continue to live forever on the land where they were born.” noted that Turkiye’s support for the Palestinian cause is well known to the world He praised the people for showing that they will not abandon their homeland and will never bow to oppression “despite the hardships and acts of barbarism.” but also an epic resistance that stands as a source of pride for all humanity The president condemned Israel’s operations in Gaza stressing that nothing can be achieved in Gaza through Israel’s current course of bloodshed and cutting off food and medical aid cannot achieve anything by shedding more blood The Turkish leader advised everyone to “come to their senses” and avoid squandering the windows of opportunity that have opened for stability in the region EFCC arrests Aisha Achimugu at Abuja Airport Katsina: Bandits block Kankara–Dutsin-Ma road Israeli cabinet approves expansion of Gaza offensive Israel’s airport attack: Iran vows to strike back if US Israel shuts down airport after Houthi ballistic missile attacks ‘You’ll fail’ – Turkey President Erdoğan warns those against Islamization of northern Cyprus Mediation: Stop playing both sides’ in Gaza talks – Israel tells Qatar Israel launches attack on two Syrian cities Copyright © Daily Post Media Ltd Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is facing calls from the Netanyahu government and local Jewish groups to again recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital if the Coalition wins the federal election The Morrison government recognised West Jerusalem as the Israeli capital in 2018, before the Albanese government reversed the move three years later pictured in Tel Aviv in 2023.Credit: Kate Geraghty Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel told this masthead: “I would expect the declaration of Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel.” Declaring that West Jerusalem’s status as Israel’s capital was an “obvious and undisputed fact”, Haskel said such a move would help repair the fractured relationship between the two countries which has become increasingly acrimonious since Labor came to power The push has been rejected by Palestinian advocates who said it was “shocking” to think Australia would reward Israel after the way it conducted the war in Gaza The Israeli government was angered when the Albanese government announced it would no longer recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in October 2022 in a messy process that began with a quiet change to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website Peter Dutton has been urged to recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.Credit: Rhett Wyman executive director for the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council said: “The Coalition should absolutely undertake to reverse this appalling decision and acknowledge that Israel has the right of every other country to determine its own capital He continued: “The decision of the Albanese government to reverse this recognition just months after it was elected was an ominous portent of the way this government would progressively turn its back on the Jewish state Asked at a press conference in Canberra last month whether a Coalition government would again recognise West Jerusalem we have no proposals to make any changes to any settings that we’ve got at the moment.” Opposition foreign affairs spokesman David Coleman told this masthead in January the Coalition would have more to say about Jerusalem at a later date Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin urged a return to the Morrison-era policy “The reversal of the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel emboldened the ‘river to the sea’ pro-Palestinian fanatics and brought absolutely no benefits to Australia showing the folly of seeking to satisfy extremists,” Ryvchin said “We urge both major parties to commit to abandoning the fiction that Israel’s capital is in Tel Aviv and making recognition of Jerusalem a matter of consensus rather than partisanship.” The Morrison government was accused of undermining hopes of a two-state solution and using foreign policy to curry favour with Jewish voters by recognising West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital ahead of a 2018 byelection in the Sydney seat of Wentworth Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni described the calls as “deeply troubling” “Israel stands accused of genocide in Gaza and its prime minister was indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the highest court on earth The violence required to think Israel could be rewarded with the recognition of West Jerusalem as its capital is shocking.” Most countries maintain their Israeli embassies in Tel Aviv and do not officially recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital even though it is the site of the Israeli parliament Plans for a two-state solution typically envisage an Israeli capital in West Jerusalem and a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017 and moved the US embassy to the ancient city in 2018 executive director of the progressive New Israel Fund Australia there had been longstanding bipartisan consensus that Jerusalem would remain as a final status issue “Recognising West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel without recognising East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine would do nothing for the cause of peace.” When announcing the government’s decision in 2022 Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Morrison government had engaged in “a cynical play to win the seat of Wentworth and a byelection” the government has reaffirmed Australia’s previous and long-standing position that Jerusalem is a final status issue a final status issue that should be resolved as part of any peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people,” she said Wong later said the timing of the decision on the holy Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah “I regret that the shift away from Australia’s longstanding position have been distressing for communities that have a deep-rooted and keenly felt stake in the cessation of conflict particularly the Australian Jewish community,” she said at the time Former prime minister Scott Morrison has denied that domestic politics played a role in the decision Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is facing calls from the Netanyahu government and local Jewish groups to again recognise West Jerusalem as Israel\\u2019s capital if the Coalition wins the federal election The Morrison government recognised West Jerusalem as the Israeli capital in 2018 Israel\\u2019s Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel told this masthead: \\u201CI would expect the declaration of Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel.\\u201D Declaring that West Jerusalem\\u2019s status as Israel\\u2019s capital was an \\u201Cobvious and undisputed fact\\u201D Haskel said such a move would help repair who said it was \\u201Cshocking\\u201D to think Australia would reward Israel after the way it conducted the war in Gaza The Israeli government was angered when the Albanese government announced it would no longer recognise West Jerusalem as Israel\\u2019s capital in October 2022 in a messy process that began with a quiet change to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website said: \\u201CThe Coalition should absolutely undertake to reverse this appalling decision should it be elected to government.\\u201D He continued: \\u201CThe decision of the Albanese government to reverse this recognition just months after it was elected was an ominous portent of the way this government would progressively turn its back on the Jewish state especially at its time of greatest need.\\u201D we have no proposals to make any changes to any settings that we\\u2019ve got at the moment.\\u201D \\u201CThe reversal of the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel emboldened the \\u2018river to the sea\\u2019 pro-Palestinian fanatics and brought absolutely no benefits to Australia showing the folly of seeking to satisfy extremists,\\u201D Ryvchin said \\u201CWe urge both major parties to commit to abandoning the fiction that Israel\\u2019s capital is in Tel Aviv and making recognition of Jerusalem a matter of consensus rather than partisanship.\\u201D The Morrison government was accused of undermining hopes of a two-state solution and using foreign policy to curry favour with Jewish voters by recognising West Jerusalem as Israel\\u2019s capital ahead of a 2018 byelection in the Sydney seat of Wentworth Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni described the calls as \\u201Cdeeply troubling\\u201D \\u201CIsrael stands accused of genocide in Gaza The violence required to think Israel could be rewarded with the recognition of West Jerusalem as its capital is shocking.\\u201D Most countries maintain their Israeli embassies in Tel Aviv and do not officially recognise Jerusalem as Israel\\u2019s capital US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel\\u2019s capital in 2017 and moved the US embassy to the ancient city in 2018 said: \\u201CUntil the previous government \\u201CRecognising West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel without recognising East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine would do nothing for the cause of peace.\\u201D When announcing the government\\u2019s decision in 2022 Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Morrison government had engaged in \\u201Ca cynical play to win the seat of Wentworth and a byelection\\u201D the government has reaffirmed Australia\\u2019s previous and long-standing position that Jerusalem is a final status issue a final status issue that should be resolved as part of any peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people,\\u201D she said \\u201CI regret that the shift away from Australia\\u2019s longstanding position particularly the Australian Jewish community,\\u201D she said at the time Cut through the noise of federal politics with news Photo: Diego Fedele/AAP PHOTOSThe coalition's policy about whether it would recognise West Jerusalem as Israel's capital remains unclear after an apparent policy contradiction Former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison unilaterally recognised West Jerusalem as Israel's capital ahead of a 2018 by-election in a move that was branded as a political ploy to get Jewish votes in the eastern Sydney electorate The move was reversed in 2022 by Foreign Minister Penny Wong after Labor took power Opposition foreign affairs spokesman David Coleman affirmed the coalition's policy was to recognise West Jerusalem as Israel's capital in a major foreign policy speech to the Sydney Institute on Thursday night "We will conduct an orderly and professional consultation process including discussions with local community groups our agencies and Israel's government," he said as he called Labor's reversal "contemptuous treatment of our democratic ally" Peter Dutton has said the coalition had no plans to 'change the settings' on West Jerusalem (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS)But when asked about recognising West Jerusalem last month Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told reporters the coalition "have no proposals to make any changes to any settings that we've got in place at the moment"  Mr Morrison's recognition determined a final status issue that should have been resolved as part of two-state solution negotiations in a ploy to win votes a spokesperson for the foreign minister said Mr Coleman's speech was a "fictional rewrite of Australia's Middle East policy" "(It) erases the part where the Liberals overturned decades of bipartisanship and isolated our nation from the overwhelming majority of the international community Mr Dutton's office was contacted for comment about the apparent contradiction Mr Coleman also criticised Labor for talk of recognising a Palestinian state ahead of a negotiated two-state solution Minister Penny Wong says West Jerusalem's status should be part of two-state solution negotiations (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)Senator Wong has said recognition should now come as part of negotiations as people within the Israeli political system including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't it?" she told a parliamentary hearing The coalition believes recognition should come at the end of negotiations with Israel you have two states," Mr Coleman contended in his speech when referencing the shift "And how can you recognise Palestine if there has been no agreement on its borders?" Palestine is recognised by about 75 per cent of UN member states Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy For decades Jerusalem’s status has been among the most contentious issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict The city is home to hundreds of thousands of people who belong to either nationality and both Israelis and Palestinians want the historic city to serve as their capital In 1980 Israel declared East Jerusalem part of its “complete and united” capital and since then Israeli development in East Jerusalem has complicated the practicality of splitting the city once again the eastern portion is heavily populated by Palestinians who want to return it to Arab rule and their communities retain a central place in the Palestinian economy Experience present-day Jerusalem in this infographic and learn more about the complexity involved in uniting or dividing the ancient city Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is facing calls from the Netanyahu government and local Jewish groups to again recognise West Jerusalem as Israel\\u2019s capital if the Coalition wins the federal election. The Morrison government recognised West Jerusalem as the Israeli capital in 2018, before three years later. Declaring that West Jerusalem\\u2019s status as Israel\\u2019s capital was an \\u201Cobvious and undisputed fact\\u201D, Haskel said such a move would help repair , which has become increasingly acrimonious since Labor came to power. The push has been rejected by Palestinian advocates, who said it was \\u201Cshocking\\u201D to think Australia would reward Israel after the way it conducted the war in Gaza. The Israeli government was angered when the Albanese government announced it would no longer recognise West Jerusalem as Israel\\u2019s capital in October 2022 in a messy process that began with a quiet change to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website. Colin Rubenstein, executive director for the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, said: \\u201CThe Coalition should absolutely undertake to reverse this appalling decision, and acknowledge that Israel has the right of every other country to determine its own capital, should it be elected to government.\\u201D He continued: \\u201CThe decision of the Albanese government to reverse this recognition just months after it was elected was an ominous portent of the way this government would progressively turn its back on the Jewish state, especially at its time of greatest need.\\u201D Asked at a press conference in Canberra last month whether a Coalition government would again recognise West Jerusalem, Dutton said: \\u201CWell, we have no proposals to make any changes to any settings that we\\u2019ve got at the moment.\\u201D Opposition foreign affairs spokesman David Coleman told this masthead in January the Coalition would have more to say about Jerusalem at a later date. Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin urged a return to the Morrison-era policy. \\u201CThe reversal of the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel emboldened the \\u2018river to the sea\\u2019 pro-Palestinian fanatics and brought absolutely no benefits to Australia, showing the folly of seeking to satisfy extremists,\\u201D Ryvchin said. The Morrison government was accused of undermining hopes of a two-state solution and using foreign policy to curry favour with Jewish voters by recognising West Jerusalem as Israel\\u2019s capital ahead of a 2018 byelection in the Sydney seat of Wentworth. Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni described the calls as \\u201Cdeeply troubling\\u201D. \\u201CIsrael stands accused of genocide in Gaza, and its prime minister was indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the highest court on earth. The violence required to think Israel could be rewarded with the recognition of West Jerusalem as its capital is shocking.\\u201D Most countries maintain their Israeli embassies in Tel Aviv and do not officially recognise Jerusalem as Israel\\u2019s capital, even though it is the site of the Israeli parliament. Plans for a two-state solution typically envisage an Israeli capital in West Jerusalem and a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel\\u2019s capital in 2017 and moved the US embassy to the ancient city in 2018. Michael Chaitow, executive director of the progressive New Israel Fund Australia, said: \\u201CUntil the previous government, there had been longstanding bipartisan consensus that Jerusalem would remain as a final status issue. When announcing the government\\u2019s decision in 2022, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Morrison government had engaged in \\u201Ca cynical, unsuccessful, play to win the seat of Wentworth and a byelection\\u201D. \\u201CToday, the government has reaffirmed Australia\\u2019s previous and long-standing position that Jerusalem is a final status issue, a final status issue that should be resolved as part of any peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people,\\u201D she said. Wong later said the timing of the decision, on the holy Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, was \\u201Cdeeply regrettable\\u201D. \\u201CI regret that the shift away from Australia\\u2019s longstanding position, and the shift back this week, have been distressing for communities that have a deep-rooted and keenly felt stake in the cessation of conflict, particularly the Australian Jewish community,\\u201D she said at the time. Former prime minister Scott Morrison has denied that domestic politics played a role in the decision. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. . All articles from our website & appThe digital version of Today's PaperBreaking news alerts direct to your inboxInteractive Crosswords Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueFormer Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison unilaterally recognised West Jerusalem as Israel's capital ahead of a 2018 by-election Today's top stories curated by our news team Don't miss updates on news about the Public Service Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters Your exclusive preview of David Pope's latest cartoon Join our weekly poll for Canberra Times readers We've selected the best reading for your weekend Get the latest property and development news here tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert Your digital replica of Today's Paper Test your skills with interactive crosswords © copyrights reserved to The Israel Democracy Institute Arab society in Israel is being revolutionized by the rise in the standard of living and an increasing desire to realize individual aspirations at the expense of collective values Demographic Characteristics of Arab Society the population of Israel stood at approximately 9,289,760 This figure includes almost 362,000 Arab residents of East Jerusalem who hold “permanent resident” status the number of Arab citizens of Israel was 1,595,300 at the end of 2020 constituting some 17.2% of the total population * The category “others” includes non-Arab Christians and citizens with no religious affiliation Israel's Arab population resides in five main areas: northern Israel and the Jerusalem corridor (including West Jerusalem) Other Arab citizens live in various localities throughout the country mainly in large cities in which the overwhelming majority of the population is Jewish The Arab population in northern Israel and in the mixed cities is heterogeneous in terms of its religious affiliation (comprising Muslims while the Arab population of the Triangle region and the Negev is homogeneously Muslim Arab citizens by area of residence (end of 2020 and not including East Jerusalem) Almost half (49.3%) of Arab citizens reside in local councils and the remainder in Jewish local councils throughout Israel the large majority of them in 12 Arab cities and 7 mixed cities and a smaller percentage in cities in which the majority of the population is Jewish (including West Jerusalem) Another 5.5% of Arab citizens reside in 47 small rural localities that are incorporated into regional councils The remaining 4.2% live in localities that have no formal municipal status and are referred to as “unrecognized villages,” most of them in the Negev there are 163 localities in which all residents are Arab citizens of Israel Arab Citizens' locality of residence by municipal status as of end of 2020 (not including East Jerusalem) The large majority of Arab citizens of Israel are Muslim (82.9%) and the remainder are either Druze (9.2%) or Christian (7.9%) There are substantial differences among regions in terms of the relative size of these three religious groups In northern Israel and the Triangle region the Arab population is heterogeneous: The relative size of the Druze population in the north is twice as large as its national share while the relative size of the Christian population in mixed cities is four times its national share the Arab population in the Triangle region and in the Negev is almost entirely Muslim The overall fertility rate among Arab women in Israel is 2.98 live births per woman (as of 2019) but there are significant differences among different geographic areas The fertility rate for women in the Bedouin community in the Negev (5.26) is almost twice as high as that for Arab women in northern Israel (2.36 in the Northern District 2.61 in the Haifa District) and in the Triangle region (2.69) There are also considerable variations in fertility rates between different religious communities in Arab society The highest rates are found among Muslim women (3.16) followed by Druze women (2.02) and Christian women (1.76) the overall fertility rate among Arab women in Israel was almost twice as high as that among Jewish women and the gap between Arab and Jewish women has largely disappeared the fertility rate among Jewish women (3.09) is similar to that among Muslim women This is mainly due to a change in social patterns the integration of Arab women into the workforce a higher average age at first marriage (along with prolonged singlehood) and the abandonment of traditional lifestyles Fertility rates for women in Israel by population group As a result of relatively high fertility rates in the past the Arab population in Israel is still very young Children and youth under the age of 18 constitute 38.6% of the population There are differences in this regard based on religious affiliation and geographical distribution the under-18 age group make up 40.4% of the population; among Christians the highest percentage of children is found among Negev Bedouin 51.8%—far higher than in northern Israel (33.8%) and the Triangle region (36.4%) infant mortality rates among Arab citizens have declined steadily yet they remain twice as high as the equivalent rates for Jews: 5.3 versus 2.2 per thousand live births there are considerable differences by religion the average infant mortality rate for Muslims (5.9 per thousand live births) was almost twice as high as the rates for Druze (3.9) and Christians (2.9) Significant variations in infant mortality rates are also found among geographical regions The average infant mortality rate in Negev Bedouin localities is twice as high as the average rate in Arab localities in northern Israel and the Triangle region Infant mortality rates among Arabs per thousand live births Life expectancy among Arabs is on the rise due to improvements in various health indicators life expectancy for both Arab men and women has increased by three years similar to the equivalent increase among Jews differences between Jews and Arabs remain large: Life expectancy for Arab men and or women is the same as the life expectancy for Jewish men and women 20 years ago Life expectancy in Israel by gender and population group The majority of Arab localities are small to medium- sized Most are located in Israel’s social and geographic periphery which heavily influences their economic and social status According to the Central Bureau of Statistics almost all (95%) of Arab localities rank in Israel’s lowest socioeconomic clusters and 11%- in the lowest cluster of all (cluster 1) Only 5% of Arab localities are in clusters 6–10 only 17% of Jewish localities fall in the lower clusters 1–4 Localities in Israel by socioeconomic cluster type of locality and population group The National Insurance Institute sets the poverty line in Israel as a relative measure and accordingly determines the percentage of families falling above or below the line the percentage of Arab families below the poverty line (after supplementary government payments) was 45.3% Poverty rates among Jews were considerably lower at 13.4% of families and 21.2% of children The pandemic brought with it both public health and socioeconomic challenges Its impact on families' economic situation cannot be overlooked Many families have experienced financial crises as their breadwinners found themselves out of work as a result of the pandemic dealing a blow to their incomes and to their standard of living 60.8% of Arab citizens in Israel had access to a computer or tablet compared with 83.8% of Jews (a gap of 23 percentage points) the gap between Jews and Arabs in terms of internet use is narrowing compared with 88.1% of Jews (a gap of 7 percentage points) internet use among Arab citizens has risen steadily One of the reasons for this increase is the growing use of smartphones data produced by the Israel Internet Association for 2017 indicates a sizable difference between Jews and Arabs in their patterns of internet usage: 82% of Jews use email services compared with 60% of Arabs; 65% of Jews pay bills and make appointments online comparted with 34% of Arabs; and 60% of Jews use the internet to complete online forms internet use for social purposes is higher among Arabs than among Jews with 61% of Jews using social media networks compared with 73% of Arabs there was a relatively small decline in home ownership among the Arab population and a corresponding increase in the percentage of families living in rented apartments the home ownership rate stood at 74% of families in 2017 Between 2004 to 2017 we can see a decline in separate/freestanding homes from 70.2% to 53% and an increase over the same period in apartments from 25.2% to 41.6% Types of Housing in Arab localities 2004–2017 According to surveys conducted by the Galilee Society from 2004 to 2017 the average monthly expenditure for Arab families rose considerably from NIS 6,924 in 2004 to NIS 9,340 in 2017 due to increased expenditures in almost every category of expenses housing expenditures rose from NIS 761 per month (11% of total expenditures) to NIS 1,230 (13.2%) The table below details average Arab family expenditures according to various categories of products and services It shows noticeable increases in monthly expenditures on food from NIS 1,994 in 2004 to NIS 2,443 in 2017 from NIS 862 in 2004 (12.4%) to NIS 1,589 in 2017 (17%) Average monthly expenditures for Arab families only 36% of Arab families had air conditioning in their homes the percentage of Arab families owning a car rose from 64% in 2004 to 83% in 2017 the decline in ownership of a home telephone line—from 68% in 2004 to 20% in 2017—can be attributed to rising access to cellphones which have rendered fixed telephone lines largely irrelevant Another finding with sociocultural significance is the sharp rise in the percentage of Arab families who own a satellite dish This trend is indicative of the media consumption habits of Arabs in Israel who are much more connected to foreign satellite television channels and media outlets rising violence and crime have become major concerns in Arab society and the number of Arab citizens who have lost their lives has risen steadily While there were 51 Arab murder victims in 2014 the number of murder victims in Arab society has almost tripled the number of Arab citizens wounded in shooting incidents increased more than threefold between 2016 and 2018 68 by the police (4.3%) and 1,506 by other Arab citizens employment rates among Arab men declined steadily by more than 10 percentage points Arab employment rates among men began to recover against the backdrop of the recovery of the market as a whole from the dotcom crash and the Second Intifada These rates then stagnated between 2017 and 2019 following the outbreak of the pandemic in March employment rates for Arab men dropped sharply to a low of 69.3% employment rates for Arab women rose steadily from the mid-2000s Between 2001 and 2018 the rate almost doubled One of the main factors behind the relatively low employment rates for Arab men and women is their low level of education 77% of the Arab population is educated only up to matriculation level or lower 33% of the Jewish population have a degree These gaps in education have implications not only for Arab citizens’ prospects of entering the workforce but also for their potential earning power and working conditions At higher levels of education - undergraduate and above - the gaps between Arabs and Jews in employment rates are almost completely erased the chances of Arabs entering the labor market are considerably lower compared to Jews with the same level of education by educational attainment and population group Another key factor in wage gaps between Jews and Arabs is the relatively limited range of economic branches in which Arab employees are employed mainly – those paying lower salaries on average and which do not require highly skilled labor Arab men are employed mainly in construction A very small percentage (especially in comparison with Jewish men) work in the information and communication industries in financial services and hospitality—economic sectors that together employ almost half of Arab men—average salaries are lower than the national average in which salaries are higher than the national average Arab women are also concentrated in sectors that pay lower-than-average salaries Around one-half of Arab women work in education or in health and social services sectors in which the average wage is lower than the national average A relatively high percentage of Arab women are employed in the retail and wholesale industries where here too-- the average salary is relatively low only a negligible percentage of Arab women are employed in information and communication industries only 0.8% of Arab women are employed in the information and communication sector compared with 4.8% of Jewish women—a rate that is six times higher Employees (aged 15+) in main economic sectors Not only are Arab men and women employed mainly in low-income industrial sectors they also largely work (particularly Arab men) in occupations that are unskilled Almost one-half of Arab men are skilled workers in industries such as construction compared with a much lower percentage of Jewish men (19.4%) These occupations are characterized by long working hours a high percentage of Arab employees (both men and women) are unskilled workers mainly in the fields of health and education a high percentage of Arab women are employed in sales and services a small percentage of Arab men and women are employed in technical professions and in management positions These occupations pay higher salaries than those in which most Arab workers are employed average nominal salaries rose throughout the workforce Though salaries in the Arab population rose considerably during this period the salary increase among the Jewish population was larger and the gaps between the two groups widened There were some differences in this trend between men and women The gap between Arab and Jewish women increased over this decade the gap declined from 85% in 2008 to 77% in 2018 the salary gap is very high for both sexes Average monthly nominal salary for salaried workers (aged 25–64) The COVID-19 pandemic further widened the gaps between Arabs and Jews (excluding ultra-Orthodox Jews) Jews are under less pressure to find a job and have more time to consider different options to negotiate with potential employers over salary and employment conditions or to undertake vocational or professional training that will develop their skills and give them an advantage the Arab population has been pushed even more into low-income jobs with harsher conditions Ever since 1949--the first school year following the establishment of the State- there has been impressive growth in the number of students in the Arab education system The growth in elementary education has been particularly dramatic- at a rate several times higher than the equivalent growth in the Jewish system Yet the real revolution in the Arab education system has been in secondary education the number of Arab pupils reached 437,000 (not including kindergartens) some 24% of the total school population in Israel And alongside the opening of kindergartens other educational frameworks such as community centers have been established and classrooms in the Arab education system 1948–2020 Despite the increase in the number of schools and the decrease in class size Arab schools still suffer from the impact of many years of discrimination The situation is particularly severe in the Negev where there is an acute shortage of schools and classrooms in Bedouin localities and particularly in unrecognized Bedouin villages The Ministry of Education has recognized the need to build more schools and classrooms in the Arab education system but faces obstacles in attempts to do so – a lack of available land for construction in Arab localities and significant planning challenges the State allocated an average of NIS 13,192 for each elementary school student in the Arab education system compared with NIS 14,862 per elementary school student in the Jewish system (a difference of NIS 1,670) state funding for elementary education in the Arab system was NIS 16,523 per student compared with NIS 17,529 in the Jewish system (a difference of NIS 1,006) the gap in funding for Jewish students and Arab students in elementary schools is narrowing Arab students were allocated an average of NIS 15,300 per student in 2011 compared with NIS 18,495 for Jewish students the equivalent figures were NIS 20,578 and NIS 22,459 as a result of changes in budgeting formulas and various programs instituted by the Ministry of Education the funding gap between Arab and Jewish students in middle school is shrinking The largest gap in funding between Arab and Jewish education can be found in high schools the difference in per-student funding stood at NIS 7,265: NIS 24,084 for Jewish students Unlike with regard to elementary and middle schools the funding gap in high schools has continued to grow Jewish students were allocated an average of NIS 34,301 compared with NIS 24,759 allocated to Arab students This significant difference is not simply a direct result of inequitable budgeting by the Ministry of Education but is also influenced by two other budgetary sources: local government funding and funding by parents' contributions The median number of years of education among Arabs has risen dramatically from 1.2 at the beginning of the second decade of the State of Israel to 12 in 2017 Gender differences in median years of education have also decreased: In 1985 the median was 7.7 years for Arab women and 9.3 for Arab men; in 2017 there is still a gap between Arabs and Jews though it has dropped from 7.2 years in 1961 (8.4 for Jews and 1.2 for Arabs) to 2 years in 2017 (14 for Jews and 12 for Arabs) Median number of years of education for ages 15+ School dropout is one of the more serious challenges facing the education system as a whole compared with 4.9% among Jews; and in 2018–2019 School dropout rates among students in grades 7–12 The matriculation rate in the Arab school system has risen dramatically over the last decade from 47.7% in 2009–2010 to 63.9% in 2018–2019 this still falls well below the equivalent rate in the Jewish education system in which rates increased from 61.8% to 73.1% over the same period Matriculation rates in the Druze system are even higher than in the Jewish school system having risen from 53.5% in 2009–2010 to 82.5% in 2018–2019 Bedouin education in the Negev lags far behind from 43.6% in 2009–2010 to 48.1% in 2018–2019 Matriculation rates among 12th-grade students The percentage of Arab undergraduates studying in Israeli academic institutions rose from 10% (22,268) in the 2009–2010 academic year the total number of Arab undergraduate students and their share of the total undergraduate student population has almost doubled over the last decade This trend is even more significant among students for an MA degree among whom the relative size of the Arab population has almost tripled from 6.5% of all master’s students (3,270) in 2009–2010 to 14.6% (9,252) in 2019–2020 students has seen a smaller increase over this period from 3.9% (413) in 2009–2010 to 7.3% (855) in 2019–2020 Undergraduate students in Israeli institutions of higher education Master’s degree students in Israeli institutions of higher education Doctoral (Ph.D.) students in Israeli institutions of higher education There is a gap between the percentage of Arab students enrolled in higher education institutions and the percentage graduating from those institutions: In any given year the percentage of students is higher than the percentage of graduates There are two main reasons for this finding Arab students tend to take longer to complete their studies towards a degree-that is longer than the standard period of study defined by the institutions many Arab students choose study tracks that do not necessarily reflect their true interests and subsequently switch to an alternative track thus extending the period required to complete a degree The percentage of Arab citizens gaining a bachelor’s degree has risen from 10.3% in 2007 to 13.6% in 2019 there has been a rise from 2.8% in 2007 to 6% in 2019 Representation in the Civil Service and Political Participation Arabs Employed in the Civil ServiceIn 2000 Arab employees constituted 4.8% of civil service employees While this represents a significant improvement in Arab representation in the civil service it still falls below the relative share of Arabs among the general population Civil service employees by population group 876 Arab women were employed in the civil service constituting 31% of all Arab civil service employees their number had more than doubled to 2,140 women that is-39% of all Arab civil service employees (an increase of 8 percentage points) by which time there were 4,773 Arab women out of a total of 10,848 Arab employees in the civil service The rise in the percentage of Arab women gaining an academic education in recent years has led to more Arab women applying for civil service jobs and to a narrowing of gaps between Arab men and Arab women There are currently four levels of civil service ranks: entry While there has been a marked increase in Arab representation in the civil service this has not been translated into Arab employees holding senior positions These positions have a decisive influence on the design and implementation of public policy particularly policy relating to the Arab public in Israel the percentage of senior positions held by Arabs did not exceed 1%: In 2017- 0.3% The lion’s share of Arab employees are employed in entry-level positions (62.1%) and only 25.3% hold junior management roles it is important to distinguish between representation in numbers Arab employees in the civil service by rank Arab workers are employed mostly in three government ministries: the Ministries of the Interior Arab representation in the Ministry of Education workforce rose from 6.1% in 2005 to 8.8% in 2020 19.3% of Ministry of the Interior employees were Arabs and the Ministry of Health has seen a marked improvement in Arab representation The percentage of Arab board members in government companies has risen dramatically from 1.2% in 2000 to 12% in 2018 Board members exert direct influence over policy and on issues relating to the representation of Arabs in their companies Despite the improvement in Arab representation on company boards Arabs are still under-represented in the companies’ employees Between 2013 and 2019 the proportion of Arab employees in government companies rose from 2.2% to 2.58%—a tiny increase- and one which leaves the percentage of Arab workers in government companies far below the relative share of Arabs in the general population Voter turnout among Arab citizens of Israel tends to fluctuate significantly and has seen multiple peaks and slumps between the first Knesset elections in 1949 and the elections for the 24th Knesset in 2021 voter turnout among Jews has been higher than among Arabs with the exception of the early decades of the state The history of Arab voter turnout can be categorized according to four main periods: from the founding of the state to the 1973 Yom Kippur War) was marked by the military administration imposed on the Arab population against the backdrop of what were the tragic consequences of the 1948 war for Arab society The average voter turnout in the Arab public during this period (83.8%) was higher than the national average (81.4%) from the Land Day and the founding of the Hadash party through to the signing of the Oslo Accords) was rife with political events that increased political engagement and drove the establishment of numerous political frameworks this period also saw the emergence of groups calling to boycott elections for political and ideological reasons Average voter turnout in the Arab public during this period stood at 72.4% from the first Netanyahu government to the third Netanyahu government) relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel reached a new low Radical political groups gained more influence in the Arab public discourse and casted doubt as to the effectiveness of political participation in the Knesset Voter turnout continued to decline during this period reaching an average of 63.4% in the Arab public The fourth period (2015–2021) begins with the establishment of the Joint List in 2015 and ends with its dissolution and the inclusion of Ra’am in the government formed after the elections for the 24th Knesset Average voter turnout during this period was just 56.3% among Arabs The period saw a noticeable decline in voter turnout in the Jewish public as well but there remained a sizable gap between Jewish and Arab voter turnout which was reflected in the balance of power in the Knesset and the government Most member states of the United Nations still refuse to recognize Jerusalem as the united capital of Israel even though more than 50 years have passed since the city’s unification in 1967 The United Nations and its member states do not recognize the legality of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem for political and religious reasons They drape their opposition in claims of Israel’s disregard for international law They claim that Israel’s capture of Jerusalem during a war is a violation of the international law forbidding annexation of foreign territory For that reason they insist that Israel’s rule over Jerusalem is illegal shows that Israel has valid legal status in Jerusalem Israel gained control of both parts of the city after Jordan and other Arab states declared war upon it in May 1948 and in June 1967 respectively Israel exercised its right to self-defense which international law recognizes as a legitimate reason for using military force not a single country in the world (including any of the Arab states) recognized the legality of Jordan’s sovereignty over east Jerusalem this rationale led to the recent dramatic developments in the attitude of other countries regarding Jerusalem’s status Russia recognized west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state the United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital the United States announced that its embassy would be transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018 Czech Republic and Guatemala anounced their recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s captial Other countries are considering taking similar steps in the future this city has been at the center of the Arab-Israeli conflict for the past 100 years Jerusalem is sacred to Judaism by virtue of the Temple Mount which was the site of the three Jewish Temples: the First Temple and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE built by Jewish exiles returning to Jerusalem from Babylonia King Herod persuaded the Jews to allow him to demolish the Second Temple in order to replace it with a large and impressive structure The Jews agreed; King Herod destroyed the Second Temple and within one and a half years constructed in its place the largest and most beautiful temple in the world – which was dedicated in 19 BCE.2 This was the Third Temple destroyed by the Romans during the great Jewish revolt in 70 CE since the Divine Presence (Shechinah) rests there forever was under the “Holy of Holies” in the Jewish Temple According to the Midrash (Rabbinic literature) this stone was the starting point of Creation it became known in the Midrash as the “Foundation Stone.” The stone is also considered to be the center of the world the site of Abraham’s binding of Isaac on the rock Jerusalem was the capital of the Kingdom of Israel (during the reigns of King David and King Solomon in 1004 BCE–928 BCE) the capital of the Kingdom of Judah (928-586 BCE) and the capital of the Hasmonean Kingdom (167-63 BCE) Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish people 1,000 years before it became sacred to Christianity and about 1,700 years before it became sacred to Islam According to the Bible and the Jewish faith where the God of Israel chose to dwell forever on the Temple Mount Jerusalem is mentioned 656 times in the Bible (and not even once in the Koran!) The Torah requires every Jew to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem three times a year (on the festivals of Passover There is no such commandment in Christianity and Islam Jerusalem has always been the most important city for the Jewish people It was against this background that after being exiled from the Land of Israel by the Babylonians (586 BCE) Jews throughout the world vowed to remember Jerusalem forever until they returned to its holy precincts: “If I forget thee let my right hand forget her cunning…” (Psalms Jews throughout the world yearned for 2,000 years to return to it: “Next year in rebuilt Jerusalem” (in the prayers of the Day of Atonement and at the end of the Passover Seder) Jews face the Temple Mount when praying in synagogues everywhere including in Jerusalem: “Return in mercy to Jerusalem Thine city and dwell there as Thy have promised; speedily establish therein the throne of David Thy servant as an everlasting edifice,” (the Amidah prayer Jerusalem is holy because of the Temple Mount which they call the “Haram al-Sharif” – the “Noble Sanctuary.” For Muslims the holiness of the Temple Mount originates from their belief that the Prophet Muhammad rose to heaven from the rock on the Temple Mount (the “Holy of Holies” in the Jewish Temple) and received the commandment to perform five prayers a day Muslims also believe that this is the center of the world it was not Isaac but Ishmael who was to be sacrificed by Abraham/Ibrahim To commemorate the Prophet Muhammad’s ascent to heaven from the rock they built the Dome of the Rock above this rock and inaugurated it in 691 CE This structure was not built as a mosque and was never designed for public prayer the building only became a women’s mosque in May 1952 The Muslims have built five mosques on the Temple Mount: the Dome of the Rock (691 CE) which has been used for the past 30 years as a women’s mosque the Al-Buraq Mosque (early twentieth century) and the Marwani Mosque (“Solomon’s Stables”) (December 1996) the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif is also sacred to Muslims this is the third holiest site in the world after the Holy Kaaba Mosque in Mecca and the Tomb of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina Muslims pray with their faces turned toward Mecca the Haram al-Sharif is also a national symbol Its presence in east Jerusalem is the origin of their demand for the division of the city and the establishment of east Jerusalem as the capital of any future Palestinian state This is the main reason for the refusal of the Palestinians and other countries that support them to recognize the legality of the unification of Jerusalem by Israel and the legality of its sovereignty in east Jerusalem They view this part of the city as “occupied territory,” which in the future should be placed under their sovereignty as their capital city Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are also holy to Christianity primarily because of events in the life of Jesus Jesus taught his disciples on the Mount of Olives and there he prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem he was apprehended and handed over to the Romans for heresy and attempted rebellion He was tried and convicted at the Antonia Fortress and from there he was led along the “Via Dolorosa” to the place of his crucifixion and burial he was resurrected on the day following his burial and ascended to heaven from the heights of the Mount of Olives one may find the Cenacle (dining room) – the place of Jesus’ Last Supper (Passover Seder) – from which the Twelve Apostles set out to spread the message of Christianity to the world have no political interest in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount and would have been satisfied with special status being accorded to the Holy Places due to the economic and political ties of various countries with the Arab states and their concern for the fate of the Christian communities in the Palestinian Authority and the Arab states they too do not recognize the legality of Israel’s rule in east Jerusalem and the unification of the two parts of the city With the conquest or liberation of east Jerusalem by Israel in the Six-Day War in June 1967 the Christian and Muslim worlds were shaken both theologically and politically by the imposition of Jewish-Israeli rule over the most sacred places of Christianity and Islam in Jerusalem particularly the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif (the third holiest site in the Muslim world) the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (the holiest site in the Christian world) the struggle for the political future of Jerusalem was renewed Israel expanded the area of west Jerusalem (38 square kilometers) by incorporating Jordanian Jerusalem (6 square kilometers) and the lands of 28 villages and towns (64.5 square kilometers) in the West Bank of the Jordan River (Judea and Samaria) It also built 13 new Jewish neighborhoods there and called them “east Jerusalem.” The entire extended city was recognized in Basic Law: Jerusalem 5740-1980 as the complete capital of Israel this law was amended by the insertion of Section 5 that the territory of Jerusalem also includes all the areas that were incorporated into its jurisdiction at the end of June 1967 stating that no authority within the jurisdiction of Jerusalem could be transferred “to a foreign body whether political or governmental.” Likewise stipulates that Israel’s sovereignty over part of its territory should not be waived unless the government has so decided and its decision is ratified by an absolute majority of members of the Knesset as well as in a referendum It is clear that this provision is intended to make it difficult to partition Jerusalem between Israel and the Palestinians or renounce the sovereignty of Israel in the Golan Heights Jerusalem is the largest city in Israel in terms of area (about 126 square kilometers) and population Approximately 882,700 people live in Jerusalem today In east Jerusalem live 327,700 Arabs and 214,600 Jews The population in the Old City stands at 35,000 of whom 31,340 are Arabs and 3,660 are Jews.3 and legal struggle between Jews and Muslims and between Israel and the Palestinians and their supporters regarding the political future of east Jerusalem only some of the countries of the world recognize the legality of Israel’s rule in west Jerusalem recognized western Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and eastern Jerusalem as the capital of the future state of Palestine recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel which on the same day recognized only western Jerusalem as the capital of Israel (as detailed in Chapter 3 below) all other countries reject the legality of Israel’s rule in east Jerusalem and do not recognize united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel including those with diplomatic relations with Israel the United Nations and these countries have developed a legal thesis whereby Jerusalem is “occupied territory,” illegally annexed by Israel from Jordan contrary to the rules of international law and the rest of the Muslim countries demand the transfer of east Jerusalem to a sovereign state of Palestine as its capital should such a state be established in the West Bank after it is handed over by Israel to the Palestinians other countries of the world have never recognized the legality of Israel’s rule in “east Jerusalem,” and maintain that its political status be decided only through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians The following article is intended to provide an appropriate legal response to the worldwide repudiation of the legality of the rule of Israel in the whole of Jerusalem and the unification of the city the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution (the “Partition Plan”) on the future of the rule of Palestine) recommending its partition into two states – Jewish and Arab – with the exception of Jerusalem In view of the holiness of Jerusalem to the three monotheistic religions the UN General Assembly recommended that the city (including Bethlehem) be a “separate body” (corpus separatum) with an international administration under the auspices of the United Nations.4 The Arabs in the area and in the Arab countries expressed vehement opposition to the General Assembly resolution and on the very day following the adoption of the Partition Plan launched a war to thwart it irregular Arab forces and gangs attacked the Jewish towns and villages throughout Eretz Yisrael but after the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel on May 14 five Arab states invaded Israel with the aim of destroying the infant Jewish state This was the “War of Liberation” or “War of Independence” of the State of Israel Jordan and Israel signed a special agreement under the auspices of the United Nations regarding Mount Scopus this area had remained a Jewish enclave within the territories occupied by the Jordanian army The agreement stipulated that the Jewish enclave and the adjacent area of the Augusta Victoria Hospital which was under the control of the Jordanian army become a neutral territory under UN protection The agreement stated that Israeli civilian police would be allowed to guard the humanitarian institutions on the mount (Hadassah Hospital and the Hebrew University) and the guards would be replaced from time to time by a convoy escorted by the United Nations which would be allowed to pass through the area under Jordanian control.5 On November 30 the Etzioni Brigade commander (the brigade fighting in Jerusalem) the commander of the Jordanian Legion in Jerusalem signed a cease-fire agreement marking the Israeli positions with a green wax pencil (hence the name “Green Line”) and the line of the Jordanian positions in a red wax pencil al-Tal and Dayan met again to confer on Jerusalem’s no-man’s land (see photograph) At the end of the war between Israel and Jordan an armistice agreement was signed between the two countries on April 3 according to which Jerusalem was divided into two: the western part to be held by Israel and the eastern part to be held by Jordan adopting the municipal border as determined in the map attached to the “honest truce agreement” referred to above and the Mount of Olives were in Jordanian territory as well as an enclave on Mount Scopus in the northeast of the city (according to the above agreement) A UN-controlled demilitarized zone was created in the High Commissioner’s palace area (Armon Hanatziv) and the palace itself became the headquarters for the UN observers A crossing point between the two parts of the city was established at the Mandelbaum Gate operated by customs officials and used mainly for the passage of diplomats and UN personnel as well as the passage of Christian pilgrims on Christmas Day and police guards left for the Israeli enclave on Mount Scopus Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence of May 14 almost certainly because the Israeli government did not want to officially contradict the Partition resolution (which had designated Jerusalem as an international city) and because of the ambiguity surrounding the borders of the state which had been declared to be temporary in the Armistice Agreement signed at the end of the War of Independence between Israel and the Arab neighbors that had invaded it during the war.7 a proclamation was issued by the IDF in Jerusalem regarding the application of Israeli law to the areas of Jerusalem held by the IDF on the aforementioned date,8 i.e. the area of west Jerusalem and other areas as follows: The area encompassing most of the city of Jerusalem and the roads connecting Jerusalem with the coastal plain all within the boundaries of the red line marked on the map of Eretz Yisrael signed by me and bearing the date of 26 Tamuz 5708 (August 2 the Provisional Council of State enacted the Areas of Jurisdiction and Powers Ordinance – 5708 – 1948,9 stating in Section 1: Any law applying to the whole of the State of Israel shall be deemed to apply to the whole of the area including both the State of Israel and any part of Palestine which the Minister of Defense has defined by proclamation as being held by the Defence Army of Israel Section 3 of the Ordinance gave retroactive effect to the IDF proclamation regarding the application of Israeli law to west Jerusalem Israel took a series of steps aimed at demonstrating its rule in west Jerusalem and turning it into the capital of Israel: Following a debate of the UN General Assembly on the issue of Jerusalem and the Holy Places Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in a special statement to the Knesset Jewish Jerusalem is an organic and inseparable part of the State of Israel just as it is an integral part of Jewish history and belief Jerusalem is the heart of the State of Israel… We cannot conceive that the United Nations will try to tear Jerusalem from Israel or impair the sovereignty of Israel in its Eternal Capital… Had we not been able to withstand the aggressors who rebelled against the U.N. Jewish Jerusalem would have been wiped off the face of the earth the Jewish population would have been eradicated and the State of Israel would not have arisen Thus we are no longer morally bound by the U.N the decision of 29 November regarding Jerusalem is null and void.12 the Speaker of the Knesset stated that “the entire Knesset is united in a declaration that Jerusalem is an inseparable part of the State of Israel and no foreign rule may be imposed on it in any way.”13 In response to another resolution of the UN General Assembly on December 9 regarding the internationalization of Jerusalem [No a debate was held in the Knesset on December 13 on “the transfer of the Knesset and the Government to Jerusalem.” In this debate the Prime Minister declared that “for the State of Israel there has and always will be one capital only – Jerusalem the Eternal Thus it was 3,000 years ago – and thus it will be until the end of time.”14 At the end of the discussion the Knesset decided to move its seat from its temporary residence in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,15 and as of December 26 the Knesset issued a declaration stating that “with the establishment of the State of Israel Jerusalem has returned to be its capital.”16 As an expression of the importance of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel a series of Basic Laws established that the seat of government and the Israel Bar Association would be located in Jerusalem.17 There are four main opinions regarding the status of west Jerusalem in terms of international law.18 According to the first opinion held by many Israeli and foreign jurists,19 following the conclusion of the British Mandate in Palestine a vacuum in sovereignty was created in the area including Jerusalem – which could only be filled through a legal process The war waged by the Arabs of Holy Land and the Arab countries against the Jewish state with the aim of thwarting the UN Partition Plan constituted a flagrant violation of the Partition Plan and the rules of international law prohibiting the use of force (Article 2(4) of the UN Charter) the UN Charter recognizes two exceptions to the prohibition on the use of force: the use of force under certain circumstances in accordance with a Security Council resolution (Article 106 of the Charter) and the use of force to realize the natural right to self-defense (Article 51 of the Charter) seizure of western Jerusalem constituted the justified exercise by the State of Israel of its natural right to self-defense and duly filled the vacuum in west Jerusalem with Israeli sovereignty.20 and it has yet to be determined who is sovereign in the western part of the city This issue will be determined within the framework of the permanent settlement between Israel and the Arab states.21 the Palestinian people have been the legitimate sovereign in west Jerusalem since the period of the British Mandate.22 the status of Jerusalem is as determined by the United Nations Partition Resolution (November 29 a “corpus separatum” under international rule to be administered by the United Nations.23 was accepted as a member of the United Nations without committing itself to complying with the UN resolution on the internationalization of Jerusalem.24 However the United Nations has not recognized even west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel even though it has long abandoned the plan for the internationalization of the city.25 and the Czech Republic (details in Chapter 3 below) continue to refuse to officially recognize west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel Even those countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel only recognize Israeli rule in west Jerusalem on a de facto basis this position was expressed in the diplomatic boycott imposed in the distant past on west Jerusalem situating the diplomatic missions of all the countries possessing diplomatic relations with Israel the seat of the diplomatic missions of Bolivia and Paraguay are located in Mevasseret Zion near Jerusalem) New ambassadors of these countries were instructed to refrain from submitting their credentials to the President of the State of Israel in Jerusalem Foreign consuls stationed in the city refused to receive an exequator from the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem to carry out their duties in the city Other measures included the avoidance of contact with government officials in Jerusalem refusal to sign international agreements in Jerusalem absence from official ceremonies in Jerusalem and the number of diplomatic missions based in west Jerusalem reached 18 out of the 38 foreign diplomatic missions in Israel in November 1975 diplomatic missions are usually located in the capital of the host country.26 Thus it was possible to infer from the location of certain diplomatic missions in Jerusalem that the countries establishing these missions recognized west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel following the enactment of Basic Law: Jerusalem and after the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 478 in August 1980 (see below) the diplomatic boycott imposed on west Jerusalem weakened even further and ultimately was abolished the leaders and ministers of most countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Israel have been making official visits to west Jerusalem and have met with the President Their ambassadors submit their credentials to the President of Israel at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem and their consuls receive their exequators from the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem Various international agreements are signed in west Jerusalem.27 All these developments can be seen as signs of “semi-official” or de facto28 recognition of west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel No claim has been made to apply the laws of occupation to this part of the city as is customary in relation to occupied territory and particularly the Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land (annexed to the Fourth Hague Convention) of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.29 and particularly in light of the Palestinians’ demand that the capital of a future Palestinian state be established exclusively in east Jerusalem not to recognize western Jerusalem as the capital of Israel before the dispute over the unification of the city and the legality of Israel’s rule in east Jerusalem erupted Israel tried to persuade Jordan not to intervene in the war it conveyed a message to Jordan via General Odd Bull assuring Jordan that Israel would not attack unless first attacked by Jordan who believed Egypt’s false reports of the Egyptian army’s victories in battles with Israel rejected Israel’s promises and that very morning announced on the radio to his people that war had commenced the Jordanians opened fire with light arms and cannon along the entire municipal border of Jerusalem Jordanian tanks were moved into the West Bank and the hills overlooking Jerusalem despite assurances given to the Americans by the Jordanians that the American-made armor would not cross the Jordan River A tank battle took place in Jerusalem on the Tel el-Ful hilltop where King Hussein had begun to build a palace about 20 residents of Jerusalem were killed by Jordanian fire including the Knesset building and several Christian sites: the Dormition Abbey and the Franciscan Monastery on Mount Zion the Jordanians captured Armon Hanatziv and the surrounding area an armored unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) captured the High Commissioner’s palace and its surroundings from the Jordanians IDF forces broke into the Old City and took control of it completing the process of Israel gaining possession of Jordanian Jerusalem and administration to east Jerusalem and unified the two parts of the city:30 On June 27 the Knesset passed the Law and Administration Ordinance (Amendment No 5727-1967,31 which amended the Ordinance by inserting Section 11B and administration of the state shall extend to any area of Eretz Yisrael designated by the government by order.” By virtue of this section the government issued the Law and Administration Order (No 5727-1967,32 which declared that the territory of Eretz Yisrael as described in the schedule to the Order and administration of the State apply.” The territory described in this schedule includes the Old City and the eastern and northern neighborhoods of the city and in the east – to the eastern slopes of Mount Scopus.33 the Knesset passed another law – the Municipalities Ordinance (Amendment No 5727-1967.34 This law empowered the Minister of the Interior to enlarge the jurisdiction of a particular municipality in respect of which an order was issued pursuant to the amendment of the Law and Administration Ordinance the Minister of the Interior ordered the expansion of the municipal boundaries of the Jerusalem municipality in accordance with the boundaries set out in the above Law and Administration Order.35 the municipal area of Jerusalem was extended to the east and enlarged from 38,100 dunams (prior to unification) to 108,500 dunams Jerusalem became the largest city in Israel in terms of area.36 The areas added to Jerusalem were: Jordanian Jerusalem (6,000 dunams) and areas taken from 28 villages in Judea and Samaria (64,500 dunams) has since been called “east Jerusalem.” The added areas were intended to enable the expansion of Jerusalem and the construction of new (Jewish) neighborhoods in the east in order to prevent any attempt to re-divide the city no map whatsoever was appended to the laws and order and the boundaries of the extended area were described only by imaginary lines between points of reference; moreover neither the laws nor the order mentioned the name “Jerusalem.”37 tried to convince the UN Secretary- General 1967,38 that no annexation had taken place but that these were merely “administrative measures” designed to benefit all the residents of the city and ensure freedom of worship and freedom of access to the holy places and the General Assembly and Security Council reiterated that the measures taken by Israel to unify Jerusalem were illegal and called on Israel to rescind them.39 UN Secretary-General U Thant sent the Swiss diplomat E as his personal representative in Jerusalem to examine how the city was being unified in practice Thalmann visited Jerusalem in August 1967 and met A report published by the UN Secretary-General,40 based on Thalmann’s reports stated that the Israeli authorities had made it clear “beyond any doubt that Israel was taking every step to place under its sovereignty those parts of the city which were not controlled by Israel before June 1967… The Israeli authorities stated unequivocally that the process of integration was irrevocable and not subject to negotiation.”41 the Knesset passed the Law and Administration (Revocation of Application of the Law 5759-1999.42 According to Section 2 of this law: and administration no longer apply to territory which shall be given by a majority of its members A government decision approved by the Knesset to be passed by a majority of the valid votes of the participants in the referendum it will not be possible to relinquish territories to which Israeli law applies unless a government’s decision on this matter is approved by a majority of votes since this law provides that the section relating to the referendum will apply only when a Basic Law is adopted regulating the referendum in question and such legislation has not yet been passed the possibility of holding a referendum remains one on paper only In order to enable the practical regulation of a referendum as required to relinquish Israeli sovereignty in any part of its territory 5774 – 2014.43 The law applies to the entire territory of the State of Israel within the boundaries of the “Green Line” (the territory of the State of Israel according to the demarcation lines as set out in the Armistice Agreements with its Arab neighbors signed in 1949 following the War of Independence) as well as east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights which provides that should the government decide to sign an agreement that includes a renunciation of its sovereignty over a certain area of the territory of the State of Israel then the agreement requires the approval of an absolute majority of Knesset members and additional approval in a referendum there is no need to hold a referendum to approve such a renunciation if the concession agreement has been approved by a majority of 80 members of the Knesset Section 5 of this law prohibits the amendment of the law save by “a Basic Law adopted by a majority of the Knesset members.” This provision rectified the lack of entrenchment of Section 1 of Basic Law: Jerusalem Israel demonstrated its determination to defend the status of unified Jerusalem as the capital of Israel 5740-1980,44 which declares that “Jerusalem complete and united” is the capital of Israel.45 The right-wing parties in Israel considered this measure insufficient and at the initiative of MK Yehoshua Matza (Likud) and other Knesset members for the first time expressly entrenched Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem and its municipal territory including the entire area (64,500 dunams) added to it at the end of June 1967 5740-1980,46 through the addition of three sections enshrines in the Basic Law the extension of the municipal area of Jerusalem and the application of Israeli laws to the area added to Jerusalem at the end of June 1967.47 This section states as follows: all of the area that is described in the appendix of the proclamation expanding the borders of municipal Jerusalem beginning 20 Sivan as was given according to the Municipalities Ordinance.48 is intended to prohibit in a Basic Law the transfer of any powers in Jerusalem to a foreign body No authority that is stipulated in the law of the State of Israel or of the Jerusalem municipality may be transferred either permanently this provision could be seen to contradict Israel’s commitment to Jordan in Article 9.2 of the peace treaty of October 26 1994,49 to give “high priority to the historic Jordanian role” in the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem in negotiations on a final status agreement in Jerusalem a close examination of this section shows that there is no contradiction: Israel did not undertake to give Jordan any authority even in the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem but only “When negotiations on the permanent status will take place Israel will give high priority to the Jordanian historic role in these shrines” (see below) and particularly since the peace treaty with Jordan Jordan is afforded special status on the Temple Mount and the government of Israel seeks to coordinate all its activities at the site with Jordan a number of decisions by the Israeli government regarding this holy site (holy to Judaism and Islam) have been coordinated with Jordan such as the ban on Jewish and Arab ministers and MKs entering the Temple Mount imposed by Prime Minister Netanyahu in October 2015.50 states that the two sections mentioned above should not be modified “except by a Basic Law passed by a majority of members of the Knesset.” It is interesting to note that the original Basic Law: Jerusalem did not contain entrenching provisions of any kind an entrenchment provision was established in the new Section 7 it is puzzling that the Knesset enacted an entrenching provision only in respect of Sections 5-6 of the law and did not see fit to entrench the rest of the original provisions the Knesset reinforced the entrenching provision in Section 7 above by increasing the majority required for amending Sections 5 and 6 of the Law to a special majority of 80 MKs.51 Likewise Section 7 itself was entrenched: Whereas under the previous language an ordinary proportionate majority of MKs was sufficient (i.e Section 7 of the Law was amended so that any further amendment now requires a majority of 61 Knesset members the consequence of this is that now it is possible to change the statutory requirement for a majority of 80 MKs as a condition for relinquishing part of Jerusalem and the legality of Israeli rule in east Jerusalem have not been recognized by any country in the world and the Egyptian parliament adopted resolutions rejecting the status of united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.52 was also harshly criticized by the major UN institutions: On August 20 the Security Council adopted Resolution 478 almost unanimously – only the United States abstained – condemned the enactment of the law determined that the law contravened international law and posed a serious obstacle to achieving peace and stated that it was invalid and void.53 East Jerusalem was defined in the resolution as “occupied territory,” to which the Fourth Geneva Convention of August 1949 relative to the protection of civilians during wartime applied the Security Council called on all countries with diplomatic embassies in Jerusalem to remove them accepted the decision and moved them out of the city Following diplomatic pressure on Costa Rica the latter returned its embassy to Jerusalem in 1982 the embassy of El Salvador was also returned to Jerusalem following the Second Lebanon War and in order to improve their relations with the Arab countries these two countries again withdrew their embassies from Jerusalem Jerusalem thus became the only capital in the world without a single embassy the UN General Assembly also adopted a resolution rejecting the declaration of complete Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and declaring Basic Law: Jerusalem the Assembly has condemned Israel for the measures it has taken to change the status and in particular the Basic Law of Jerusalem and the declaration contained therein regarding the status of complete Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and has determined that they are null and void.55 which is the principal UN judicial institution issued an advisory opinion to the United Nations General Assembly in 2004,56 in which it adopted the UN Security Council resolutions to the effect that east Jerusalem is not under Israeli sovereignty but rather is “occupied territory” just like the rest of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and the Gaza Strip.57 Noteworthy in this context is the recent Resolution No adopted by the UN Security Council on December 23 This resolution “excels” in its harsh condemnation of Israel’s “settlement” policy in the territories occupied by Israel in 1967 (the “Six-Day War”) in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and terms all these areas (including east Jerusalem) “occupied Palestinian territory.” In the resolution the Security Council condemns “all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967 including east Jerusalem …” and states that “the settlements established in these territories have no legal validity” and that they constitute a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to achieving a lasting peace based on the twostate solution The Council also “underlines that it will not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations.” (Article 3 of the resolution) It should be noted that this article appeared here and was not included in previous UN resolutions this was the first time that the United Nations had decided that the political future of the territories taken by Israel in June 1967 would be determined solely by negotiation between the parties the precise identities of which – apart from Israel – were not specified The resolution was adopted by virtue of Chapter VI of the UN Charter and consequently was not obligatory and did not include the imposition of sanctions on Israel for its violation The resolution was adopted by a majority of 14 of the 15 Council members and aroused great anger in Israel since for the first time in many years the United States (under President Obama) had failed to veto such a resolution but merely abstained from voting recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel set out in President Trump’s declaration of December 6 Egypt submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council whereby the Security Council: Stressing that Jerusalem is an issue to be resolved through negotiations expressing deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem affirms that any decisions and actions which purport to have altered the character or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect calls upon all States to refrain from the establishment of diplomatic missions in the Holy City of Jerusalem….58 Even though the name of the United States and its recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel were not mentioned in the draft resolution it was clear to all that the purpose of the resolution was to express the Security Council’s opposition to the U.S recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel Fourteen of the 15 members of the Security Council voted in favor of the Egyptian draft resolution the resolution was vetoed by the United States.59 The Palestinians and their supporters did not give up and Turkey and Yemen rushed to submit an identical resolution to the UN General Assembly The debate on this resolution was held at the UN General Assembly on December 22 the resolution was adopted by a large majority: Of the 193 UN member states 128 voted in favor of the resolution; 9 states opposed (Israel and four Pacific island states: the Marshall Islands though Israel maintains diplomatic relations with 159 countries (out of some 200 recognized countries) and the Czech Republic) currently officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel all of which are located outside of Jerusalem There are 13 consulates operating in Israel on behalf of 11 countries: four are located outside Jerusalem (the Russian consulate in Haifa and nine consulates are located in Jerusalem (United States It should be noted that France maintains three separate consulates in Israel: one in Haifa (37 HaGefen Street) and one in west Jerusalem (5 Emile Botha St. The French consulate in Jerusalem operates a Consular Affairs Department and Political Affairs Department.62 The United States maintains a consulate on 18 Agron Street in west Jerusalem consulate operated a consular services branch on the Nablus route in east Jerusalem the United States transferred its consular branch from east Jerusalem to 14 David Flusser Street in west Jerusalem Spain also maintains a consulate in east Jerusalem (32 Machal St the Spanish consulate also operated a branch for consular services at 53 Ramban Street in west Jerusalem The Vatican maintains an embassy in Israel located at 1 Netiv Hamazalot Street in Jaffa-Tel Aviv in east Jerusalem (on the A-Tur road leading to the Mount of Olives) one may find the seat of the Pope’s Apostolic Delegation; this is the title of the representative of the Pope in countries that do not have official diplomatic relations with the Vatican The Pope’s Apostolic representation in Jerusalem was established on February 11 and was responsible for Catholic activities in Israel Notwithstanding that diplomatic relations between Israel and the Vatican were established on December 30 and despite the opening of the Vatican’s embassy in Jaffa the Apostolic Delegation continues to live and work in Jerusalem and the occupied territories in the religious sphere only by virtue of his status as papal emissary to the local Catholic Church although the Apostolic delegate should not have diplomatic status in view of his purely religious functions as a gesture of respect by Israel towards the Pope as is customary in international diplomatic practice.64 All the foreign consulates operated in Jerusalem before the unification of the city in June 1967 and some were even active in the city during the Ottoman period Israel has not permitted any state to open a new consulate in Jerusalem in view of its desire to encourage recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and pursuant to the international diplomatic practice of embassies being located in the capital of the host country None of the foreign consulates in Jerusalem have submitted an official request (exequator) to the Israeli Foreign Ministry to recognize them as consulates in view of their desire to refrain from performing an act (i.e. submitting an application to the Foreign Ministry) that would imply recognition by their countries of Jerusalem as capital of the State of Israel – contrary to their stated policy as the foreign consulates in Jerusalem are representatives of friendly countries with which Israel maintains diplomatic relations Israel recognizes them de facto and grants them consular status and documentation under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations in light of its refusal to officially recognize the foreign consulates located in Jerusalem that decline to submit an official request to the Israeli Foreign Ministry to recognize them as consulates (exequator) and deals with them in accordance with the provisions of the Convention in view of the fact that the Convention reflects customary international law constitutes an integral part of Israeli law in so far as it does not explicitly contradict the law of the State of Israel.66 a consulate (as distinct from a diplomatic mission) deals solely with non-political matters Article 5 of the Vienna Convention defines thirteen functions of a consulate The foreign consulates in Jerusalem serve the residents of Jerusalem (Jews and Arabs alike) each consulate enjoys immunity in respect of its premises while the consul and consular officials enjoy functional immunity (immunity confined to actions performed in the course of their consular duties as opposed to the full immunity enjoyed by diplomatic representatives) freedom of movement in Israel and the territories as well as from VAT returns up to a certain amount.67 Israel maintains contact only with the embassies of the countries maintaining diplomatic relations with it Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer declared in the Australian Parliament that the Australian government does not view east Jerusalem as “occupied territory.”68 the Russian Foreign Ministry issued an official and surprising statement whereby Russia recognized west Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel and east Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state We reaffirm our commitment to the UN-approved principles for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement which include the status of east Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state we must state that in this context we view west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel … The concrete parameters of a solution for the entire range of issues regarding the status of Palestinian territories should be coordinated at the direct talks between the parties involved Using its opportunities as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and an active member of the Middle East Quartet of international intermediaries Russia will continue to provide assistance to the achievement of Israeli-Palestinian agreements We will focus on ensuring free access to Jerusalem’s holy places for all believers this surprising historic declaration received no significant attention from any country including Israel; it failed to provoke any controversy or demonstrations and was not discussed at the United Nations despite being of no less importance than the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on December 6 the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel (see Section 3 below) It is reasonable to assume that in light of the position of the United States as a superpower and as the leader of the free world other countries will follow suit and also recognize Jerusalem (or at least the western part of it) as the capital of Israel immediately after President Trump’s statement Czech President Milos Zeman declared that his country supported President Trump’s declaration that the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced that “he is considering transferring our embassy to Jerusalem and that every country has the right to decide what its capital is.”70 Nonetheless the Czech Foreign Ministry hastened to make it clear that the Czech Republic recognized only west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.71 Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales also announced his decision to restore72 his country’s embassy to Jerusalem and ordered his country’s foreign ministry to prepare for this without setting a specific date for the transfer of the embassy.73 Although the President of Guatemala did not declare his country’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel such recognition is implicit in his decision since according to accepted diplomatic practice a foreign embassy is usually located in the capital of the host country During the UN General Assembly meeting held on July 14 that it condemned the unification of Jerusalem and that the final status of the city would have to be determined by negotiations between the parties within the framework of a comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict even called east Jerusalem “occupied territory” – like the rest of the territories occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War and reiterated that its political status would be determined solely by agreement between the parties concerned.75 President Carter attached a letter to the Camp David Agreement (between Israel and Egypt dated September 17 position on Jerusalem remained as stated by its ambassadors to the UN.76 only the United States has enacted legislation recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel – doing so within the framework of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 It appears from the language of this section (the cumulative effect of the first two subsections) that the United States officially recognized unified Jerusalem as the capital of Israel the preamble to the resolution adopted by the two houses of the U.S Congress on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the unification of Jerusalem stated that United States’ policy is that “Jerusalem should remain the undivided capital of Israel.”78 According to the above-mentioned section was supposed to move to Jerusalem by May 1999 was vehemently opposed to this legislation the Act was passed with such a large majority (about 90 percent in both Houses of Congress) that it was apparent to the President of the United States that the exercise of his constitutional right to veto it would not prevent its enactment into law by the American Congress in a revote as required following a presidential veto.79 Accordingly the President did not impose a veto on the Act State Department will be subject to severe financial sanctions in the form of significant cuts in its budget each year until 1999 (at which time half of its budget for the purchase and maintenance of buildings abroad would be frozen) if it failed to meet its obligations pursuant to the law to transfer the U.S Embassy in Jerusalem by the aforementioned date the President of the United States was granted the authority to postpone the transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem as of October 1 provided that he reported to the Congress that such deferral was necessary “to protect the national security interests of the United States” and specifying his reasons for this decision in a statement issued by the White House immediately after the adoption of the law in the U.S President Clinton announced that he intended to use the authority granted by the law to postpone the transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem even though his attitude to Israel and his position on Jerusalem had not changed The President reiterated his position that building the U.S would cause serious damage to the peace process.80 Since then presidents have repeatedly used this authority signed an order deferring the transfer of the U.S in complete contradiction to one of the main promises in his campaign for the U.S like the representatives of other countries continue to consistently avoid holding any official meetings in government offices or other Israeli institutions in east Jerusalem or visit east Jerusalem when accompanied by Israeli officials This policy is inconsistent with the enactment of the “Jerusalem Embassy Act,” according to which the U.S Congress declared (a declaration unprecedented in any other country) the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel the legal significance of this declaration recognition of Israeli sovereignty in unified Jerusalem president (and not Congress) has sole authority under the U.S it is argued that Congress is also not authorized to order the transfer of the U.S Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem since the location of the embassy implies recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel a power exclusively vested in the president.81 In my opinion recognition of Israel’s sovereignty in east Jerusalem or in an undivided Jerusalem as the capital of Israel It merely declares the desired policy of the United States on this subject as explicitly noted in the title of Section 3 of the Act: “Statement of the Policy of the United States.” This is also clearly expressed in the language of the section itself in the future tense in which it is phrased and in the description of the desired situation in contrast to the mere recognition of the present situation: “Jerusalem should remain a united city … and it should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel.” In other words the law determines only the desired policy in this regard in the opinion of Congress and does not in itself constitute recognition of a unified Jerusalem as the capital of Israel In spite of the official policy of the United States not to recognize Israel’s sovereignty in east Jerusalem it did recognize that east Jerusalem was an integral part of Jerusalem and under Israeli sovereignty for the purpose of the extradition of an American citizen who had been convicted in the United States of committing serious criminal offenses and fled to Israel In an extradition hearing in the Jerusalem District Court counsel for Joel Davis argued that since the extradition treaty between Israel and the United States applied only to the territory of the State of Israel and the defendant had been arrested in east Jerusalem which was outside the territory of the State of Israel at least according to the aforementioned position of the United States the extradition treaty did not apply to him The court rejected this claim and ruled that the United States’ insistence on the extradition request even though it had learned that Joel Davis had been arrested in east Jerusalem was “an explicit statement that the extradition treaty applies to a wanted person in east Jerusalem.”82 the United States recognized east Jerusalem as part of the territory of the State of Israel A decisive legal expression of the United States’ failure to recognize Israeli sovereignty in east Jerusalem was recently given in the U.S in the Menachem Zivotofsky case,83 which occupied the U.S This case concerned a Jewish child born in 2002 in Jerusalem to a Jewish couple with American citizenship who lived in Jerusalem Based on the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 2002 (which defined Jerusalem as the capital of Israel) embassy in Israel to register in his American passport that he was born in Israel and Menachem Zivotofsky’s parents filed a lawsuit on his behalf against the U.S to register in their son’s passport that he had been born in Israel since Jerusalem was within the territory of the State of Israel and under its sovereignty Supreme Court handed down its ruling (close to the child’s bar mitzvah) dismissing the parents’ petition the 2002 Act was invalid as the President of the United States had exclusive authority to recognize foreign countries including the territory over which they were sovereign presidents who refused to recognize Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem until this matter was settled in peace negotiations the American administration would not be required to register in an American passport that Jerusalem was within the borders of the State of Israel – contrary to the consistent position of U.S 2017 there was a dramatic and historic shift in the White House’s policy regarding the status of Jerusalem: Despite the warnings of the European countries and Jordan regarding the “destruction of the political process” and threats made by the Palestinian Authority and Hizbullah regarding “the outbreak of a new intifada,”84 U.S President Donald Trump announced in a special speech at the White House that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and that he had instructed the State Department to prepare for the transfer of the U.S The American president stated that the refusal of previous presidents to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and transfer the U.S embassy to this city had not advanced the peace process and therefore this policy could not be continued recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was in fact an important step in advancing the peace process and achieving a lasting agreement it has the right to determine its capital … We are not taking a position on the issue of the permanent agreement including the specific limits of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem … These issues depend on the parties.85 president refrained from using the words “undivided” or “united” Jerusalem and did not address the Palestinians’ demand to establish their capital in east Jerusalem he did not address the current borders of Jerusalem and left them for negotiation between the “parties.” this was a sophisticated formulation that referred to the positions of both sides: on the one hand explicit recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel refraining from using the Israeli language of “unified Jerusalem” or determining the “specific” boundaries of the recognized capital the United States left the door open to negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians as to these borders thereby displaying willingness on the part of America for the “parties” to negotiate the division of Jerusalem into two capitals it is strange that none of the countries that objected to the declaration in question paid attention to this statement which is very similar to the position of the United Nations the president also called on the parties to “maintain the status quo in the holy places in Jerusalem also known as the Haram al-Sharif.” On January 21 Vice President of the United States Mike Pence carried out a three-day visit to Israel he too declared that “Jerusalem is the capital of Israel,” and announced that President Trump had instructed the State Department to immediately begin preparations for the transfer of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and that the U.S embassy would open its doors in Jerusalem “before the end of next year” (2019).86 the Department of State announced on February 23 Embassy would officially move to one of the U.S commemorating Israel’s 70th anniversary.87 Supreme Court will also give expression to the significant change in the position of the U.S and instruct the State Department to register in the American passport of a child born to American citizens in Jerusalem unlike the ruling in the above Menachem Zivotofsky case were influenced by the Vatican’s position on these questions:89 In 1947-1948 they supported the territorial internationalization of Jerusalem because – in accordance with the Vatican position – they believed it necessary to protect the Holy Places they differed as to the nature of the desired internationalization: territorial (most of the states) or functional (supported by Holland and Sweden) No EU country recognized the legality of Israel’s rule in west Jerusalem and Jordan’s rule in east Jerusalem these countries still considered that the preferred solution was the territorial internationalization of Jerusalem and they made this explicit in a declaration by the nine European Community member states (the former name of the EU) on November 6 when they called on Israel to end its rule in east Jerusalem they have joined all the decisions of the UN institutions that have repeatedly condemned the occupation of east Jerusalem and the measures taken by Israel to change the legal status of east Jerusalem – and have called on Israel to withdraw from that part of the city the nine EU member states published the Venice Declaration the special importance of the role played by the question of Jerusalem for all the parties concerned […] they will not accept any unilateral initiative designed to change the status of Jerusalem […] Any agreement on the city’s status should guarantee freedom of access for everyone to the holy places They also called on Israel to “end the territorial occupation” in effect since 1967 which met in Luxembourg in early December 1980 declared that “the Venice Declaration contains the essential elements of a comprehensive and lasting settlement that the parties must achieve through negotiations.” The EU foreign ministers prepared a comprehensive report on the main problems of the Israeli-Arab conflict and determined that the solution lay in the application of an international regime to the eastern part of the city In other documents prepared for the Council’s political committee it was proposed to hand over the Old City of Jerusalem to the administration of a special UN representative for a limited number of years and to replace the Israeli forces in the Old City with international forces This would guarantee freedom of access to the holy sites and deferment of the decision regarding the sovereignty of east Jerusalem The Old City will be of a similar status to that of the Vatican […] The religious sites outside the Old City will be regarded as having extraterritorial status similar to a number of churches in Rome outside the Vatican walls Israel’s settlement policy in the occupied territories presents a growing obstacle to peace in the region […] Jewish settlements in the territories […] including east Jerusalem [the Council] calls earnestly on the government of Israel not to permit settlements there The Council of Ministers of the European Union reiterated on October 1 that “the European Union views east Jerusalem as subject to the principles set out in Security Council Resolution 242” (inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force) and therefore that this part of the city was not subject to Israeli sovereignty; this was occupied territory to which the Fourth Geneva Convention applied it became clear that the European Union did not even recognize Israel’s sovereignty in west Jerusalem and supported the internationalization of Jerusalem as a whole In response to Israel’s announcement in February 1999 of its opposition to meetings being held between foreign diplomatic representatives and members of the Palestinian Authority outside the territory of the Palestinian Authority the European Union informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (March 1 We reaffirm our known position on Jerusalem’s special status as a separate body (corpus separatum) This position is compatible with international law we will continue to hold meetings in Jerusalem.90 It should be recalled that the UN General Assembly used the term “corpus separatum” in the Partition Resolution of November 1947 to describe Jerusalem’s special status as an international city A large number of additional documents indicate that the internationalization of Jerusalem was the preferred solution of the European Union whether in respect of the entire city or just the Old City Nonetheless the Union will welcome any settlement agreed to by Israel and the Palestinians and which will guarantee the European and international interests in the city This position was also expressed in a letter sent by the German ambassador to Israel on behalf of the Union (under the presidency of Germany) to the Israeli Foreign Ministry in March 1999 in response to an Israeli demand for European leaders to stop visiting the Orient House.91 the European Union abandoned the solution of the internationalization of Jerusalem and adopted a new position under which Jerusalem should be the capital of the State of Israel and the State of Palestine according to the “vision of two states for two peoples,” and that the final status and borders of Jerusalem should be determined only in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians In other words: Jerusalem should be divided into two capitals: west Jerusalem would be the capital of Israel and east Jerusalem the capital of Palestine The borders of both capitals would be determined in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians In the annual report of the EU Consuls General in east Jerusalem and Ramallah for 2012 the Israeli government’s policy in east Jerusalem was strongly criticized and it was determined that the continuation of this policy might thwart the possibility that the city would serve as the capital of both states and consequently frustrate the two-state solution.92 Accordingly announced that the European Union expressed “serious concern” over the intention of U.S President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and continued to adhere to its position that: the status of Jerusalem must be determined only in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians on the basis of the two-state principle.93 In another speech by Mogherini on December 7 she expressed vehement opposition to the U.S recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and stressed that: The EU believes that the only realistic solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is based on two states and Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and Palestine.94 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the foreign ministers of 24 of the 28 EU countries in Brussels The EU foreign minister repeated her opposition to the U.S and in response to Netanyahu’s remarks to the effect that he now expected other countries in Europe to transfer their embassies to Jerusalem Mogherini stated after the visit: “He can keep these expectations for others because in respect of EU countries this will not happen.”95 a conference was held in the European Parliament on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the unification of Jerusalem organized by the Center for Jewish Communities in Europe attended by only about 20 out of the 785 members of the European Parliament Most notable in this event was the statement of the Finnish representative Hanno Takola: “Jerusalem is united and belongs to Israel.”96 the Palestinian Legislative Council enacted a special law for Jerusalem The law was signed by Yasser Arafat as President of the State of Palestine as Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and as Chairman of the Palestinian Authority There is no doubt that the very enactment of this law lacks any legal validity both under the Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO and under Israeli law Jerusalem is within the borders of the State of Israel and outside the Palestinian self-rule area which is confined solely to the West Bank of the Jordan River the Palestinian Authority has no authority to legislate laws regarding Jerusalem clearly contradicts Israel’s sovereignty in Jerusalem and is incompatible with the Palestinian commitments in the Oslo Accords the status of Jerusalem is to be determined only within the framework of future negotiations on a permanent settlement; until then Jerusalem is to remain outside the realm of Palestinian government and the Palestinian Authority is prohibited from maintaining its institutions there.98 the Implementation of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (Restriction of Activity) Law 5755-1994,99 and the Implementation of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (Restriction of Activity) (Amendment) Law stated that their purpose is to “prevent political or governmental activity in the territory of the State of Israel without the consent of the Government of Israel which is incompatible with respect for the sovereignty of the State of Israel by the Palestinian Authority or the PLO.” In addition 5737-1977,101 states that “if a person commits an act liable to impair the sovereignty of the state with the intention to impair that sovereignty then he is liable to the death penalty or life imprisonment.” It appears that in Section 4 of the “Law of the Capital,” the Palestinian legislature intended to undermine the validity of Basic Law: Jerusalem it is clear that the Palestinian Authority cannot annul the law of the Israeli Knesset in respect of Jerusalem which is located in the territory of the State of Israel and outside the Palestinian self-rule area it is noteworthy that the Palestinian law is not limited to east Jerusalem the PLO and PA leaders have made it clear that their demand to establish their capital in Jerusalem is limited to east Jerusalem alone.102 differ as to the legality of Israel’s measures regarding the unification of Jerusalem in the view of international law.103 The main argument against the legality of the unification of Jerusalem is that east Jerusalem is “occupied territory,” which Israel forcibly took from Jordan in the Six-Day War in contravention of the prohibition on the use of force “against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state” in Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter.104 Accordingly this prohibition is also noted in most UN resolutions as one of the main reasons for denying the legality of the application of Israel’s control over east Jerusalem According to the prevailing view of international law extension of sovereignty over “occupied territory” can only be achieved when the war is over and a peace agreement has been signed with the former sovereign state in the territory under discussion or when this state ceases to exist (Debellatio).105 Pending such agreement the territory continues to be governed by the law of the former sovereign state subject to essential legislative modifications which may be enacted by the military commander in the area in question for security reasons or for the benefit of the local population as required by the occupation of this area in accordance with the rules of international law and in particular: the Hague Regulations of 1907 on the Laws and Customs of War on Land and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 on the Protection of Civilians in Time of War.106 I accept the views of the well-known experts on international law: Professor E Schwebel,108 former President of the International Court of Justice in The Hague; Prof the former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations;109 Professor J upon the end of the British Mandate in Palestine a “sovereignty vacuum” was created in Palestine which could only be filled with legal action This vacuum was supposed to be filled by the agreed transformation of Jerusalem into an international city in accordance with the UN “Partition Plan” of November 29 the illegal aggression and forcible occupation of east Jerusalem by Jordan in 1948 nullified this decision and as such formally recognized the annexation of east Jerusalem to Jordan in April 1950 and the legality of Jordan’s rule there.112 In other words: according to international law in order for an area to be considered “occupied territory” of a previous state the latter must be the legal sovereign in that territory.113 Therefore since Jordan did not have legal sovereignty in east Jerusalem Israel’s takeover of this territory in June 1967 did not transform it into “occupied territory,” and the laws of occupation do not apply there took control of east Jerusalem in June 1967 as part of legal action in the exercise of its right to self-defense following Jordan’s attack on (Israeli) western Jerusalem Jordan launched these hostilities despite Israel’s announcement that it had no intention of attacking Jordan and asking Jordan to refrain from attacking Israel The right to self-defense is recognized in international law,114 as one of the two exceptions to the prohibition on the use of force set out in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations Israel acquired sovereignty over east Jerusalem too in a lawful manner.115 it is also possible to acquire sovereignty in an area occupied during wartime by means of a peace agreement signed between the occupying state and the state whose territory has been occupied and indeed Jordan signed a peace agreement with Israel (on October 26 1994) without east Jerusalem being restored to it.116 Article 9 of the agreement states that “Israel respects the present special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem When negotiations on the permanent status will take place Israel will give high priority to the Jordanian historic role in these shrines.” However it is clear from this provision that Jordan no longer demands the return of east Jerusalem to its sovereignty and is satisfied with Israel’s promise to give “high priority to the Jordanian historic role,” which is confined solely to the Muslim shrines in Jerusalem “when the final status negotiations” take place in respect of Jerusalem Israel did not undertake to give Jordan control over nor indeed the right to administer these sites but only offered “high priority” to the historic Jordanian role in these places without clarifying the nature of this “role.” Equally the permanent status of the sites was not promised to Jordan but only negotiations on this issue and even that not necessarily with Jordan alone the wording of the provision may be seen to imply Jordanian concession of east Jerusalem in favor of Israel as required by the above rules of international law for the purpose of lawful acquisition of sovereignty in this territory Article 9 of the Peace Treaty between Israel and Jordan states that “Israel respects the present special role” of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem Israel recognizes that Jordan already “possesses” a “role” in these places The nature of that “role” is not clarified and it appears that the “role” does not equate to “status.” There is no doubt that the article in question was cleverly crafted to give expression to the historical and legal interests of both sides in the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem The late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin revealed that he himself had drafted this provision and that this formulation expressed a policy of separation between the heavenly Jerusalem and the earthly Jerusalem: earthly Jerusalem would remain in the hands of Israel while the administration of the Islamic holy sites – heavenly Jerusalem – would be given to the Muslims.117 In Prime Minister Rabin’s words the “Jerusalem clause” in the agreement with Jordan was nothing new and “was intended to reflect the existing situation in which the Jordanians are indeed playing a role in the administration of the Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem.”118 Article 9 of the peace agreement was an exact copy of a clause that appeared in the agreement to end the state of armed conflict between Israel and Jordan which has since been called the “Washington Declaration.” In this declaration Israel officially recognized – for the first time since its establishment – Jordan’s “special role” in the Muslim holy places in Jerusalem Rabin’s words clearly indicate that Israel only recognized Jordan’s religious role or status in the Muslim holy places in Jerusalem Jordan agreed to this and did not demand more Israel’s willingness to give Jordan such a “role” or status is consistent with the statements of Prime Minister Rabin and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres following the peace treaty with Jordan that “Jerusalem is closed from a political point of view and open from a religious point of view.”119 Nonetheless the continued appointment of all the Waqf employees including the imams and preachers in the mosques and the payment of their salaries by the Jordanian Ministry of Religious Endowments is not purely a matter of religious status This is particularly true in view of Jordan’s present special status relating to the administration of the Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif) which is administered by Israel in coordination with Jordan in the Israeli government’s decision of October 2015 to prohibit ministers and MKs from entering the Temple Mount,120 and the decision to remove the magnometers from the gates of the Temple Mount at the end of July 2017.121 Official recognition was given to Jordan’s status on the Temple Mount in Para 13 of the state’s response to the petition submitted in HCJ 6421/16 Circle of Professors for Political and Economic Strength v In accordance with Article 9 of the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel Israel respects the present special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the Muslim holy places in Jerusalem Officials on behalf of the governments of Jordan and Israel are in constant contact regarding what occurs on the Temple Mount including the activities of the Waqf in the place it is not possible to openly detail the nature of these contacts which touch upon issues at the heart of the foreign relations of the State of Israel Deputy President of the Supreme Court Elyakim Rubinstein noted 10 of the Supreme Court judgment given on March 23 as the one who headed the Israeli delegation to the peace treaty with Jordan that this article (which had already appeared in the ‘Washington Declaration’ of July 25 1994) was drafted uniquely (in an unusual and to some extent exceptional manner) by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin This article was originally intended to give expression to Jordan’s connection to the mosques on the Mount where the Hashemite dynasty is considered and regards itself as the descendant of the Prophet Muhammad who visited the place according to Islamic tradition on a miraculous night journey and the greatgrandfather of the current king was also murdered in the presence of his grandson Hussein in a mosque on the Temple Mount and I will not even consider the Jordanian-Palestinian aspects that were also in the background the legal authority from beginning to end rests with Israel and the Israel Police and in the opinions of the jurists Schwebel and Blum Israel is at minimum the holder of best “relative right” in Jerusalem,123 as Jordan unlawfully occupied east Jerusalem in 1948 and as Israel conquered this territory from Jordan in June 1967 pursuant to its right to self-defense following Jordan’s attack on Jerusalem.124 Since the present area of Jerusalem includes 64.5 square kilometers of land belonging to 28 villages and towns in the West Bank of the Jordan River one may ask whether these arguments apply to these villages and towns as well Were they legally incorporated into Israel or are they “occupied territories?” A thorough and detailed discussion of this question goes beyond the scope of this article.125 However and essentially can be summarized as follows: even if there is any legal flaw in terms of international law in the application of Israel’s rule over east Jerusalem in terms of the acquisition of sovereignty there No other country has such a right or has a right to sovereignty in east Jerusalem (including the territories beyond Jordanian Jerusalem – 64.5 square kilometers) that surpasses Israel’s right there or is even equal to it which did not exist in June 1967 (it was founded only in 1994 pursuant to the Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO signed on September 13 according to the criteria established in international law for recognition of the existence of a state.128 The Israeli Knesset refrained from using the term “annexation” when it applied Israeli law to the territories that were added to west Jerusalem (64.5 square kilometers in addition to Jordanian Jerusalem) not because this was prohibited under international law but because it took the legal position that the above territories had been occupied by Jordan and illegally annexed to its territory following an unlawful attack on the State of Israel designed to thwart its establishment in violation of the UN Partition Resolution (November 29 because Jordanian Jerusalem (six square kilometers) had been illegally occupied by Jordan contrary to the UN resolution designating this area as part of international Jerusalem under the control of a UN Special Commissioner the Supreme Court has ruled that Israel has lawfully applied its government and laws to east Jerusalem.129 In this context in a petition regarding the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem Court for Local Affairs to hear matters relating to illegal construction by Palestinians in east Jerusalem.130 The petitioners argued that the Israeli courts had no jurisdiction to consider construction in east Jerusalem as the application of Israeli law to east Jerusalem was illegal by virtue of being inconsistent with customary international law The High Court of Justice rejected this claim and the petition and reiterating that as a matter of Israeli law “State law and administration apply to east Jerusalem and were imposed lawfully.” The court added that this internal Israeli legislation was consistent with customary international law and declared that even if a contradiction did exist between Israeli legislation and customary international law it was accepted case law that Israeli legislation would override In the words of the High Court of Justice (per Justice Strasberg-Cohen) on this matter: “Even if I assume that domestic Israeli legislation is inconsistent with customary international law – and I do not hold that this is so as there is no basis for such an assumption – Israeli law supersedes…”131 the Hebrew date on which the IDF liberated east Jerusalem during the Six-Day War was established as a “state holiday,” to be celebrated every year and called “Jerusalem Day.” The Old City (and its immediate surroundings) was declared on August 30 to be an “antiquities site”133 by virtue of the Antiquities Ordinance,134 which has since been replaced by the Antiquities Law 5738-1978.135 As an “antiquities site,” the Old City enjoys special protection pursuant to the above law and any activity there (including construction and demolition alteration or old dismantling an antiquity and even laying of soil) requires the approval of the Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority “where an antiquities site is used for religious requirements or devoted to a religious purpose” (such as the Temple Mount) the consent of a special ministerial committee is also required the members of which include the Minister of Religious Affairs The Old City also enjoys special status and special protection as a cultural asset of historic and universal importance the UNESCO World Heritage Committee accepted a Jordanian proposal to include the Old City and its walls by virtue of Article 11(2) of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage 1972,136 (to which Israel is also a signatory),137 on the World Heritage List.138 The Jordanian proposal attached a list of 220 sites in the Old City with dozens of sites holy to Islam and Christianity but only one Jewish seminary (the name of which was not mentioned) and one synagogue (the name of which was distorted and is unknown) in accordance with a recommendation made by ICOMOS (the International Council for Monuments),139 as of April 1981 six additional “monuments” were added to the list:140 the walls of the Temple Mount from the time of King Herod emphasizing that they include the Wailing Wall the well-known Jewish name for the Western Wall “Solomon’s Stables,” which today serves as a mosque called the al-Marwani Prayer Place the four Jewish synagogues that were restored in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City,141 and the arch sacred to Christianity – Ecce Homo (“Behold the man!”).142 This list of sites does not necessarily mean that other sites in the Old City would not enjoy the protection of the above Convention According to the decision of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee the protection afforded by the Convention applies to the entire Old City As the Old City is included in the World Heritage list to the utmost of its own resources” in order to protect the Old City and identify and preserve its various sites to ensure its presentation and transmission to future generations Israel is entitled to “international assistance and co-operation and technical” (Article 4 of the Convention) Each state party to the Convention must report to the General Conference of UNESCO on the measures it has taken to implement the provisions of the Convention (Art the above Committee decided to accept Jordan’s proposal to register Old Jerusalem and its walls on the list of “World Heritage in Danger” (under Article 11.4 of the Convention) which relates to “cultural and natural heritage as is threatened by serious and specific dangers.” The registration was based on Jordan’s complaint that Israel’s “urban development” plans for the Old City and its environs the lack of proper maintenance of the monuments endangered the Old City and its walls.143 It should be noted that the decision was taken even though the UNESCO Director-General’s representative for Jerusalem rejected the facts on which the Jordanian complaint was based.144 According to Article 13.3 of the Convention the World Heritage Committee is authorized to determine the nature and extent of the international assistance required for the protection and conservation of natural and cultural assets in accordance with the purposes of the Convention because of its great sanctity in the eyes of Judaism It is the holiest city in the world for Judaism which was the site of the three Jewish Temples This is the holiest place in the world for the Jews because the Shechinah [divine spirit] dwells there forever Jerusalem has been the capital of the Kingdom of Israel mainly because of important events that took place there in the life of Jesus Jesus was crucified and buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher It is the holiest place in the world for Christianity the Twelve Apostles set out to spread the message of Christianity around the world While Jerusalem was the capital of the Crusader Kingdom for part of the Crusader period (1099-1187 CE) the Christian countries have no political interest of their own in Jerusalem due to their economic and political ties with the Arab states they deny the legality of Israeli rule in east Jerusalem and support the demand of the Palestinians and the Arab states to place east Jerusalem under the sovereignty of the future Palestinian state East Jerusalem is also sacred to Islam by virtue of the Temple Mount which the Muslims call the Haram al-Sharif – the “Noble Sanctuary,” due to Islamic belief that at the end of his night journey from the Kaaba stone at Mecca the Prophet Muhammad landed at the site where the al-Aqsa Mosque was subsequently built he also ascended from the Foundation Rock located there (the Jewish “Holy of Holies”) to the heavens and received from Allah the five daily prayers that every Muslim is commanded to perform the Muslims built the Dome of the Rock on this site which currently serves as a mosque for women Jerusalem was recognized as the third most holy city for Islam albeit one of religious importance – during the early Arab period (638–1099 CE) and during the period of Jordanian rule (1948-1967) It is important to note that from the middle of the nineteenth century until the 1929 riots Jews constituted an absolute majority of Jerusalem’s population: 45,000 Jews out of an overall population of 65,000.145 Following the international recognition of the twentieth-century Palestinian claim to a right of self-determination the Palestinians demanded all the territories conquered by Israel from Jordan in June 1967 for the purpose of creating an independent Palestinian state there and establishing their capital in Jerusalem This was primarily by virtue of the existence there of the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) This is the background to the struggle for control of Jerusalem which has been continuing for about 100 years the Arabs did not agree to the UN Partition Plan of November 29 according to which the area would be divided into two states with a separate area of Jerusalem as an international area administered by the United Nations Jordan conquered the eastern part of Jerusalem and Israel defended and conquered the western part of the city Jordan and Israel agreed on the division of Jerusalem between them in the Armistice Agreement of April 3 The United Nations accepted the division of Jerusalem between Israel and Jordan and over the years abandoned the solution of its internationalization Almost the entire world became accustomed to this albeit without formally recognizing (except Pakistan) the legality of Jordan’s rule in east Jerusalem and the legality of Israel’s rule in west Jerusalem some countries in the world only recognized de facto Israeli rule in west Jerusalem and 18 of them even established their embassies there as a clear sign of their recognition of west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel The war ended in six days in a crushing victory for Israel Jordan bombed Jerusalem and even occupied a small part of its territory (the High Commissioner’s Palace) Since Jordan did not heed Israel’s warnings to refrain from fighting against it Israel conquered Jordanian Jerusalem (six square kilometers) and added to Jerusalem an additional 64.5 square kilometers of the land of 28 villages and towns in the West Bank and jurisdiction to all these territories under the designation of “east Jerusalem.” Israel hastened to build 13 new neighborhoods inhabited by 214,600 Israelis compared with about 327,700 Arabs who live in the area of east Jerusalem The struggle for the political future of east Jerusalem then renewed reaching its peak when Israel declared unified Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in a Basic Law of that name in 1980 The United Nations has determined that Israel’s rule in east Jerusalem is illegal that all measures taken by Israel to unify the city are null and void and that east Jerusalem is “occupied territory,” illegally annexed by Israel from Jordan and the 18 countries that maintained embassies in west Jerusalem accepted the UN call and removed their embassies from Jerusalem to other places in Israel as a sign of diplomatic protest against the imposition of Israeli rule and laws on east Jerusalem foreign countries currently maintain nine consulates in Jerusalem none of them submitted an official request (exequator) to the Israeli Foreign Ministry for recognition as a consulate in view of the desire to avoid performing an act (submitting an application to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) that would imply their countries’ recognition of Jerusalem as part of the State of Israel Israel grants foreign consulates in Jerusalem consular status and documentation under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations this article presents a completely different opinion held by world-renowned experts in international law whereby Israel has lawfully acquired sovereignty over both parts of Jerusalem as a matter of international law at the end of the British Mandate in May 1948 a vacuum was created in sovereignty over Jerusalem that could only be filled by legal action such as by turning Jerusalem into an international city through acceptance of the UN Partition Resolution of November 29 in light of the rejection by the Arab states of the UN Partition resolution aimed at thwarting the implementation of that resolution which recommended establishment of two states this vacuum was ultimately filled by the conquest of west Jerusalem by Israel in exercise of its inherent right to self-defense Israel became the legal sovereign in west Jerusalem Jordan was not considered to be the legal sovereign in east Jerusalem since it occupied the territory during the aforementioned aggressive to thwart implementation of the Partition Resolution Evidence of this may be found in the fact that no country in the world (including the Arab states) recognized the legality of Jordan’s sovereignty over east Jerusalem The same principle is equally applicable to the 64.5 square kilometers of territory attached to Jerusalem at the end of June 1967 Jordanian rule in these territories similarly lacked legality as they had been occupied by Jordan in an aggressive war initiated by the Arab states in order to thwart the UN “Partition Plan” of November 1947 both with its July 1988 announcement that it was severing its legal and administrative ties to these areas as well as the fact that it did not demand to restore them from Israel as part of the October 1994 Treaty of Peace between Israel and Jordan East Jerusalem cannot be considered “occupied territory.” For such status to be accorded to a particular territory international law requires that the state whose territory was occupied must have been the legal sovereign of the territory in question Jordan was not the legal sovereign of east Jerusalem since it acquired the territory unlawfully Israel acquired sovereignty in east Jerusalem and legitimately unified the two parts of the city at the end of June 1967 and later proclaimed united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in its 1980 Basic Law that Israel holds the best relative legal right in respect of both parts of Jerusalem and no other country (including Jordan and the Palestinian Authority) Contrary to the position taken by the majority of countries of the world Russia recognized west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and concurrently recognized east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state in a special speech by President Donald Trump the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel President refrained from referring to “united Jerusalem” or “undivided Jerusalem,” and stressed that the United States “does not take a position on permanent issues including the specific borders of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem.” In this way President Trump expressed his acquiescence in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians regarding the issue of Jerusalem including the Palestinian desire for two capitals an Israeli capital and a Palestinian capital president further instructed the State Department to prepare for the transfer of the U.S scheduled for Israel’s 70th Independence Day anniversary in May 2018 the Czech Republic announced its recognition of west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel the President of Guatemala announced his decision to return the Guatemalan embassy to Jerusalem thereby implying Guatemalan recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in view of the diplomatic practice of locating the diplomatic mission in the capital of the host country I would like to express my gratitude to the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs for their readiness to publish my research and all of their dedicated assistance with this project I would also like to thank Judge Moshe Drori vice president of the Jerusalem District Court former Israeli ambassador to Canada and legal adviser to the Israel Foreign Ministry excellent translation of the monograph into English and to Lenny Ben-David for his professional For a detailed discussion of the positions of the parties involved in the peace negotiations regarding the status of west and east Jerusalem For the text of the Hague Convention of 1907 the Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Laws of War Regulations see: Land Law and International Law in Judea and Samaria note 52 (place of publication on the Internet); M The Legislation in the Judea and Samaria Area Israel is a signatory to the Fourth Geneva Convention For a detailed discussion of these conditions Pursuant to UN General Assembly Resolution 67/19 of November 29 to allow the Palestinian Authority to join the UN as “an Observer State which is not a full member,” the PA decided to call itself “the State of Palestine.” However it does not meet the requirements of international law for recognition as a state as stipulated in the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States The Oslo Accords – International Law and the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Agreements This question was discussed in Israeli law within the framework of the procedural decision of March 30 The Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat in a number of common procedural questions relating to a number of tort claims pending against the Palestinian Authority; see Piskei Din Mechoziim 2002(b) 776 The opinion of the two majority judges was that the question of the status of the Palestinian Authority as a state is a political-legal question that should be decided in each claim separately based on a certificate of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on this matter held that the question under discussion was a legal matter only which only the court was authorized to hear and there was no need for a certificate from the Foreign Minister on the subject he considered in detail the status of the Palestinian Authority and held that it was not a state Although the Palestinian Authority filed an application to appeal to the Supreme Court against the decision of the District Court (ALA 4060/03 PA v it did not contest the District Court’s ruling on the above question and it became final and binding (see ibid. The rest of the application was also rejected The judgment was published on the Supreme Court’s Judgments website and in 62(3) PD 1 See also: CA 5093/06 Agudat Midreshet Eretz Israel Association v (the judgment was published in the Supreme Court website) the District Court of Jerusalem (per Deputy President based on an appropriate certificate from the Minister of Foreign Affairs See: Civil File (Jerusalem District Court) 4071/02 Anon 539-540 of the decision of 15.10.12 (published in the databases); see also: Civil File (Jerusalem District Court) 3361/09 Heirs of Sharon Ben Shalom v the case law states that the immunity of a foreign sovereign will be granted only to entities recognized as states by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs See also: HCJ 4354/92 Temple Mount Faithful v at 523-524; HCJ 186/65 Rainer Prime Minister 19(2) PD 485,487 Author Nathan Thrall discusses ‘A Day in the Life of Abed Salama’ In his Pulitzer Prize-winning non-fiction book “A Day in the Life of Abed Salama,” author Nathan Thrall tells the searing tale of a school bus accident that devastated a poor community died while dozens others were burned in the bus fire But because the horrific accident occurred in an enclosed East Jerusalem enclave of Palestinians under the control of Israeli authorities Thrall’s book also provides a look at daily existence of the 130,000 people living inside the enclave  With travel restricted and access to jobs and health care is severely limited Israeli oversight had significant consequences for the people involved in the accident Thrall interviewed multiple Palestinians and Israelis and his efforts under the constraints of life in the enclave to learn whether his son Thrall spoke about the story during an public conversation Monday with Duke professor Rebecca Stein before an estimated 130 people in the Washington Duke Inn.  The talk was part of the Provost’s Initiative on the Middle East the war in Israel and Gaza has focused headlines nearly daily on the region there was “a large and growing kind of indifference to what was happening” in Palestinian communities.  In particular the everyday experience of Palestinians living under military occupation in the West Bank has receded from public view “What I was aiming to do with this book was to draw our attention to the situation for Palestinians in their ordinary lives the situation as it exists between these wars between these moments when people are paying attention you would hear global leaders and secretaries of state say “And what I really wanted to illustrate was that the calm that is the situation prior to the beginning of this particular war was anything but calm for Palestinians.” Here are excerpts of Thrall’s comments at the event: to draw people into the lives of these Palestinians to have a visceral sense of what it is to live in this place And it was a very deliberate choice on my part to tell the story of something as commonplace as a car accident to show how radically different the sequence of events following a car accident are in this place when you have this system of control over Palestinians something that a journalist might be drawn to This is the action of one particular prime minister at this specific geopolitical moment And what I really wanted to show is this is the system as it exists this is the system as it exists no matter who is the commander in the area.” They're at another hospital in West Jerusalem They're at a hospital in Ramallah with some even as far as a hospital in Nablus That means he wasn't able to go through the checkpoints to see if his son was at the hospitals in East Jerusalem or at the hospitals in West Jerusalem He certainly couldn't go to the military base a minute up the road so he went to the one place that he could go And it took him more than a day just to find out where his son was who were able to go through the checkpoints and look for his son at those hospitals “His journey that day through checkpoints and segregated roads allowed me to show that system but really from the perspective of one single person who is forced to navigate through it on the worst day of his life.” “It was very important that all these characters in the book came across as real human beings and that their world views were understandable to everybody … different people whose lives kind of represent different slices of the experience of being in this place “One of the characters was the architect of the wall … He created the maps that shaped the West Bank today dividing it up into what is known as Area C where all the Israeli Jewish settlements and military bases and settler roads and firing zones are located This major contiguous area that's over 60% of the West Bank that's dotted with little areas of limited Palestinian autonomy known as area A and B He created the maps that really shaped the lives of all the people in the West Bank today and he very much conceives of himself as a peacemaker and I wanted to explain why he sees himself that way.” The talk was sponsored by the Provost's Office Department of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies the Duke Human Rights Center at the Franklin Humanities Institute and the Duke Middle East Studies Center Nathan Thrall tells more about his book and his experience as a journalist in the Middle East in an interview with student Aseel Ibrahim of the Duke Human Rights Center at the Franklin Humanities Institute Read on Trinity College of Arts and Sciences Read on Duke Human Rights Center at the Franklin Humanities Institute Duke Today is produced jointly by University Communications and Marketing and the Office of Communication Services (OCS) Articles are produced by staff and faculty across the university and health system to comprise a one-stop-shop for news from around Duke Geoffrey Mock of University Communications is the editor of the 'News' edition Leanora Minai of OCS is the editor of the 'Working@Duke' edition Although Israel claims Jerusalem as its undivided capital the realities for those who live there cannot be more different More than 70 percent of the Palestinians in Jerusalem live below the poverty line while the average poverty rate in Israel is 29.3 percent A matrix of discriminatory Israeli government policies has effectively obstructed the natural growth of the Palestinian population in East Jerusalem While Palestinians live under apartheid-like conditions Jewish Israelis enjoy a sense of normality Designed and Developed by @AJLabs Icon by Befoolish from the Noun Project Palestinians in Jerusalem make up close to 40 percent of the city’s population They are required to pay taxes to the Israeli-controlled Jerusalem municipality like any inhabitant of the city But Israel deliberately avoids investing in infrastructure and services in East Jerusalem Only 10 percent of the Jerusalem municipality’s budget goes to public spending in East Jerusalem While many parts of West Jerusalem resemble any European city Roads are narrow and unpaved in many places; sidewalks end abruptly and there is a severe shortage of sanitation The discrimination also exists on the bureaucratic level you automatically receive Israeli citizenship you receive residency status and a temporary Jordanian passport The latter serves as nothing more than a travel document Palestinians in Jerusalem are essentially stateless More than 140,000 Palestinian residents of Jerusalem have been physically separated from the city by a 700-kilometre concrete wall Although Israel claimed that the wall separates the West Bank from Israel for security It also cuts off Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank to solidify Israeli control over Jerusalem The main Palestinian university in Jerusalem has been cut off from the city by the wall These are the two relatively “upscale” neighbourhoods in East and West Jerusalem While West Jerusalem has 1,000 public parks West Jerusalem has 27 municipality-run family health centres; East Jerusalem has six During the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine the Palestinians who lived in West Jerusalem were either expelled to East Jerusalem or the West Bank or left the country While Israel allowed thousands of Jews to move into settlements in East Jerusalem not a single Palestinian has been allowed to return to their home in West Jerusalem The neighbourhoods and homes of West Jerusalem that remained intact during 1948 still bear Arabic inscriptions There was no regulated Palestinian public transport system in East Jerusalem until 2004 West Jerusalem has a central bus station complete with an indoor mall and security checks three open-air bus depots constitute the only central bus station Transportation remains highly segregated for Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem the Jerusalem light rail serves only two Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem is at the heart of the conflict and occupation It is also a major tourist and pilgrimage site for people from all over the world The site’s significance gives Israel more reason to entrench its 51-year-old occupation of East Jerusalem and control over the Old City which has been designated a World Heritage site by the United Nations the 1967 war and the occupation of the remainder of historical Palestine - particularly the Old City - led to a sense of euphoria also known as the al-Buraq Wall to Muslims They wept as they gave thanks for what they believed was a miracle from God Israel demolished the entire 770-year-old Moroccan Quarter neighbourhood and expelled its residents to create this wide open space adjacent to the Western Wall Most of Palestine’s Christians fled the country during the 1948 Nakba Some 10 percent of six million Palestinians across historical Palestine are Christian church leaders shut the doors to the church for three consecutive days in protest against what they described as discriminatory Israeli policies aimed at weakening Christian presence in Jerusalem Home Publications INSS Insight In the Midst of the War with Hamas Why Has East Jerusalem Remained Relatively Quiet Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza there has been very little security-related news coming out of East Jerusalem This is in stark contrast to the growing security challenges in the West Bank and to previous campaigns involving Israel and Hamas in which there were clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians not only on the streets of East Jerusalem and at the al-Aqsa Mosque but also in Israeli cities such as Acre and Bat Yam This article offers reasons that may explain this discrepancy it suggests what we can expect to see emanating from East Jerusalem in the reality of the current war and considers some of the policy options available to Israel 2022 showed that 48 percent of the city’s Palestinian residents said that if they had to choose they would prefer to become citizens of Israel rather than a Palestinian state that same figure hovered around just 20 percent This same poll also showed a preference among East Jerusalem Palestinians to “focus on practical matters” (62 percent) and “counter Islamic extremism” (62 percent) These trends were further corroborated by raw data demonstrating not only a jump in the number of applications for Israeli passports among East Jerusalem Palestinians (Figure 1) but also an increase in the number of East Jerusalem Palestinian students registered in Israeli university preparatory programs significantly more than anticipated (Figure 2) “All the Ways East Jerusalem Palestinians Get Rejected in Bid to Become Israelis,” Haaretz Jerusalem Palestinians Have Received Israeli Citizenship Since 1967,” Haaretz Summary of Government Decision 3790,” Misrad Yerushalim “First Generation of Higher Education in Israel: Integration Processes of East Jerusalem Youth in Israeli Academia,” Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research (2023) [Hebrew] it i also reflects the stance of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza with support for Hamas more than triple the rate of three months ago and support for armed struggle rising ten percentage points with 60 percent saying “it is the best means for ending the Israeli occupation.” Notably this percentage rises closer to 70 percent Data focusing specifically on East Jerusalem and public opinion among the Palestinian population there have not yet been released; however Hamas has been pursuing a strategy of widespread Palestinian consolidation across Gaza essentially been no large-scale clashes or large violent protests Why the “Quiet” In East Jerusalem Since October 7 There are at least four reasons that might explain why East Jerusalem has been relatively quiet since October 7 Israel has heightened its security presence in East Jerusalem While  here have been some claims of excessive brutality and unwarranted arrests it is almost certain that this greater security presence has thwarted terrorist attacks during the war in Gaza and with the increase in clashes between Israel and Hezbollah on the northern border East Jerusalem simply is a less attractive item on the media’s list This does not mean that nothing is happening there there are still more minor clashes every Friday in Wadi Joz because of Israel’s decision to close al-Aqsa to young Palestinians East Jerusalem Palestinians are possibly confused – quite similar to the Arab citizens of Israel about how to digest and respond to the Hamas's horrific events of October 7 While they likely condemn Israel’s war on Gaza they are also often more able to recognize the utter inhumanity of the deeds of Hamas on October 7 than Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank But any expression of understanding or empathy by them for Israelis would be perceived among their community as an abandonment of their identification with the national cause Jerusalem in the truest sense is a mixed city Many East Jerusalem Palestinians are highly enmeshed in the fabric of the city working and studying in the city's businesses Many are interested in advancing their own interests and those of their families and recognize that any incitement – especially during this time of extreme tension and fear – has the potential to completely destroy their lives And with more frontal expressions of anger East Jerusalem has witnessed a form of “community awakening” characterized by increased community activities and volunteering Largely because so many East Jerusalem Palestinians’ lives are so intertwined with the Western part of the city a large scale national uprising from East Jerusalem is unlikely This expectation is buttressed by a warming of East Jerusalem Palestinians toward Israel in recent years and what are likely their dilemmas regarding how to respond to the events of October 7 This does not mean that that we will not continue to see smaller lone-wolf terrorist attacks against Israelis in and from East Jerusalem The pictures and videos coming out of Gaza are undoubtedly very hard to digest As we have seen on more than one occasion since October 7 we can expect that youth from East Jerusalem will be motivated and convinced to engage in terror attacks against Israelis and largely in light of the terror attacks that might emanate from East Jerusalem Israel should maintain a strong security presence and robust intelligence surveillance there would introduce a new ominous dimension to the war and might further encourage disruptions among Arab citizens in Israel continued restraint in Jerusalem will prove that the city is a “mixed” one in the truest sense This is a reality from which neither Palestinians nor Israelis in the city will be able to escape long term Israeli policy must be aimed toward creating a more viable future for Palestinians in East Jerusalem and Israelis in West Jerusalem alike which has a stated goal of reducing socio-economic gaps and promoting economic development in East Jerusalem will ensure the development of a sustainable city that will remain part Israeli and part Palestinian At the time of the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 there were approximately 110,000 settlers in the West Bank and around 140,000 in East Jerusalem the settlement activity was concentrated in 12 large neighborhoods Today, 30 years later, there are about 465,000 settlers in the West Bank residing in around 300 settlements and outposts in addition to about 3,000 who are residing within Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem The Oslo Accords signed 30 years ago this week were supposed to lead to a peace agreement between Israel and a sovereign Palestinian state by 1999 While the Oslo Accords specified that the issues of settlements and borders (among others) would be negotiated they prohibited the establishment of new settlements and any changes to the existing reality on the ground the settlement enterprise has thrived over the past thirty years primarily due to five different factors: the expansion of existing settlements the “import” of ultra-Orthodox populations to settlements and the creation of settlements within Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and the ״Import״ of Ultra-Orthodox Populations Establishment of New Settlements – Outposts: Since the Oslo Accords specifically prohibited changing the reality on the ground unilaterally Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government found a “trick” to bypass this prohibition they established at least 200 new settlements Outposts are settlements that are established without official government approval and without approved building plans the Israeli government has taken various measures to discredit and undermine the significance of these outposts and even committed in the Annapolis Accords to evacuate some of them only a minority of outposts were evacuated there has been a massive effort to reclassify them as new settlements or as neighborhoods within existing settlements 27 outposts have been retroactively legalized with the majority of them remaining as “illegal” outposts (155) While the ultra-Orthodox community does not have an ideological interest in settling in the West Bank a significant demographic shift occurred with the massive influx of ultra-Orthodox residents into the settlements Settlement leaders realized that if they could attract ultra-Orthodox communities to settle they would significantly increase the settler population they established several ultra-Orthodox settlements but those located closer to the central district or Jerusalem succeeded the two largest cities in the West Bank are now Haredi: Beitar Illit and Modi’in Illit with a combined population of around 150,000 settlers Beitar Illit had only about 5,000 settlers The largest settlement in terms of population is Modi’in Illit These two Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) settlements together have nearly 150,000 settlers the eastern section of the Jerusalem Nature Highway the nature of settlement activity in East Jerusalem changed Alongside the construction of new neighborhoods (such as Har Homa in 1997 and Ramat Shlomo in 1998) and the expansion of existing neighborhoods (Ramot settlement activity also gained strength within Palestinian neighborhoods and the Old City by taking over homes inhabited by Palestinians A significant change occurred during the Second Intifada with the intensification of “tourist settlements.” Settlement organizations took responsibility for tourist sites in Silwan and around the Old City These tourist settlements attract large numbers of Israeli visitors each year serving as a platform for public relations and influencing millions of tourists the tourist site “City of David,” operated by the Elad Settler Organization and located in the heart of Silwan draws hundreds of thousands of Israeli visitors annually While the number of settlers residing within Palestinian neighborhoods remained relatively small their influence on Palestinian daily life and the exacerbation of tensions and violence with frequent settler incursions have been significant there were about 800 settlers living in Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and the Muslim Quarter of the Old City approximately 3,000 settlers reside within Palestinian neighborhoods The growth in the number of settlers has led to significant changes in the daily lives of Palestinians and has generated friction and frequent violence caused by settler attacks The thirty years following the Oslo Accords were characterized by a significant expansion of the settler population in the West Bank and East Jerusalem growing from approximately 250,000 in 1993 to nearly 700,000 by 2023 This population growth is a result of Israel’s ongoing expansion of settlements the establishment of new settlements in the form of outposts and the construction of hundreds of kilometers of bypass roads making it easier for settlements to connect to Israel a significant reinforcement of the settler population comes from the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) who have no ideological connection to the settlements and had not settled in the West Bank before the Oslo Accords except for a few neighborhoods in East Jerusalem (Neve Yaakov The conclusions drawn from the data are clear The settlement enterprise did not suffer from the Oslo Accords but rather thrived and authorize settlements in the West Bank unabated Even in years when few new settlements were established (1993–1997) When factoring in agricultural land and pastures seized by settlers it can be concluded that the settlement enterprise has never been in a better position while the situation for Palestinians in the West Bank remains difficult and fraught with challenges Number of settlers in the West Bank: Approximately 110,000 + 6,400 in the Gaza Strip Settlers in East Jerusalem: Estimated at 140,000 Number of settlers in the West Bank: Approximately 465,000 Settlers in East Jerusalem: Around 230,000 including approximately 60 agricultural farms Total number of settlements and outposts: Approximately 300 © 2025 Peace Now | Sitemap | Accessibility Notice Design & UX: 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