DOCSLIB.ORG

Protection in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Protection in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Protection in the occupied Palestinian territories: “They can do projects here for 1,000 years and nothing will change” By Rafael Eguiguren & Luna Saadeh October 2014 L2GP is an initiative, which works to promote effective, efficient and sustainable responses and solutions to humanitarian and protection crises with an explicit focus on enabling locally-led responses. Contact us at [email protected] and read more at http://www.local2global.info/ Authors’ bio: Rafael Eguiguren has worked in over 60 countries focusing on policy advice and field work in the fields of Conflict Resolution and Intercultural Dialogue, Civil Society, Gender, Human Rights and Development issues. He has extensive experience in evaluation and project management, social research, advocacy and a strong dedication to training and capacity building both in academic and in informal settings. Luna Saadeh has a Master degree in Women’s Development and Law from Bir-Zeit Univer- sity (2001). She is Gender and women rights expert with 20 years of experience working from the Middle East with international development agencies and local government. She has consulted on gender related issues such as women political participation, gen- der based violence, women health and women rights with numerous international and national organisations. About Local to Global Protection Local to Global Protection (L2GP) L2GP is an initiative, which works to promote effec- tive, efficient and sustainable responses and solutions to humanitarian and protection crises with an explicit focus on enabling locally-led responses. L2GP studies have been carried out in Burma/Myanmar, Sudan, South Sudan and Zimbabwe and action research is currently undertaken in Syria, Myanmar, Sudan and the occupied Palestinian territories. L2GP was initiated by a group of organizations within the ACT Alliance1 in cooperation with other organizations and individuals where the studies have taken place. The initiative has among other been financially supported by Church of Sweden, DanChurchAid, Sida (Sweden) and Danida (Denmark). A paper summarizing the initiative and synthesizing key findings from the first five studies has been published by the Overseas Development Institute's Humanitarian Policy Group (ODI HPG) as the HPN Paper 72.2 Contact us at [email protected] Read more at http://www.local2global.info 1The ACT Alliance is a coalition of more than 140 affiliated organisations working together in 140 countries to create positive and sustainable change in the lives of poor and marginalised people regardless of their religion, politics, gender, sexual orientation, race or nationality in keeping with the highest international codes and standards. 2HPN Paper 72 - http://www.odi.org.uk/events/2798-hpn-network-paper-local-global-protection-myanmar- burma-sudan-south-sudan-zimbabwe 2 Contents 1 Protection in the occupied Palestinian territories - Summary 5 1.1 Introduction and Executive Summary ....................... 5 1.1.1 Threats Identified by Communities .................... 5 1.1.2 Trying to deal with Threats ......................... 7 1.1.3 Conclusions and General Recommendations .............. 8 1.2 Findings ........................................... 9 1.2.1 General Findings ................................ 9 1.2.2 Gender Specific Findings .......................... 12 1.3 Conclusions and Recommendations ........................ 13 1.3.1 General Conclusions and Recommendations .............. 13 1.3.2 Operational Recommendations ...................... 15 2 Full Study 19 2.1 Main Aims of the Study ................................ 19 2.2 Structure of the Study .................................. 20 2.3 Methodology, Local Researchers and Coverage .................. 20 2.4 Acknowledgements .................................... 22 2.5 Background: Situation in Palestine ......................... 22 3 Jerusalem 27 3.1 Background: Situation in Jerusalem ......................... 27 3.2 Main Protection Challenges in East Jerusalem .................. 28 3.2.1 Displacement-related Threats ........................ 30 3.2.2 Unemployment ................................. 38 3.3 Main Self-protection and Coping Strategies in East Jerusalem ........ 40 3.3.1 Displacement-related Strategies ....................... 40 3.3.2 Unemployment - Strategies ......................... 45 3.4 Community's Main Considerations on External Aid in East Jerusalem .. 47 3.5 Conclusions and Recommendations for East Jerusalem ............ 48 3.5.1 Recommendations ............................... 48 4 Area C 53 4.1 Background: Situation in Area C .......................... 53 4.1.1 Palestinians in Area C ............................ 53 4.1.2 Israel's Continued Control over Area C and its Legal Obligations 53 4.1.3 Humanitarian interventions in Area C ................. 56 4.2 Main Protection Challenges in Area C ....................... 57 4.2.1 Water Shortage ................................. 58 4.2.2 Electricity shortage .............................. 61 4.2.3 Unemployment ................................. 62 4.2.4 Lack of transportation ............................ 64 4.3 Main Self-protection and Coping Strategies in Area C ............. 66 3 CONTENTS 4.3.1 Water shortage - Strategies .......................... 66 4.3.2 Electricity Shortage - Strategies ....................... 69 4.3.3 Unemployment - Strategies ......................... 70 4.3.4 Lack of Transportation - Strategies .................... 72 4.4 Community's Main Considerations on External Aid in Area C ....... 73 4.4.1 External Interventions Related to Protection Threats ........ 73 4.4.2 External Interventions in Supporting Community Strategies to Overcome Protection Threats ........................ 75 4.4.3 Good Practice in Relation to External Interventions ......... 76 4.4.4 Negative Aspects of External Interventions ............... 76 4.5 Conclusions and Recommendations for Area C ................. 77 4.5.1 Operational Recommendations arising from the Interviewees in Area C ...................................... 79 5 Gaza Strip 83 5.1 Background: Situation in Gaza Strip ........................ 83 5.1.1 Humanitarian Interventions in the Gaza Strip ............. 85 5.2 Main Protection Challenges in the Gaza Strip .................. 86 5.2.1 Unemployment ................................. 87 5.2.2 Domestic Violence and Violence within the Family ......... 91 5.3 Main Self-protection and Coping strategies in the Gaza Strip ........ 95 5.3.1 Unemployment - Strategies ......................... 95 5.3.2 Domestic Violence and Violence within the Family - Strategies .. 96 5.4 Community's Main Considerations on External Aid in the Gaza Strip .. 98 5.4.1 External Interventions related to Protection Challenges ....... 98 5.4.2 Good Practice in Relation to External Interventions ......... 99 5.5 Conclusions and Recommendations for the Gaza Strip ............ 99 5.5.1 Practical Recommendations arising from the Interviewees in Gaza Strip ........................................ 102 A Interview Guide / Questionnaire 105 A.1 Collection of Interviewee/Focus Group Data ................... 105 A.2 Before Starting the Interview ............................. 105 A.3 Start of the Interview .................................. 106 B Rationale behind Interview Guide / Questionnaire 109 B.1 Before Starting the interview ............................. 109 B.1.1 Casual talk .................................... 109 B.1.2 General Introduction of the Study .................... 110 B.2 Start of the Interview .................................. 111 B.2.1 Intro ........................................ 111 B.2.2 Problems as Perceived by the Community ............... 111 B.2.3 Coping Strategies used by the Community to Address Problems . 114 B.2.4 External Support ................................ 116 C Ex ante expected added value from Interview Guide / Questionnaire 119 D Training concept for 32 local researchers 121 4 Chapter 1 Protection in the occupied Pales- tinian territories - Summary "They can do projects here for 1,000 years and nothing will change" I don't understand why the international actors do what they do. They come here with aid and development projects, but that is not effective (:::). It is not effective because the problem here is not a specific crisis, but a long-standing occupation. You have to realize that with the present logic, they can do projects for 1,000 years and nothing will change (:::). So please stop giving us blankets and do the right thing by holding Israel accountable. Woman, Ramallah, West Bank 1.1 Introduction and Executive Summary Since 2009, the Local to Global Protection (L2GP) initiative has undertaken action re- search with crisis-affected communities to better understand protection challenges from a local perspective. Coupled with research on how communities are coping with crisis and their opinions on appropriate and effective solutions, the research hopes to contribute to increased effectiveness of humanitarian actors and action. The present research on the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) is the sixth full L2GP study to date, and it is based on interviews with over 500 men and women living in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. 1.1.1 Threats Identified by Communities Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories stress that the main protection threat they face is what they see as the very cause of the crisis itself - the Israeli occupation. Lo- cal communities consider this threat more important than any other and the root of any other
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Performing Arts Under Siege Evaluation of Swedish Support to Performing Arts in Palestine 1996–2003
    Sida Evaluation 04/23 Performing Arts under Siege Evaluation of Swedish Support to Performing Arts in Palestine 1996–2003 Kajsa Pehrsson Department for Democracy and Social Development Performing Arts under Siege Evaluation of Swedish Support to Performing Arts in Palestine 1996–2003 Kajsa Pehrsson Sida Evaluation 04/23 Department for Democracy and Social Development This report is part of Sida Evaluations, a series comprising evaluations of Swedish development assistance. Sida’s other series concerned with evaluations, Sida Studies in Evaluation, concerns methodologically oriented studies commissioned by Sida. Both series are administered by the Department for Evaluation and Internal Audit, an independent department reporting directly to Sida’s Board of Directors. This publication can be downloaded/ordered from: http://www.sida.se/publications Author: Kajsa Pehrsson. The views and interpretations expressed in this report are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida. Sida Evaluation 04/23 Commissioned by Sida, Department for Democracy and Social Development Copyright: Sida and the author Registration No.: 2003-2425 Date of Final Report: December 2003 Printed by Edita Sverige AB, 2004 Art. no. Sida4340en ISBN 91-586-8483-2 ISSN 1401—0402 SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION AGENCY Address: SE-105 25 Stockholm, Sweden. Office: Sveavägen 20, Stockholm Telephone: +46 (0)8-698 50 00. Telefax: +46 (0)8-20 88 64 E-mail: [email protected]. Homepage: http://www.sida.se
    [Show full text]
  • Jerusalem: City of Dreams, City of Sorrows
    1 JERUSALEM: CITY OF DREAMS, CITY OF SORROWS More than ever before, urban historians tell us that global cities tend to look very much alike. For U.S. students. the“ look alike” perspective makes it more difficult to empathize with and to understand cultures and societies other than their own. The admittedly superficial similarities of global cities with U.S. ones leads to misunderstandings and confusion. The multiplicity of cybercafés, high-rise buildings, bars and discothèques, international hotels, restaurants, and boutique retailers in shopping malls and multiplex cinemas gives these global cities the appearances of familiarity. The ubiquity of schools, university campuses, signs, streetlights, and urban transportation systems can only add to an outsider’s “cultural and social blindness.” Prevailing U.S. learning goals that underscore American values of individualism, self-confidence, and material comfort are, more often than not, obstacles for any quick study or understanding of world cultures and societies by visiting U.S. student and faculty.1 Therefore, international educators need to look for and find ways in which their students are able to look beyond the veneer of the modern global city through careful program planning and learning strategies that seek to affect the students in their “reading and learning” about these fertile centers of liberal learning. As the students become acquainted with the streets, neighborhoods, and urban centers of their global city, their understanding of its ways and habits is embellished and enriched by the walls, neighborhoods, institutions, and archaeological sites that might otherwise cause them their “cultural and social blindness.” Jerusalem is more than an intriguing global historical city.
    [Show full text]
  • An Examination of Israeli Municipal Policy in East Jerusalem Ardi Imseis
    American University International Law Review Volume 15 | Issue 5 Article 2 2000 Facts on the Ground: An Examination of Israeli Municipal Policy in East Jerusalem Ardi Imseis Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/auilr Part of the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Imseis, Ardi. "Facts on the Ground: An Examination of Israeli Municipal Policy in East Jerusalem." American University International Law Review 15, no. 5 (2000): 1039-1069. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington College of Law Journals & Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in American University International Law Review by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FACTS ON THE GROUND: AN EXAMINATION OF ISRAELI MUNICIPAL POLICY IN EAST JERUSALEM ARDI IMSEIS* INTRODUCTION ............................................. 1040 I. BACKGROUND ........................................... 1043 A. ISRAELI LAW, INTERNATIONAL LAW AND EAST JERUSALEM SINCE 1967 ................................. 1043 B. ISRAELI MUNICIPAL POLICY IN EAST JERUSALEM ......... 1047 II. FACTS ON THE GROUND: ISRAELI MUNICIPAL ACTIVITY IN EAST JERUSALEM ........................ 1049 A. EXPROPRIATION OF PALESTINIAN LAND .................. 1050 B. THE IMPOSITION OF JEWISH SETTLEMENTS ............... 1052 C. ZONING PALESTINIAN LANDS AS "GREEN AREAS".....
    [Show full text]
  • September 2019
    REPORT 2019 September MONTHLY Health Access Barriers for patients in the occupied Palestinian territory 8,534 61% 86% 12 referrals issued to access of Gaza patient permit of West Bank patient permit Gaza patients called for health facilities outside the applications approved applications approved security interview Palestinian MoH Gaza 47% 81% 5 7 2,713 denied delayed of Gaza companion permit of companion permit 5,733 West Bank applications approved applications approved Patient and health worker shot with live ammunition during Gaza’s IN FOCUS Great March of Return Address: 10 Abu Obaida Street, Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem Ref: Nine Tel: +972-2-581-0193 | www.emro.who.int/countries/pse Email: [email protected] (Published 26 Oct 2019) Part 1 Referrals September Referrals by the Ministry of Health 2,713 In September, the Palestinian Ministry of Health approved 8,534 referrals. 67% (5,733) of referrals Gaza were for West Bank patients, including 1,283 referrals for patients from Jerusalem, while 32% (2,713) of referrals were for Gaza patients. The origins for 85 referrals (1%) were not reported, while three 5,733 West Bank referrals were from Jordan. Female patient referrals comprised 46% of the total. Low referrals to Israeli referrals approved for financial hospitals persisted, with 92 referrals to Israeli hospitals from Gaza (24% of the 2018 monthly average coverage for healthcare outside of 389), and 341 referrals from the West Bank (29% of the 2018 monthly average of 1,185). A relatively the Palestinian Ministry of Health] higher proportion of referrals to Egypt from Gaza continued, comprising 16% of September Gaza referrals, requiring access through Rafah crossing.
    [Show full text]
  • Conflicts, Occupation, and Music-Making in Palestine
    Conflicts, Occupation, and Music-Making in Palestine Chuen-Fung Wong Music can give something even the Israelis can’t encroach on; a chance for the kids to open their minds into a space that isn’t filled with fear, uncertainty and a relentlessly building resent- ment, a space to be inventive, fanciful and free—a space to be kids. Andrew Kirkman, “Making Music under Occupation,” 2004. If, when they grow up, they decide to turn themselves into bombs, OK, that’s up to them; but for now I want to give them a chance to see another possibility, to discover that there are other, more productive things they can turn their minds to. Yassir, the founder of Karama, a non-governmental organization for children and teenagers in Deheishe Refugee Camp near Bethlehem (as quoted in Kirkman 2004). This article began as a reflective essay for the Faculty Development International Seminar of Macalester College, Minnesota, entitled, The Israeli-Palestinian Impasse: Dialogic Transformations, in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The seminar involved a semester-long preparation of lectures, colloquia, and readings in St. Paul, Minnesota, leading to a three-week on-site seminar and research in the West Bank cities of Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Bethlehem, in May and June 2008. As an ethnomusicologist focused primarily on the Central Asian musical traditions of the Uyghur—Turkic-speaking Muslims in north- west China whose problematic relations with the Chinese state have spurred substantial racial/ethnic and sociopolitical conflict—I came to be interested in the topic of the Israel-Palestinian conflict from a com- parative standpoint.
    [Show full text]
  • Signatories. Appeal from Palestine. 20.6
    19/06/2020 Signatories for “Appeal from Palestine to the Peoples and States of the World” Name Current/ Previous Occupation 1. Abbas Zaki Member of the Central Committee of Fatah—Ramallah 2. Abd El-Qader Husseini Chairman of Faisal Husseini Foundation— Jerusalem 3. Abdallah Abu Alhnoud Member of the Fatah Advisory Council— Gaza 4. Abdallah Abu Hamad President of Taraji Wadi Al-Nes Sports Club—Bethlehem 5. Abdallah Hijazi President of the Civil Retired Assembly, Former Ambassador—Ramallah 6. Abdallah Yousif Alsha’rawi President of the Palestinian Motors Sport & Motorcycle & Bicycles Federation— Ramallah 7. Abdel Halim Attiya President of Al-Thahirya Youth Club— Hebron 8. Abdel Jalil Zreiqat President of Tafouh Youth Sports Club— Hebron 9. Abdel Karim Abu Khashan University Lecturer, Birzeit University— Ramallah 10. Abdel Majid Hijeh Secretary-General of the Olympic Committee—Ramallah 11. Abdel Majid Sweilem University Lecturer and Journalist— Ramallah 12. Abdel Qader Hasan Abdallah Secretary General of the Palestine Workers Kabouli Union—Lebanon, Alkharoub Region 13. Abdel Rahim Mahamid Secretary of the Al-Taybeh Sports Club— Ramallah 14. Abdel Raof Asqoul Storyteller—Tyre 15. Abdel Salam Abu Nada Expert in Media Development—Brussels 16. Abdel-Rahman Tamimi Director General of the Palestinian Hydrology Group—Ramallah 17. Abdo Edrisi President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry—Hebron 18. Abdul Rahman Bseiso Retired Ambassador—Cyprus 19. Abdul Rahman Hamad Former Minister—Gaza 20. Abu Ali Masoud Vice-Chairman of the Fatah Advisory Council—Ramallah 21. Adalah Abu Sitta Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Right to Live Society—Gaza 22. Adel Al-Asta Writer—Gaza 23.
    [Show full text]
  • Final Report
    FRAMEWORK CONTRACT COMMISSION 2007 Lot Nr 4 Contract Nr 2010/254278 Mapping Study of Civil Society Organisations in the occupied Palestinian territory Final Report May 2011 Experts Gianfrancesco Costantini Jamal Atamneh Khaled Ayesh Feda Al Husseini This Project is funded by the European Commission Project implemented by Final Report Page 1 of 99 The content of this report is the sole responsibility of the authors and should in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. For further information on the EC thematic programmes in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), please visit the following websites: European Union Representative Office the West Bank and Gaza: http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/westbank/projects/overview/index_en.htm EuropeAID page on oPt: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/neighbourhood/country- cooperation/occupied_palestinian_territory/occupied-palestinian-territory_en.htm An electronic version of the Mapping Study can be downloaded from the following link: http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/westbank/projects/overview/index_en.htm Final Report Page 2 of 99 Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... 7 1. Background: Institutional Framework and Objectives ............................................................... 12 2. Theoretical and Methodological Framework ............................................................................. 13 2.1. Theoretical framework of the study..................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • My Voice Is My Weapon: Music, Nationalism, and the Poetics Of
    MY VOICE IS MY WEAPON MY VOICE IS MY WEAPON Music, Nationalism, and the Poetics of Palestinian Resistance David A. McDonald Duke University Press ✹ Durham and London ✹ 2013 © 2013 Duke University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper ♾ Cover by Heather Hensley. Interior by Courtney Leigh Baker Typeset in Minion Pro by Tseng Information Systems, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data McDonald, David A., 1976– My voice is my weapon : music, nationalism, and the poetics of Palestinian resistance / David A. McDonald. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-8223-5468-0 (cloth : alk. paper) isbn 978-0-8223-5479-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Palestinian Arabs—Music—History and criticism. 2. Music—Political aspects—Israel. 3. Music—Political aspects—Gaza Strip. 4. Music—Political aspects—West Bank. i. Title. ml3754.5.m33 2013 780.89′9274—dc23 2013012813 For Seamus Patrick McDonald Illustrations viii Note on Transliterations xi Note on Accessing Performance Videos xiii Acknowledgments xvii introduction ✹ 1 chapter 1. Nationalism, Belonging, and the Performativity of Resistance ✹ 17 chapter 2. Poets, Singers, and Songs ✹ 34 Voices in the Resistance Movement (1917–1967) chapter 3. Al- Naksa and the Emergence of Political Song (1967–1987) ✹ 78 chapter 4. The First Intifada and the Generation of Stones (1987–2000) ✹ 116 chapter 5. Revivals and New Arrivals ✹ 144 The al- Aqsa Intifada (2000–2010) CONTENTS chapter 6. “My Songs Can Reach the Whole Nation” ✹ 163 Baladna and Protest Song in Jordan chapter 7. Imprisonment and Exile ✹ 199 Negotiating Power and Resistance in Palestinian Protest Song chapter 8.
    [Show full text]
  • O Occupied East Jerusalem
    Occupied East Jerusalem “De-Palestinization” and Forcible Transfer of Palestinians A situation of systematic breaches of State obligations under the ICCPR JOINT NGO REPORT to the UN Human Rights Committee For the Committee’s Review of the Fourth Periodic Report of ISRAEL Submitted by: The Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem (CCPRJ) Contact: Zakaria Odeh, executive director Email: [email protected] Tel: +972 2 2343929 www.civiccoalition-jerusalem.org The Coalition for Jerusalem (CFJ) Contact: Aminah Abdelhaq, coordinator Email: [email protected] Tel: +972 2 6562272 url: www.coalitionforjerusalem.org The Society of St. Yves, Catholic Center for Human Rights (St. Yves) Contact: Dalia Qumsieh, head of advocacy Email: [email protected] Tel: +972 2 6264662 url: www.saintyves.org 1 Content Introduction Paragraph RECOMMENDATIONS A. Constitutional and legal framework within which the Covenant is implemented by Israel in occupied East Jerusalem (Art. 1, 2) Question 4: Application of the Covenant in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) 4 – 11 Question 5: Equality and non-discrimination in Israeli law, courts; other measures 12 – 22 Recommended Questions to the State party (Art. 1 and 2) B. State of Emergency (Art. 4); derogations from international standards Questions 12, 19: Progress in review of Israel’s state of emergency; derogations 23 – 25 from international standards (complementary issues) Recommended Questions to State party (Article 4) C. Freedom of movement and residence (Art. 12, 2; also 14, 17, 23, 24, 26) Questions 20, 21: Complementary information on Palestinians in East Jerusalem 26 – 34 D. Protection of the Family, Protection of the Child (Art.23, 24, 2; 12, 14, 17, 24, 26) Question 25: Measures taken by the State party to revoke the Citizenship and 35 – 45 Entry Into Israel Law; right to marriage E.
    [Show full text]
  • The Security Fence Around Jerusalem: Implications for the City and Its Residents
    The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies Founded by the Charles H. Revson Foundation The Security Fence Around Jerusalem: Implications for the City and its Residents Editor: Israel Kimhi כל הזכויות שמורות למכון ירושלים לחקר ישראל The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies Established by the Charles H. Revson Foundation The Security Fence Around Jerusalem: Implications for the City and Its Residents Editor: Israel Kimhi 2006 כל הזכויות שמורות למכון ירושלים לחקר ישראל The JUS Studies Series, No. Ill The Security Fence Around Jerusalem: Implications for the City and Its Residents Editor: Israel Kimhi Maps: Yair Assaf-Shapira Layout and design: Esti Boehm Production and printing: Hamutal Appel We wish to thank Al Levitt of San Francisco, the Yaakov and Hilda Blaustein Foundation, the Frankel Foundation, the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the New Israel Fund, the Jerusalem Fund and the National Security Council for making this project possible. The views expressed in this book are solely the responsibility of the authors © 2006, The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies The Hay Elyachar House 20 Radak St., 92186 Jerusalem http://www.jiis.org.il E-mail: [email protected] כל הזכויות שמורות למכון ירושלים לחקר ישראל About the authors Israel Kimhi — Urban planner, senior researcher and Jerusalem Studies Coordinator at the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. Headed the Jerusalem Municipality's Policy Planning Division. Lecturer in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Geography Department and at the Institute of Urban and Regional Studies.
    [Show full text]
  • A Wall in Jerusalem: Obstacles to Human Rights in the Holy City
    A WALL IN JERUSALEM: OBSTACLES TO HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE HOLY CITY Summer 2006 The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories Human Rights Jerusalem, a center for faith and a symbol of hope, presents a sad reality: segregation, discrimination and deprivation of basic human needs are the daily lot of an entire community. Lior Mizrahi, Bau Lior Mizrahi, 2 in the Holy City It is difficult to speak about Jerusalem in an indifferent manner. Discussions about Jerusalem - a holy city for Judaism, Christianity and Islam - are loaded with symbolism, religious sentiment and nationalist rhetoric. To quote Yehuda Amichai, one of Israel's finest poets: The air above Jerusalem is filled with prayers and dreams Like air above cities with heavy industry Hard to breathe From time to time a new shipment of history arrives Nevertheless, Jerusalem is not just a symbol, but also a living city, and the latest shipment of history - Israel's 1967 occupation of East Jerusalem - is not a history of prophets and profound truths. It is a history of dispossession, systematic discrimination and an ongoing assault on the basic rights of the Palestinian residents of the city. It doesn't have to be this way. Instead of exacerbating social divisions, Israeli policy could advance Jerusalem's standing as a vibrant, prosperous and beautiful city of pluralism and tolerance. This publication is intended for those who want Jerusalem to be a city of justice, a city where all its residents can live in safety and dignity. The focus of the publication is the Separation Barrier that Israel is currently constructing around the city, which is a source of great suffering for those who live along its route.
    [Show full text]
  • Atarot and the Fate of the Jerusalem Airport Proposed Jewish Settlement of Atarot
    Atarot and the Fate Apart from a brief flurry of media attention at the end of 2007 when reports of the Jerusalem surfaced of post-Annapolis plans to build Airport one of the largest Jewish residential settlements in one of the strategic and Marian Houk densely-populated areas of contiguous Palestinian inhabitation in the Jerusalem area, there has been very little public interest focused on present-day Atarot, an area of former Jewish settlement and now the location of an Israeli-operated industrial zone adjacent to Qalandia. It is the site of two major infrastructure installations – one is a non-operational but still-viable airport originally built by the British during the mandate period, and the other is Jerusalem largest industrial zone, constructed by the Israeli Land Administration after Israel’s 1967 conquest. These two installations appear to have become sweeteners in a proposed Israeli Satellite Photo Map. Source: The Applied Research Institute- interim deal recently tabled in Israeli- Jerusalem (ARIJ). Palestinian negotiations. [ 64 ] Atarot and the Fate of the Jerusalem Airport Proposed Jewish Settlement of Atarot The name Atarot, apparently drawn from several Biblical references, was given to an area of land purchased for Zionist settlement in Qalandia village north of Jerusalem in the early 1900s, during the final years of Ottoman rule in Palestine. Jewish activists began to live and work in Atarot in 1914, but they moved away at some point during the First World War, and then returned in 1922, when Palestine was under British administration but prior to the League of Nations’ formal establishment of the Palestine Mandate.
    [Show full text]