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Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi
Introduction
The
different scenarios advanced over the years for the solution of the Palestine
question in general, and question of Jerusalem in particular, have all
recognized the need to treat Jerusalem as a special case, mainly because of its
unique character as the centre of Palestine and as the site of the Holy Places
of the three monotheistic religions throughout history. Although the question of
The Question of
There have
been various interpretations of the “goods of
1-
The Geographic and
Demographic Component
In 1947,
The villages surrounding
the city on the municipality boundaries were considered to be part of the
socio-economic environment of the city, rather than part of the municipality.
The
The Israeli land confiscation policy
went through the following stages:
1-
June 1967-120 dunums inside the old city, which became
part of the Jewish quarter
2-
January 1968-4000 dunums in Sheikh
Jarah-Shufat,
Lifta-Aisawieh.
3-
January 1970-14000 dunums-Malaha,
Sur
Baher, Beit Jalah, Lifta,
Shufat
4-
In 1980-4500 dunums in
Beit Hanena and Hizma
5-
1991-2000
dunums in Im Tuba, Sur Baher, Beit
Safafa,
6-
1969-6000
dunums south of east
The total confiscated
land was 30.000 dunums, equivalent to 34%of the
The series of Israeli confiscation plans
resulted in the following:
·
34% confiscated land
·
40% green land.
·
7% unused land
·
6% roads and infrastructure.
·
3% frozen land.
Total 90% of
Prior to 1967 the
population of
The Israeli population
increased to 330.000 in the western part of the city, with 160.000 settlers in
east
One should remember that
roughly 80.000 Palestinians living in the western part of the city were forced
to leave in 1948. The property they owned consisted of 40% private property, 34%
Islamic and Christian property, and 26% Jewish property. Israeli policy has
prohibited any Palestinian from residency or work in the western part of the
city since 1948 till today.
2-
The National and Political Component
Historically,
3-
The Religious Component
The religious claims of
the three monotheistic religions to
4-
The Legal Component: Ownership and Property
Since the implementation
of the article contained in the 1948 Partition Plan (UN Resolution 181) on the
question of
There is no legitimacy or
license under international law or international resolutions passed since the
beginning of the century, including UN Resolutions 242 and 338, which allow
5-
Institutions
When in the course of the
June War of 1967,
This resulted in preserving Palestinian
commercial and other major institutions, including the Arab Electricity Company.
Although the Arab municipality in Arab Jerusalem was dissolved and closed and
its premises forcibly by the Israelis, while control of public services was
taken over by the Israeli municipality in West Jerusalem following the 1967 War,
Arab neighborhoods continued to exist as separate communities and the
Palestinians declined to become Israeli citizens, thereby boycotting municipal
elections. Palestinians succeeded in maintaining key institutions such as
medical centres and hospitals, civil courts,
societies, tourist offices intra-city transportation networks, land registration
offices, as well as centres and forums providing
scientific, cultural and educational research, information and services.
6-
The Psychological Component
The Future of
The main component of my
personal vision of a political settlement of the
Concerning the overall
question of the future shape of the city I believe it should be an open city but
not united under Israeli sovereignty. We are not interested in dividing
According to the
perception of Mr. Faisal Husseini, Palestinian leader
in
1-
Isolating
2-
Refusal of licenses and permits inside
3-
Cutting Palestinian Jerusalemites off from the rest of the world
by putting pressure on foreign delegations not to meet with Palestinian
political, business or professional representatives in
4-
Restricting and crippling Palestinian activities in
As a Palestinian response to these
threats and in order to put forward some personal thoughts on the future of
Jerusalem from a Palestinian perspective, I want to state that there are
fundamental needs to be met and without once more reiterating the logical, legal
or moral bases for these, I would simply urge the importance of these in the
interest of peace between the two parties, Palestinians and Israelis.
These urgent and fundamental needs to be
addressed are:
1-
An immediate freeze on any actions aimed at changing
2-
A reform programme to rectify the
damages in the Palestinian society caused by Israeli policies practiced for the
past 27 years. Such a programme should constitute a
guarantee for Palestinians to “not hamper their activity and to allow them to
improve their daily lives “ (Peres-letter), and should be financially supported
by all parties concerned, including
3-
To lift all measures governing the political and military state of siege on East
Jerusalem and to re-open the doors of East Jerusalem for Palestinian society in
order for them to regain free access to the city, free movement between the
southern and northern part of the West Bank, and their right to freedom of
worship.
4-
To take immediate action against all Israeli religious and political extremists
threatening the Palestinian community or individuals, and to prevent them from
escalating their confrontation and provocation in regard to Palestinian property
and the Holy in and around the Old City of Jerusalem.
Once these demands are
met in one way or another, the door could be open to bring the two parties,
Palestinians and Israelis, together on and equal footing to discuss a common
future and ways and means to share “the goods of
The problem of
[1]
It is in fact
claimed that more than 70% of the property in the “ Jewish Quarter” is Arab
owned. However, prior to 1948, Jews did reside in that area as tenants or, in
some cases, as landlords. Soon after the war ended in 1967, the Israeli
authorities razed the entire quarter to the ground to make room for the
construction of what is now called “the Jewish Quarter”. Arab residents from the
quarter, as from other areas in the old city, who were forced to move out
eventually settled in a new housing project in Beit
Hanina (the
Nusseibeh project), or moved to a new refugee camp in
the Shu’fat district. The history of Jewish versus
non-Jewish presence in the city in often shrouded in ideological as well as
religious mist. In relatively “ recent” history, it is worth pointing out
[2]
See, for example Proceeding of the April 1993 UN sponsored meeting on
[3]
The reference here
is to Palestinian Jerusalemites who are denied the right to return, or to live
in their ancestral city. These include the estimated 60.000, and their
descendants, who were forced to leave in “48; as well as an indeterminate number
who left after, and since 67, and whose preference would have been, and remains
to return to live in the city.
[4]
Dr. Anton ISSA,
The Christian Minority in Palestine Throughout the Centuries, in JERUSALEM;
The Diocesan Bulletin of the Latin Patriachate,
Volume 1, Year 1, January- February 1995. P.9
[5] Dr. Bernard
SABELLA, “Socio- Economic Characteristics and the Challenges to Palestinian
Christians in the Holy land”, in Christians in the Holy land edited by Michael
Prior and William Taylor, The world of Islam festival Trust, London 1994, p.39.
[6]
Tsimhoni, Daphne, Christian
Communities in Jerusalem and the West Bank since 1948; An Historical, Social and
Political study, Praeger, Westport, Connecticut
and London, 1993. pp. 22-23.
[7]
Danilov, Stavro,
“ Dilemmas of Jerusalem’s Christians, “in Middle East Review Volume XIII,
Nos. 3-4,1981.
[8]
Sabella, Op.Cit.
pp. 34-35
[9]
For the text and
an in-depth analysis and discussion of al-Uhda al-Umariyya or Firman d’Omar see Anto Issa’s Les Minorities Christians de Palestine a travers les siecles,
Franciscan Printing Press,
[10]
Dr. Bernard Sabella, The Diocese of the Latin Patriarchate,
Introductory Study of the Social, Political, Economical, and Religious Situation,
(West Bank and Gaza strip, Jordan Israel and Cyprus),
Patriarchatus
Latinus, Jerusalem, April 1990. p. 7.
[11]
Hyman, Benjamin,
et.al.,
[12]
According to
figures of the Israeli Census of the
Population conducted in 1983
[13]
Figures on the
housing situation in
[14]
The full text of
the Memorandum can be found in
[15]
Note: I am
indebted to Mr. Daniel Rossing for reviewing the draft
and adding
1-
R.J.
2-
John Bowker,
"Feasibility study for the Roads of Faith" (UNESCO, 1992), 6.
3-
Raphael
Josepe, "the Significance of |
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