Israel is moving with great speed on all fronts to change the situation on the ground in its favor. But the situation for Palestinians is increasingly untenable, and the pressure building up is intense.
A report on “Jerusalem and the Middle East Peace Process, prepared by European Union Heads of Missions [apparently in Jerusalem], and dated December 2008, was leaked/released today by the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICHAD), and it is damning: “Long-standing Israeli plans for Jerusalem, now being implemented at an accelerated rate, are undermining prospects for a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem and a sustainable two-state solution … Israel is, by practical means, actively pursuing the illegal annexation of East Jerusalem“, the report states.
And, it charges that “Israel’s actions in and around Jerusalem constitute one of the most acute challenges to Israeli-Palestinian peace making … Settlement building in and around East Jerusalem continues at a rapid pace, contrary to Israel’s obligations under international law and the Roadmap, which were reaffirmed at Annapolis…
The EU report continues: “In 2008, the number of tenders in East Jerusalem has increased by a factor of nearly 40 compared to 2007 … Relatively small in number but of particular concern are settlements being implanted in the heart of existing Palestinian neighbourhoods inside the Old City (total surface: 0.9 km2) and immediately surrounding areas (Silwan, Ras al-Amud, at-Tur, Wadi al-Joz, Sheikh Jarrah) with government assistance. Written evidence exists of the compliance, and monetary help, of individual ministries to settler activities in the Old City … Incursions into the Haram Al Sharif on the Temple Mount by radical settler groups have increased in 2008. Particularly during the Jewish high holiday season, settlers paraded on the Haram compound on a frequent basis, sometimes with protection from Israeli security forces, in what appeared to be a show of strength, sometimes leading to clashes with Palestinians”.
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Concerning Restrictions on, and Demolitions of, Palestinian housing, the EU report says that “Palestinian areas of the city [Jerusalem] are characterised by poor roads, little or no street cleaning, limited sewage systems, few public services such as parks, pavements, clinics, libraries, community centres, youth clubs, sports fields, playgrounds or adequate school classrooms and an absence of well-maintained public spaces. This is in sharp contrast to areas where Israelis live both in West Jerusalem and East Jerusalem settlements. The provision of services in what is, according to Israeli definition, a single municipality, reflect discriminatory practices.
“The [Jerusalem] municipality places severe restrictions on the building of Palestinian housing in East Jerusalem. It only issues building permits for areas that have zoned master plans. Since Israel annexed East Jerusalem, more than 35% of its territory has been expropriated (more than 24 sq. km). Of the remaining areas, much is unzoned. In the zoned areas, development has been artificially ‘capped’ – towards the goal of ‘maintaining the demographic balance’, leaving only 12% of East Jerusalem (most of which is originally Palestinian owned land) for Palestinian residential purposes. This 12% of Palestinian land is already densely built upon, and thus Palestinians build on this land (for which they pay municipal and other taxes) without building permits. They have no options but to adopt illegal behaviour against their will, even, in some cases, after having spent thousands of dollars to submit requests to the planning authorities and hiring lawyers in attempts to build legally. During the past years Palestinians have received fewer than 200 building permits per year; even these require a wait of several years and are usually a costly affair. The increasing Palestinian population means that many new Palestinian homes are built without permits and are therefore considered “illegal” by the Israeli authorities (although under the 4th Geneva Convention occupying powers may not extend their jurisdiction to occupied territory).
“Since 2004 around 400 houses have been demolished. ‘Administrative demolitions’ have also intensified since Annapolis, particularly in and around Jerusalem. According to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), since Annapolis Israeli Authorities have demolished 95 houses in East Jerusalem out of a total of 330 house demolitions in the OPT (this represents an overall increase of 25 percent over the 11-month period prior to Annapolis). 420 homes are currently threatened with demolitions in the Mount of Olives neighbourhood. Legal proceedings temporarily halted 300 demolitions. During the first week of November new demolitions occurred in Silwan neighbourhood as part of the 80 demolition orders planned by the Israeli authorities in June 2005, claiming that they are illegal structures. If implemented, these demolitions would displace 1,000 people, including more than 700 children in Silwan. The number of pending demolition orders that have yet to be carried out in East Jerusalem is around 1000.
“House demolitions in occupied East Jerusalem are illegal under international law, serve no obvious purpose, have severe humanitarian effects, and fuel bitterness and extremism. The EU adopted a declaration on this issue on the 10th November of 2008 and expressed its concern to the Israeli authorities through an official demarche to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 1st December of 2008“…
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The report notes that “The EU policy on Jerusalem is based on the principles set out in UN Security Council Resolution 242, notably the inadmissibility of acquisition of territory by force. In consequence, the EU has never recognised the Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967 nor the subsequent 1980 Basic Law (Basic Law Jerusalem Capital of Israel) which made Jerusalem the ‘complete and united’ capital of Israel … In conferences held in 1999 and 2001, the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention reaffirmed the applicability of the Convention to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and reiterated the need for full respect for the provisions of the Convention in that territory”.
We haven’t heard this kind of talk for years — we’ve gotten used to hearing that all this is just “unhelpful”.
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What’s even worse, if that is possible, is that Israel makes these Palestinians pay for the destruction of their own homes — like Saddam Hussein used to make the families of those he executed pay for the bullets.
Ma’an News Agency is reporting that one Palestinian in East Jerusalem just hired a Palestinian bulldoze driver to demolish his home that is slated for demolition, to avoid paying the extra fees to the Israelis. The Ma’an story is published here.