| Jerusalem Chronology | |
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Jan. 1: It is confirmed that The Israel Land Authority intends to market land for housing construction in the following East Jerusalem settlement communities: 200 units in Ramot, 163 units in Shu’fat and 100 units in Gilo. There are also plans to distribute 1,000 units at Har Homa.
Jan. 14: A special Israeli report concludes that in 1996, 1% of Jerusalem’s population (some 6,000 people) emigrated from the city. Due to the fact that some 40,000 people have emigrated over the last decade, MK Ophir Pines (Labor) proposes a law to grant incentives to students, young couples and new immigrants to prevent further emigration from Jerusalem of secular Jews.
- Israel expresses anger on ‘unilateral decision’ by the European Union to call for a strengthening of Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem.
- Jerusalem Civil Court charges right-wing extremists Avigdor Eskin and Demian Pakovich on three main accounts: a plan to throw a pig’s head into Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, placing a pig’s head on the tomb of Izz Eddin Al-Qassem near Haifa, and setting fire to the Dor Shalom peace movement’s office in Jerusalem. The two are accused of inciting and acting in the spirit of Kahana’s teachings with the intention of causing clashes between Jews and Arabs.
Jan. 20: Ateret Cohanim begins rehabilitating 18 homes in the Moslem Quarter of the Old City, now occupied by 60 Jewish families, and continues its efforts to purchase additional properties ‘to Judaize the Old City’.
Jan. 22: The Israeli Min. of the Interior approves an ‘Arab sector plan’ and a ‘Jewish sector plan’ for the Palestinian neighborhood of Ras Al-Amud.
Jan. 23: Palestinian geographer Khalil Tufakji says that on Jan. 7, the Israeli Govt. approved plans for a new road (No. 70), which will loop around the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem, northwards towards Al-Bireh-Ramallah and southwards towards Bethlehem. This project, which will require the seizure of 1,550 dunums of land belonging to seven Palestinian villages, will close Jerusalem in on the eastern side, thereby preventing Palestinians from building in areas still available.
- West Jerusalem Municipality (WJM) Mayor Ehud Olmert says PM Netanyahu is committed to the idea of building a new Jewish settlement in Arab East Jerusalem.
Jan. 25: Ateret Cohanim extremists begin to renovate five of the buildings that the group claims to own in Jerusalem’s Old City and state that they intend to renovate another 13 in the near future. Ateret Cohanim and Elad have launched a fundraising campaign for rebuilding Jewish-controlled buildings in the Old City; Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu has verbally promised to allocate NIS20m. to Elad and NIS10m. to Ateret Cohanim.
Jan. 26: Meir Porush, Israel's Deputy Min. of Housing, reports that there are 1,000 empty houses in smaller WB settlements and 180 in larger urban outposts. He adds that plans to market land for the construction of 5,200 settlement housing units in 1998 may not be met. More than 60% of the 1998 program is centered on settlements in ‘Greater Jerusalem’ - Ma'ale Adumim, Givat Ze'ev, and Betar.
Jan. 27: Press reports quote Porush as saying that the Housing Min. plans 15,000 new settlement units in the coming two years, 60% of which will be built in and around Jerusalem.
Jan. 28: A report prepared by an Israeli special commission reveals Israeli plans to maximize security measures in Jerusalem by controlling auditors, transferring more govt. offices to the east of the city and prohibiting the muezzins from calling for prayers.
Jan. 29: Nidal Abu Srour, 18, from Aida Refugee Camp dies in the Mosqobiyya Detention Center while under interrogation. He was arrested for unknown reasons on Jan. 6 shortly after leaving Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Jan. 31: Violent clashes erupt in the Old City after an unidentified Palestinian girl stabs a yeshiva student inside Damascus Gate.
Jan. 1998: Yediot Ahoronot reports that two Jewish extremists have been discovered planning to open fire on Palestinian worshippers taking part in the Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa during Ramadan.
Feb. 1: A report presented to PM Netanyahu by Israeli security forces claims that areas in and around Jerusalem are controlled by the PA, which they claim is trying to strengthen its hold on land and to create territorial continuity of Palestinian villages and neighborhoods.
Feb. 3: Israeli forces destroy a stables, owned by Ibrahim Arifai’, and four Palestinian homes in Anata, Ras Karkar, Ar-Ram, and Qalandia Refugee Camp.
- Israeli military authorities hand the Bedouin tribe of Arab As-Sawahra near Ma’ale Adumim a second eviction notice that will affect all 430 members and their sheep.
- The Israeli Min. of the Interior approves the construction of 132 housing units for Jewish settlers in the Arab neighborhood of Ras Al-Amud on land supposedly owned by Jewish American millionaire Irving Moskovitz.
Feb. 6: Some 35 Jahalin Bedouin families are evicted from their encampment near the Ma'ale Adumim settlement.
Feb. 8: Israeli media reports that the PA has purchased tens of dunums of East Jerusalem land from both Jews and Arabs over the past few months using money from a specially created PA fund and from Palestinian businessmen.
Feb. 11: An Israeli settler from Rekhes Shu’fat is stabbed to death by unknown assailants near his home. An hour later, a Palestinian civilian is stabbed and wounded by a settler in the Neve Ya’acov settlement.
- WAFA (the Palestinian News Agency) reports that Israeli Bezeq employees, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, wrote statements such as ‘Death to Arabs’ and drew pig heads on the houses of Anata villagers.
Feb. 13: Israeli forces raid a Palestinian office near Damascus Gate and another at the Dahiet Al-Barid checkpoint and arrest their directors on grounds that they are involved with the PA security services, led by Jibril Rajoub and Tawfiq Terawi.
Feb. 15: Israeli army and police forces raid offices of private Palestinian investigators in East Jerusalem. The owners are accused of being undercover agents for the PA’s security services, led by Jibril Rajoub and Tawfiq Terawi.
Feb. 16: Israeli soldiers destroy 50 tents and evicts 137 Jahalin Bedouins from their encampment (Khan Al-Ahmar area) below Ma’ale Adumim to make way for the expansion of the settlement.
Feb. 17: Hamzeh Ebediyye, 14, is stabbed and moderately wounded by an Israeli in the Mea Shearim neighborhood.
Feb. 18: Israeli forces destroy the home of Anwar An-Nibilsi in At-Tur, making 12 people homeless.
Feb. 20: It is announced that an Arab list from East Jerusalem intends to compete in the WJM elections. Candidate Musa Aleyan from the village of Beit Safafa says this does not contradict the policy of boycotting the elections. This will be the first time that an Arab list completes in elections for the WJM.
Feb. 22: The WJM prepares to evict the residents of the Sumud Camp for homeless East Jerusalem Palestinians, all of whom are threatened with losing their ID cards.
Feb. 25: The Israeli army destroys the 130-square-meter house of Kamal As-Sidaiyi in At-Tur, which is home to 12 people.
- Citing a secret EU report concluded by ambassadors and consuls from the 15 EU states on Jan. 28, El Pais daily states that Israel's intention was to "modify the status" of Jerusalem in order to "reinforce its sovereignty."
- A two-day cultural and folklore festival opens in Ash-Sharqa, UAE, entitled ‘Jerusalem Calls Upon You’.
Feb. 26: Israeli authorities visit the Sumud Camp in Sawaneh for a second time to gather more information in preparation for the eviction of the residents of the camp. According to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, the head of the Meretz faction on the Israeli Jerusalem Municipal Council said that city officials accompanied by 200 police will serve an eviction notice to the camp’s residents on Sunday, March 1.
Feb. 1998: PM Netanyahu gives green light to Ateret Cohanim to move 12 more Jewish families into the Old City’s Moslem Quarter.
March 1: Israel's Supreme Court rules that dozens of Jahalin Bedouin families can remain temporarily on WB land where police have been trying to evict them to make way for the expansion of a Jewsettlement.
- A religious settlement east of Jerusalem agrees to establish a compound for raising children belonging to the class of ‘priests’ so that they will be able to sanctify the ground of the Temple Mount and thus enable the resumption of Jewish prayer at the holy site.
March 3: Jerusalem observes a general strike – called for by Fatah under the motto ‘Jerusalem Outcry’ – to protest WJM Mayor Olmert’s visit to the city to celebrate ‘Jerusalem 3000’.
March 4: Arab East Jerusalem witnesses an all-out strike in protest of a planned visit by WJM Mayor Olmert.
- The Israeli army destroys a two-apartment building – home to 12 Palestinians - in Ar-Ram.
March 8: Unknown assailants stab a Talmud student in the Old City.
March 10: The Jerusalem Waqf Council warns of Israeli attempts to take over Islamic property in Jerusalem and the whole of Palestine.
- Nasser Bassrat, 17, is stabbed and seriously wounded by a Jewish attacker in West Jerusalem.
March 12: Hasan Kabanah, 35, is stabbed and seriously wounded by unknown assailants in the neighborhood of Mea Shearim.
March 13: Five Arabs are hurt in an explosion near Damascus Gate.
March 14: British FM Robin Cook insists on visiting Jabal Abu Ghneim despite Israel’s objection.
March 15: The Israeli Govt. announces that 200 families of new Ethiopian immigrants will be settled in mobile homes at Airplane Hill, next to Har Homa in East Jerusalem.
- The civil administration in the WB rejects a formal Palestinian objection to the E-1 development plan. (See March 30.)
March 16: Addressing Islamic Foreign Ministers in Doha, Pres. Arafat calls on the Islamic World to unite and “save Jerusalem from the Israeli occupation.”
- Ma'ariv reports that the WJM has uncovered 2,500 cases of illegal construction in local Palestinian neighborhoods.
- Members of the National Religious Party meet at Har Homa with approximately 100 people who have registered to purchase apartments in the proposed settlement.
March 19: British Foreign Sec. Cook sparks a diplomatic incident and is nearly mobbed by Jewish radicals when he meets with Palestinians at Jabal Abu Ghneim.
March 22: Violent clashes erupt between Palestinian stone-throwers and Israeli police and armed settlers at Shu’fat Refugee Camp.
March 23: Israel steps us its taxation campaign against East Jerusalem merchants.
- PM Netanyahu declares, "By the end of my term, I promise there will be buildings on Har Homa."
March 25: PM Netanyahu and WJM Mayor Olmert seek to extend the municipal borders of Jerusalem by annexing Jewish and Arab villages to the area within the municipal boundaries.
- It is stated that the Israeli Min. of the Interior withdrew 2,500 IDs from Palestinian Jerusalemites, mostly from minors, in 1997.
March 28: Half of the families residing in the Sumud Camp in East Jerusalem are relocated to a nearby empty building.
March 30: Science Min. Michael Eitan visits the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim where he expresses support for the E-1 plan to create a territorial link between Jerusalem and the settlement. The plan calls for the construction of 5,000 hotel rooms and 1,500 single-family residential units.
March 31: During a planned tour of the E-1 area outside Jerusalem, PM Netanyahu tells settlers at Ma'ale Adumim that "the value of the Greater Jerusalem area is equal to that of the city of Jerusalem. Therefore the building here will continue as it does in Jerusalem." He adds that he will try to find the resources to enable work to begin on building a new road/tunnel linking the settlement with Jerusalem.
- The WJM sends notifications to 17 Palestinian families, telling them they must move from the Sumud Camp to an uninhabited Waqf building and that their ‘illegally constructed’ tents and shacks will be demolished within five days.
- The Israeli Govt. invites bids for the construction of 1,000 housing units on Jabal Abu Ghneim as the first stage of a huge housing project.
March 1998: According to the Israeli Min. of the Interior, 689 Palestinians from Jerusalem lost their residency rights in 1996, and 358 since the beginning of 1997. Under current Israeli policies over 60,000 Palestinians risk having their IDs ‘and residency rights’ revoked.
- Israel announces its intention to open ancient Islamic, Jewish and Christian sites to tourists in an archeological park, which includes a main road into the Old City that Israel claims was probably used by Jesus. The project is to be finished by the year 2000 as part of Israel's endeavors to divert attention and tourists away from Palestinian sites of interest.
April 1: Accompanied by bulldozers, WJM officials along with a large contingent of Israeli police destroy the tents and wooden shacks on the Sumud Camp site in the Sawaneh neighborhood after giving the families three hours to remove their belongings. Eleven families move into an empty building in Sheikh Jarrah.
April 7: Hundreds of Palestinians march through Jerusalem as part of the funeral proceedings for Bilal As-Salaymeh, who was shot by Israeli police in a late night car chase.
April 13: Pope John Paul II chastises Israel for endangering peace in the Middle East with its “dangerous political decisions” over the status of Jerusalem, clearly referring to the building of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem.
April 14: Twenty Jewish extremists are prevented from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque by guards.
April 15: A popular rally and a march to the ruins of Deir Yessin commemorate the 50th anniversary of the massacre that took place at the village.
- The EU criticizes the Israeli policy on Jerusalem.
April 23: Israeli officials demolish a small Bedouin encampment in Nabi Samuel just outside Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.
April 29: Palestinian laborer Wahil Sariri is stabbed and seriously wounded by a Jew in Mea Shearim.
April 30: Some 10,000 right-wing Israelis gather at Mt. Abu Ghneim to watch as a symbolic cornerstone is laid at the site of the Har Homa settlement.
- During the night a homemade pipe bomb explodes outside an Arab student's front door in the Musrara neighborhood, marking the third attack since three female Arab university students moved in.
May 1: The Hebrew University (Mt. Scopus) moves to evict five Palestinian families from an area near Sheikh Jarrah, which the university wants to use to expand student housing. The land was expropriated in 1968 but the order was not activated until recently.
Early May: PM Netanyahu cancels a directive that required that he personally approved any attempt by Jews to move into any large house or complex in densely-populated Palestinian areas in East Jerusalem. The directive was issued in Sept. 1997 after the govt. approved the construction of 132 residential units for Jews on land bought by Irving Moskowitz in Ras Al-Amud.
May 4: PM Netanyahu promises representatives of the National Religious Party that construction at Har Homa will begin without setting a specific date.
May 5: Ha'aretz reports that 1,000 Jews live in the Moslem Quarter of the Old City.
- Sec.- Gen. Of the PNA Cabinet Tayeb Abdul Rahim denies a Ha’aretz report concerning Pres. Arafat’s agreement to name Abu Dis the capital of Palestine instead of Arab East Jerusalem.
May 6: Unknown assailants stab an Ateret Cohanim settler to death in the Old City. In retaliation, settlers seize a two-dunum piece of land in the Burj Al-Laqlaq neighborhood near Lion's Gate and a house at Herod's Gate, which they claim was formerly owned by Jews.
- Settlers from Pisgat Ze'ev open fire from their car at the Awad house, injuring three members of the family. The house belongs to the personal guard of PA Preventive Security Chief Jibril Rajoub.
May 7: Nasser Salah, 35 is stabbed and moderately wounded by a Jewish attacker near Shiftei Yisrael Street in West Jerusalem.
May 13: Palestinian construction worker Khairi Alkam, 51, is stabbed to death while on his way to work by a Jewish attacker on Shiftei Yisrael Street.
- Israeli extremists set ablaze Bab Al-Ghawanmeh, one of the gates leading to Al-Aqsa compound, destroying a substantial part of the ancient gate.
May 14: Vatican Sec. for Relations between States Msgr. Jean-Louis Tauran tells the daiLa Republica, "We ask the international community to assume its responsibility for conserving the holy and unique character of the Holy City. To achieve these goals, the Holy See continues to call for special status with international guarantees."
- Jordan holds Israel responsible for an arson attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which it says seriously endangers the peace process. "The Israeli forces occupying the city of Jerusalem bear the responsibility for this aggression," says acting Information Min. Nasser Al-Lawzi.
May 15: Palestinians throw stones at Jews after Friday prayers in the wake of protests against Israeli troops who shot dead nine Palestinians yesterday during Al-Naqba (the Palestinian Catastrophe) marches. Israeli police evacuate scores of Jews from the Wailing Wall.
- Israel TV Channel 1 reports that Ateret Cohanim officials plan to turn Zedekiah's Cave in Jerusalem into "a religious Disneyland exhibiting biblical themes." The plan includes the building of a tunnel beneath the Moslem Quarter of the Old City. Ateret Cohanim plans to build the underground park on 13,000 sq. meters and has already begun raising funds.
May 18: Israel’s National Insurance Institute says it cannot compensate the Alkam family (see May 13) for the terrorist attack Khairi Alkam because the murder is not considered an ‘anti-Israeli’ attack and the law only applies to acts of terrorism committed by groups at war with Israel.
May 20: Israel's Min. of Police orders renovations of a vault underneath Al-Aqsa Mosque that is sometimes used for prayers to cease. Acting Head of the Higher Islamic Council Mohammad Nusseibeh says Israel had no right to order the work stopped.
- Palestinians file a petition with Israel's High Court to nullify the E-1 plan for the expansion of Ma'ale Adumim.
May 21: Israeli planners recommend building 95,000 new homes for Jews around Jerusalem by the year 2020 to ensure that the proportion of Jewish and Arab residents in Jerusalem remains at the current level.
- A team of planning experts proposes to the Israeli Govt. that it expand the municipal borders of Jerusalem by incorporating several small Jewish-Israeli municipalities to the west of the city, in order to increase the city’s Jewish population and to strengthen infrastructure links between Israeli settlements in and around East Jerusalem with the western part of the city.
May 22: US Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich cancels a visit to the proposed site of the US Embassy in Jerusalem at the request of the White House.
May 23: Israeli police arrest a Palestinian official with the Jerusalem Mayor's office who is accused of informing the PA about land purchases by Jews in East Jerusalem.
May 24: Israel celebrates ‘Jerusalem Liberation Day’ with a provocative parade of soldiers and settlers who march through East Jerusalem chanting anti-Arab slogans. A Palestinian-Israeli demonstration, organized by the Jerusalem Link, is held along the wall of the Old City under the banner of ‘Sharing Jerusalem - Two Capitals for Two States’.
May 25: Some 30 settlers from Ateret Cohanim accompanied by Israeli police and guard dogs enter the home of Na'ila Jawdat Az-Zarou in the Moslem Quarter of the Old City, summarily evict her and throw her belongings into the street, claiming the house belongs to the settlers. Mrs. Zarou received no prior notification of the eviction.
May 26: Israeli settlers from Ateret Cohanim set up several mobile homes on a quarter-acre area of land in the Old City just inside Herod's Gate to push for the construction of a new Jewish settlement in the Moslem Quarter. Some 12 apartments for 400 religious students are planned on the site. Although the shacks are later demolished by the WJM, Ateret Cohanim is allowed to maintain a presence at the site pending ‘archaeological excavations’. The incident is strongly criticized by Jordan and the EU.
- The PLC votes to shift its current session from Ramallah to Burj Al-Laqlaq in the Old City of Jerusalem. Upon arriving at the site, the PLC members clash with Israeli soldiers who force them to leave. PLC speaker Abu Ala comments: “If the Israelis continue to act this way, to hell with the agreements.”
May 28: Pope John Paul II, while accepting the credentials of the new Jordanian Ambassador to the Holy See, states: "The long and troubled history of Jerusalem will reach a new threshold in the year 2000 as a third millennium of Christianity dawns," and that "It is my fervent hope that this may prompt formal recognition with international guarantees of the unique and sacred character of the Holy City."
May 29: During his Friday sermon, the Imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque urges the Arab and Moslem nation to come and help liberate Jerusalem from Israeli occupation.
- Israeli government authorities have once again rejected a plea by Pope John Paul II for international guarantees to protect the status of Jerusalem.
May 1998: Wael Mohammed As-Surkhi is stabbed in the back by unknown assailants in the neighborhood of Mea Shearim.
June 1: The Jerusalem Company for Security and Public Services, headed by Abdul Razeq Ghazzawi begins work guarding the streets of Jerusalem. The guards, who wear a uniform with an Al-Aqsa emblem, patrol at night due to an increase in burglaries of Palestinian shops.
- In support of settler actions, WJM Mayor Olmert attends the opening ceremony of a café in the Moslem Quarter of the Old City run by Ateret Cohanim settlers who recently occupied the Palestinian house. Praising Ateret Cohanim’s efforts, Olmert says, "House after house, we will build Jerusalem."
- Israeli police beat Mohanned Sbeih from Beit Hanina unconscious while he is heading home from a nearby supermarket.
June 2: Israeli forces demolish four Palestinian homes in and around Jerusalem: one each in Jabal Al-Mukabber, At-Tur, Nabi Samuel, and the village of Biddu.
June 5: Israel's Min. of the Interior approves the construction of 58 new dwelling units at a Jewish seminary on the Mount of Olives. The land in question was once zoned for a school for Palestinian girls from the neighboring village of At-Tur.
- Speaker of the US House of Representatives Newt Gingrich addresses the Knesset saying that “Jerusalem is the indivisible capital of Israel” and encouraging the US Embassy’s move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
June 6: Clashes erupt between Palestinians and Jewish settlers from the Elad group when the settlers take over two buildings in Silwan.
June 7: Arab Jerusalem and Khan Yunis are accepted as full members of the International Federation of United Cities during its conference in Lille, France, attended by 500 cities from around the world.
- Jewish settlers seize two houses in the Nabi Samuel area, openly supported by PM Netanyahu.
- Jewish settlers from Ateret Cohanim receive permission to remain on a 2,000-square-meter area in the Moslem Quarter of the Old City to conduct an ‘archeological dig’ at the same time as the WJM discusses with the settlers their plans to build housing for some 400 Jewish religious students, teachers and families on the site.
June 8: Jewish settlers from the Elad Association take over four homes in Wadi Hilweh/Silwan bringing the number of local homes occupied by settlers to 17. A private Israeli security company, paid for by the Min. of Housing protects the homes.
- The Israeli Antiquities Dept. begins excavations on the disputed site at Herod’s Gate in the Old City (see May 26), claiming it is a significant ‘archaeological’ site; the dig is financed by Ateret Cohanim.
- The outlawed Kach group admits that it put up posters showing PM Netanyahu wearing a keffiyeh and headed ‘Liar’ in some Jerusalem districts.
June 9: The Jerusalem Regional Planning and Building Board approves expansion plans for the Beit Orot Yeshiva on the Mt. of Olives. The plan calls for the construction of some 58 student housing units on a site that was originally intended to be used for Palestinian girls’ school.
June 10: Israeli forces beat and arrest six foreigners participating in a peaceful demonstration protesting Jewish takeovers of five houses in Silwan.
June 15: Al-Ayyam reports that the spokeswoman ofthe Israeli Min. of the Interior confirmed the ministry’s intention to start exchanging the identity cards of East Jerusalem Palestinians with magnetic cards.
- Israeli forces demolish three homes in Jabal Al-Mukabber that were built without permits and on areas zoned as ‘open space’. The house of Amin Shkirat was home to eight people, that of Riad Ja'abid to 15, and that of Sufian Ahmed Mashahereh to seven.
June 16: PM Netanyahu approves a plan to build 95,000 new homes for Jews around Jerusalem including some 13,000 in occupied Palestinian areas. The plan is designed to strengthen links between Israeli settlements in and around East Jerusalem and to prevent the artificial demographic ratio of Jews to Palestinians from falling in favor of the Palestinians, given present birth rates and Jewish emigration from the city. The Cabinet approval is strongly criticized by the US and the EU.
- Israeli forces destroy two homes in Beit Hanina, each home to six people, although both families had paid a $1,300 fine to the WJM for allegedly building on ‘open space’.
June 18: WJM Mayor Olmert announces plans to add 140,000 homes to Jerusalem by the year 2020 to bolster the number of Jewish residents in the city.
June 20: The Israeli Govt. approves a plan to expand Jerusalem through annexing more Palestinian land and connecting the city with Israeli settlements in order to create ‘Greater Jerusalem’. The plan includes the annexation of Jewish areas situated to the west of the city in Israeli territory, which will boost Jerusalem's population by another 30,000 Jews, and calls for a ‘super-municipality’ for the city and nearby Jewish WB settlements.
June 21: Members of the Jewish settler group Elad occupy another home in Silwan, raising the number of Palestinian houses occupied since June 8 to five.
- The Israeli Cabinet gives its preliminary approval to the plan to expand Jerusalem’s municipal borders (see May 21).
June 22: Some 100 Israeli border-police accompanied by bulldozers demolish the home of Mustafa Khalil At-Tin in the village of Al-Walajeh, near the Gilo settlement, leaving ten people homeless.
- Members of the Elad settler group raid the Sinkorot family bakery at Chain Gate near Al-Aqsa Mosque, claiming it is located on land confiscated by Israel in 1967.
- A second ring road around Jerusalem, the ‘Menachem Begin Highway’ is opened.
-Peace Now reports that from January to mid-June, the Netanyahu govt. demolished 68 Palestinian dwellings in East Jerusalem and the WB, compared with 14 during a similar period in 1997. Ha'aretz reports that 249 Palestinian dwellings were demolished in 1997 in the WB and East Jerusalem.
June 23-25: There is worldwide condemnation, including that originating from the EU, the Vatican, King Fahd, Canada, Turkey, Morocco, UN Sec. Gen. Kofi Annan, and the PLC, of the Israeli plan to expand Jerusalem
June 24: Some 30 Jewish settler families set up a tent camp outside PM Netanyahu's office to protest a possible WB redeployment.
- At least five Palestinians are injured during an Israeli raid on a Palestinian wedding in the Bab Hutta area of the Old City.
June 25: The Arab League holds an urgent meeting on Israel’s planned expansion of Jerusalem; Iran calls for another meeting to be held by the Secretariat of the Islamic Congress.
- Israeli forces destroy two Palestinian homes built three years ago in the village of Kataneh, northwest of Jerusalem, although no demolition orders were issued and a court case is still pending.
- Yerushala'im reports that Shimon Shetreet, the Labor Party candidate for mayor, has announced his support for construction at Har Homa.
June 27: East Jerusalem observes a general strike commemorating the 31st anniversary of Israeli annexation.
June 29: Three Palestinians are injured, one seriously, in beatings by Israeli soldiers during a two-day raid on Shu’fat Refugee Camp, during which houses are searched, property is damaged and cars with license plates from the Palestinian self-rule areas are confiscated. After the raid, Israeli forces besiege the camp for several days.
June 30: Yediot Aharonot reports on the imminent introduction of new magnetic ID cards by Israel, noting that tenders for the design have been publicized.
- At a UN Security Council debate on Israel's plan for the Jerusalem umbrella municipality, US Ambassador Bill Richardson says the Israeli decision is "not helpful at this delicate stage of negotiations."
June: A spokeswoman for the Israeli Min. of the Interior says that 178 Jerusalem IDs have been confiscated from Palestinians in the last three months.
July 1: Al-Quds newspaper reports that the Israeli Min. of the Interior is reviving the idea of introducing new, magnetic ID cards for citizens and residents of Israel, including Palestinian Jerusalemites, considered by Israel as ‘permanent residents in the State of Israel’.
- Pres. Yasser Arafat, at a PLC meeting, says that PM Netanyahu’s latest plan for strengthening Israel’s hold over all of Jerusalem could dash the last hopes for peace.
- Israeli police cancel a folklore festival at Al-Hakawati Theater organized by the Palestinian Min. of Culture.
July 2: The UN Security Council starts its debate over the expansion of the Jerusalem municipal boundaries.
- Meeting of Religious Affairs Ministers from 50 Muslim countries in Cairo calls for a united stand against Israeli attempts to Judaize Jerusalem.
- Israeli authorities demolish four unlicensed Palestinian houses: three adjacent to Az-Zayim village and one in Al-Izzariyya.
July 4: Some 600 demonstrators gather in front of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate calling for a halt to land deals after it becomes public that the Patriarchate was involved in land sales to Israelis.
July 5: A communiqué issued after a meeting in Cairo between Egyptian Pres. Mubarak, King Hussein of Jordan, and PA Pres. Arafat states that "the leaders assert their absolute rejection of Judaizing Jerusalem."
July 9: Israeli forces destroy the house of the Shawamreh family in Anata, claiming it was built illegally.
July 12: Members of the extremist settler group Hay VeKayam, escorted by Israeli police, enter the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque in what they refer to as a ‘first step’.
July 13: An explosive device, placed in a bag outside Orient House, goes off and leaves one Palestinian injured.
- The UN Security Council issues the following statement: "The UN Security Council considers the decision by the Govt. of Israel on June 21, 1998, to take steps to broaden the jurisdiction and planning boundaries of Jerusalem a serious and damaging development. The Council calls upon Israel not to proceed with the decision and also not to take any other steps that would prejudice the outcome of the permanent status negotiations."
July 19: A van filled with explosives fails to detonate in Jaffa Street.
July 22: Israeli authorities declare their intention to evict Ghuzlan Abbasi from his house in Silwan under the pretext that it is built on land owned by the Jewish National Fund.
- Israeli archaeologists excavating in Silwan village announce that Silwan was built over 3,000 years ago before the Hebraic Age and not by King David as claimed by the Israeli Govt.
July 27: An extremist Israeli settler stabs and injures Musa Thalji, 18, from Suwaneh, in Zion Square in West Jerusalem.
July 28: Ha'aretz reports that housing sales during the first five months of 1998 in East and West Jerusalem and in the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim have declined by 49.6 percent and 58.3 percent respectively, compared to a similar period in 1997.
July 29: At the Jerusalem Committee meeting King Hassan of Morocco announces a special fund to boost investment in Arab East Jerusalem (Beit Al-Mal).
Aug. 3: Ma'ale Adumim settlers initiate the first stage of a new neighborhood, consisting of 40 housing units.
- Israeli forces re-demolish the house of the Shawamreh family near Anata, which had previously been reconstructed by local, Israeli and foreign volunteers.
Aug. 5: The Israeli authorities demolish a warehouse in At-Tur for being built without a license.
Aug. 6: At their ten-yearly gathering in Canterbury (Lambeth Conference) Anglican bishofrom around the world have voted in favor of making Jerusalem the capital of both Israel and an independent Palestinian State.
Aug. 7: Yerushala'im runs a report concerning the $1.1m. purchase of two apartments by Amana settler group in Jerusalem's Moslem Quarter.
Aug. 9: Al-Ayyam reports that Israel ratified a project to open Road No. 16 to connect the Ramot settlement to Ma’ale Adumim, involving the confiscation of 53 dunums of Palestinian land from the Mt. Scopus and Mt. of Olives areas.
Aug. 12: In a new attack on the rights of East Jerusalem residents, the Israeli Min. of the Interior plans to abolish the use of travel permits to Jordan and replace them with laissez passer documents.
Aug. 13: Jewish extremists set fire to three cars in the Musrara area near Damascus Gate.
Aug. 15: The WJM and the Israeli Min. of Housing are considering a plan to construct a new neighborhood for religious Jews in an area between Neve Ya’acov and Pisgat Ze'ev settlements.
- Some 35 American and Israeli peace activists arrive in Anata to help rebuild the house of the Shawamreh family after it was demolished for the second time on Aug. 3.
Aug. 17: The Israeli Housing Min. announces its consideration of a plan to expand Neve Ya’acov settlement by 1,000 housing units.
Aug. 20: A festival is held in Gaza under the patronage of Pres. Arafat in memory of the arson attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque 29 years ago.
Aug. 22: The WJM hands three house owners from Qattana village demolition orders for allegedly building without a license.
Aug. 25: Officials from the Higher Islamic Council, the PLC and foreign diplomats attend a sit-in at Al-Aqsa Mosque protesting the presence of Israeli soldiers inside the compound and their frequent attacks against Al-Aqsa guards and worshippers.
- The Lobby for Human Rights in Jerusalem – composed of 10 NGOs – calls for an end to ID confiscations and the closure as well as a quick solution to the housing misery of Palestinian Jerusalemites.
Aug. 26: The Sumud camp ‘celebrates’ its first anniversary.
Aug. 27: A group of Israeli settlers uproot more than 700 trees belonging to Nabi Samuel village.
Aug. 28: The WJM approves the construction of 132 housing units in the heart of Ras Al-Amud.
Aug. 30: The Waqf Dept. accuses extremist Jewish groups of planning to blow up Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
Sept. 2: Three houses made of wood and canvas belonging to Mohammed Salayla and housing 14 people are torn down by Israeli bulldozers in the Jamal Valley, east of Al-Izzariyya for the third time.
Sept. 5: Mohammed Al-Karaki, 30, of Shu’fat Refugee Camp, dies after an Israeli ambulance refuses to go to his home and provide medical assistance when he suffers a heart attack. Subsequent clashes between camp residents and Israeli forces leave four Palestinians injured.
Sept. 8: Israel renews attempts to construct a new settlement near the site of Burj Al-Laqlaq in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Sept. 9: The Israeli PM’s report lists 20 PA institutions that allegedly continue to operate in Jerusalem in violation of the Oslo Accords, including Orient House, the Min. of Waqf Affairs, Maqassed Hospital, Al-Quds University and Open University, and WAFA. Palestinian officials reject the report.
Sept. 10: Kamla Asha'bani from Shu'fat Refugee Camp, 34 and the mother of four children, is shot during clashes with Israeli forces and dies of her wounds in Hadassah Hospital on 13 Sept.
Sept. 14: According to information released by the Min. of the Interior to Ha'aretz journalist Amira Hass, the number of ID cards "found to have expired" between Jan.-March 1998 is 176 with 500 cases still under investigation.
Sept. 15: At a joint press conference, B’Tselem and Hamoked report that the Israeli Min. of the Interior enlisted the help of the National Insurance Institute to track down Palestinians whose residency rights have allegedly lapsed. They add that the number of cancelled Jerusalem ID cards has jumped from an average of 30 per year (1987-1995) to over 600 (since 1996).
- An Israeli court sentences Ahmad Hamdan, 81 and half paralyzed, to 1,000 days imprisonment or a NIS100,000 fine for adding a second floor to his house in Silwan without a permit.
Sept. 17: Israeli settlers pitch tents on Jabal Abu Ghneim to push the Israeli Govt. to begin construction of the housing units planned for the site (roads and infrastructure work is already completed).
Sept. 18: A Gallup poll conducted for Ma’ariv among Jews and non-Jews shows 61% opposition to the creation of an independent Palestinian state with presence in Jerusalem.
Sept. 21: Addressing the UN General Assembly, Iranian Pres. Khatami says that occupied Al-Quds Ash-Sharif ought to be the house of dialogue and understanding, and that resonating from the depth of history, its voice speaks intrinsically against racism and Zionism. He adds that the great monotheistic religions can live peacefully together in the city, but Israeli rule has made such coexistence impossible.
Sept. 24: A one-kilogram bomb explodes at a bus stop on Mt. Scopus, injuring one Israeli soldier and damaging the cars parked nearby as well as the windows of adjacent houses.
- Ha’aretz reports that surveyors from Orient House have photographed and mapped over 1,000 houses in West Jerusalem, inhabited by Arabs before 1948 before being occupied by Jews, in preparation of final status talks. PA officials have also issued a formal request to Turkey to receive all registration papers and land deeds connected to property in Jerusalem from the days of Ottoman rule over Palestine.
Sept. 30: During Yom Kippur, Jewish settlers throw stones and bottles at passing cars in East Jerusalem. Due to the Israeli-imposed total closure that accompanies the Jewish holiday, many teachers and doctors cannot reach their workplaces.
- A group of surveyors from the Orient House begin to photograph and map over 1,000 Palestinian-owned houses (pre-War of 1948) in West Jerusalem.
Sept.: A poll conducted by Biladi - The Jerusalem Times finds that 35.9% of Palestinian Jerusalemites are in favor of participating in the upcoming Israeli mayoral elections, while 54% are opposed. In the last elections, some 12% of Palestinian residents voted. Palestinian sources say these numbers are not reliable.
- Al-Ayyam reports on an Israeli project to establish a tram system in Jerusalem by 2004. The track will run from Pisgat Ze’ev via Jaffa Street to Mt. Herzl in West Jerusalem.
Oct. 1: In a speech to the UN General Assembly, Jordan's FM Abdallah Khatib calls on Israel to stop building housing for Jews in Jerusalem.
Oct. 2: Jewish settlers throw firebombs at Palestinian houses in At-Tur, setting fire to one room of the home of Kamal Az-Zein.
Oct. 6: Israeli police patrol Jerusalem and seal off downtown streets as thousands of Jews pray at the Western Wall to mark the Sukkot holiday.
Oct. 7: Israeli police prevent Jewish extremists from the Temple Mount Faithful group from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to launch the reconstruction of the Third Jewish Temple. During the rally led by Gershon Solomon, the group boasts that “the Arab occupation of the Temple Mount is finished forever” and tries to unload a truck carrying a marble ‘cornerstone’ for the new temple.
Oct. 8: Some 30,000 pro-Zionist Christians from around the world and Israeli nationalists take part in the annual march through Jerusalem celebrating the founding of Israel, which is organized by the WJM and the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem
- WJM Mayor Olmert presides over a ceremony organized by Ateret Cohanim during which the three settler families take possession of a home in the Moslem Quarter of the Old City.
Oct. 9: Unknown assailants set fire to the Burj Al-Laqlaq Society building in the Old City, destroying furniture, papers and equipment.
Oct. 15: Some 30 right-wing Israelis led by MK Benny Elon from the right-wing Moledet party move into an old building in Sheikh Jarrah, claiming it is an abandoned synagogue, just hours before the Wye Plantation summit convenes.
-The Vatican’s charge d’affaires in Jordan, Msgr Dominique Rezeau says the Vatican opposes Israel’s expansion of the westernborders of Jerusalem and the construction of Jewish settlements in Palestine.
Oct. 18: After talks with Egypt’s Pres. Mubarak, Vatican FM Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran says the future of the Middle East cannot be separated from the fate of Jerusalem and a solution for the holy places and areas of worship in the city.
- The Ghuzlan family living in Silwan surrounded by homes that have been taken over by Jewish extremists from the Elad group, report that settlers attempted to break into their building on Oct. 17. Elad denies, saying they were ‘practicing’ their response to terrorist attacks on a neighboring house.
Oct. 20: Ha’aretz reports that four Western countries - France, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada – refused to attend an international conference of top policemen because the meeting is being held in occupied East Jerusalem.
Oct. 22: A poll commissioned by the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine and conducted by Zogby International shows that a majority of Americans (81,5%) agree that Jerusalem should be a shared city and not the exclusive capital of Israel.
Oct. 23: For five consecutive days Israeli authorities, in cooperation with the WJM, continue their campaign against merchants' stores in the Old City and in Salah Eddin, Sultan Suleiman and St. George's Street.
Oct. 26: During a two-day symposium organized by the Latin Patriarchate, Vatican FM Jean-Louis Tauran says that the Vatican wants to take part in upcoming Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on the future of Jerusalem and calls for a ‘special international status’ for its holy places. He also reiterates the Vatican position that Israel is illegally occupying Jerusalem.
- Israeli PM Netanyahu reiterates his intention to build the Har Homa settlement.
- Israeli police arrest American-Israeli Yonatan Dadovich from Ramot settlement, suspected of one murder and five non-fatal knife attacks on Palestinians carried out over the summer in the Mea Shearim quarter. However, the next day he is released for lack of ‘definitive proof’ (Al-Quds and Ha'aretz).
Oct. 27: At a press conference at Orient House, Palestinian factions and public figures reiterate their stand that they do not recognize the authority of the WJM in East Jerusalem and therefore will boycott the WJM elections on Nov. 10.
- Israeli bulldozers set about preparing land belonging to Anata village for the building of a huge reservoir for the Almon settlement and the Israeli Anaton military camp.
Oct. 28: The body of a 44-year old Palestinian man from Beit Umar village near Hebron is found in the Mea Shearim quarter.
- Israeli police allow extreme right-wing MKs Benny Eilon, Michael Kleiner, Moshe Peled, and Nissan Slomiansky to begin building a fence on a site in Ras Al-Amud where Jewish extremists plan to build a new settlement.
Oct. 30: Israeli PM Netanyahu announces the allocation of nearly $1m. for maintaining security at Israeli settlements in Jerusalem.
Nov. 1: With a green light from PM Netanyahu and protected by Israeli police, Jewish settlers led by Ateret Cohanim begin leveling land at the site in Ras Al-Amud.
- Israel begins work on a bypass road to link the planned Har Homa settlement to the main motorway No. 20. The road will swallow up thousands of acres of agricultural land owned by Palestinian farmers from the nearby villages.
- On Voice of Palestine prominent Palestinians comment on an article in the Israeli weekly Kol Ha’ir on a decision by an Israeli ministerial committee to allocate $1.25m. to dig tunnels under the Old City of Jerusalem. Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine Sheik Ekrima Sabri says that the only thing under the Old City is a water system dating back to Roman and Islamic times. Faisal Husseini says that Israel may not make any changes in Jerusalem until the Final Status Talks are concluded. Waqf Director Adnan Husseini says these are Israeli unilateral activities that endanger the historic buildings in the Old City.
Nov. 2: The Ghuzlan family of Silwan is handed a final warning to evacuate their home within 20 days; the home is to be transferred to the Jewish settler group Elad.
- Clashes erupt between Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops in Ras Al-Amud.
Nov. 4: Israeli Ambassador to the Vatican Aharon Lopez rules out the possibility of any direct Vatican participation in the negotiations over the future status of Jerusalem, as requested by the Vatican.
- Israeli authorities escalate their measures of monitoring and inspecting goods arriving into Jerusalem from various Palestinian districts by raiding numerous Palestinian stores.
- Russia condemns new Jewish settlement construction in East Jerusalem.
- Al-Quds quotes PM Netanyahu saying “We are struggling for every meter in Jerusalem; we will build in Abu Ghneim; we are working on minimizing withdrawals in the context of the Oslo Accord.”
Nov. 6: Two Palestinian suicide bombers die in an attempted attack in central Jerusalem.
Nov. 9: The Israeli Shin Bet arrests four members of a Hamas cell in Jerusalem for involvement in the murder of a yeshiva student in Feb.
Nov. 10: WJM elections for the City Council end with the religious parties winning nearly half of the 31 seats (Shas five, Agudat Israel seven, and National Religious Party three seats). WJM mayor Ehud Olmert is re-elected by a majority, while his list for city council wins only two seats. The voter turnout was less than 50%. Palestinians abstained from participating in the elections. Only 6.5% of the eligible voters (i.e. some 4,500 people) cast their vote in the Palestinian East Jerusalem ballots, which also include ballots used by Israeli settlers in the Old City.
- Unknown assailants break into the Islamic Court in Jerusalem by night. Mufit Ikrama Sabri orders the court closed until it has been checked if any files are missing.
Nov. 12: The Israeli Govt. advertises for tenders to build 1,025 new houses in the controversial Jewish settlement at Har Homa on Jabal Abu Ghneim.
Nov. 14: Addressing a rally in Nablus Arafat reiterated "We will declare our independent state on May 4, 1999 with Jerusalem as its capital, yes Jerusalem, the eternal capital of our state, whether they like it or not. Now we are on our land and we are regaining this holy land inch by inch until we set up our state in 1999."
Nov. 15: Paving of Road 70 begins, designed to link the settlements of Almon and Kfar Adomim, involving land belonging to Palestinians from Anata and Hizma.
Nov. 16: Palestinian observer to the UN Al-Kidwa calls for an emergency session of the UN General Assembly in light of Israel's decision to invite tenders for construction at Jabel Abu Ghneim.
Nov. 22: Some 50 Peace Now protesters, together with many Palestinians headed by Faisal Husseini, demonstrate in front of the Gozlan family house in Silwan threatened with an eviction order.
- Israel has reverted control of Terra Sancta College on Paris Square in West Jerusalem - used by Hebrew University for 50 years - to its Franciscan owners.
Nov. 24: Cardinal Pios Lagi, head of the Catholic Education Conference, says in Rome that because Jerusalem is surrounded by a wall of Jewish settlements Christian and Muslim communities are living in the city as if in ghettos.
Nov. 27: Israel is planning to spend $1.2m to fund security measures at Al-Aqsa mosque by setting up electric fences and cameras.
Nov. 28: The Israeli Ministry of Housing submits construction plans to the Israeli District Committee for the establishment of a new settlement of 1300 housing units in the northern part of the city (between Pisgat Ze’ev and Neve Ya'acov).
Nov. 29: Israeli forces destroy the two-floor house of Sharif Ahmad Muhammad, 65, in Beit Hanina, for being built on ‘green area’, four days after he received a demolition order from the WJM.
Nov. 30: Israeli forces demolish a house belonging to Daoud Aturshan, 32, in Sur Baher, for being built without permission.
- Israeli authorities destroy two livestock enclosures holding 40 sheep and 14 horses in Jabal Al-Mukabber owned by Khalaf Ibeidia.
Dec. 1: Some 100 Israeli developers surveyed potential building sites for the Har Homa settlement as opponents and backers of the project demonstnearby.
Dec. 2: An Israeli extremist stabs to death Usama Natsheh, in Athori (Abu Tor); he leaves his wife and six children. At least 10 people, including a Christian priest and a 9-year old Palestinian boy, are wounded in East Jerusalem when demonstrators took to the streets to protest the assassination
Dec. 7: Nasser Mohammed Ereqat is shot in the head with a rubber coated steel bullet by Israeli soldiers while standing on the roof of his home in Abu Dis after clashes erupted in the center of the village. He is declared clinically dead by hospital officials.
Dec. 11: A report prepared by the Land Research Center of the Arab Studies Society of the Orient House says that the Israeli occupation authorities demolished about 2,000 Arab homes in the Jerusalem area only since 1967.
Dec. 18: Work begins on a $180 million tunnel under Jerusalem's Mt. Scopus to link Israel's road network with Ma'ale Adumim settlement.
- A third Jewish family moves into a house in Ras Al-Amud.