Israeli human rights violations in Jerusalem, Jerusalem faces the threat of occupation

Jerusalem is the heart of the cities, it is a source of pride and peace, it is the first Qibla of the Muslims and a place to visit for Muslims.

27.06.2011 - Israeli human rights violations in Jerusalem, Jerusalem faces the threat of occupation

Dr. Kemal es-Serafi, Mizan Center for Human Rights

The capital of the State of Palestine has been suffering from Israeli oppression since 1967. Israeli policies in the region aim to isolate all the Muslim and Christian Arabs in the region and deprive them of a place to live. Thanks to the help of its pro-occupation laws, Israel aims to turn Jerusalem into a Jewish city by forcing the real owners of Jerusalem to leave. Leading Jews in the world have made use of every opportunity since the beginning of the 19^th century to confiscate all the real estate properties and land in Jerusalem. They sometimes did this with force and sometimes easily. To achieve their goal, they have resorted to all means including deception and lies. In 1827, Jewish migrations to Jerusalem began with an aim to establish some Jewish neighborhoods. Around 27 Jewish settlement units, many neighborhoods and synagogues were established in Jerusalem and its surroundings between 1842 and 1897. Although some of these were in fact Jewish settlement units, they were constructed under different names such as a hospital.

After the imposition of British mandate on Palestine following the World War I and release of the Balfour Declaration in 1917, the British administration donated 117,000 decares of land to the Jewish representation office. The size of treasury land donated to Jews made up of around 7 percent (six square kilometers) of the surface area of Jerusalem. The British mandate made it easier for Jews to expand the area of land donated to Jews during the time it stayed in Jerusalem. At the end, Jerusalem became the headquarters of International Zionist Region,  Jewish National Fund and Jewish Representation. In addition, Ibriyye University was established in 1925 and Hadassah University Hospital was established in 1939 in the region.

Following the 1967 war, Jerusalem was occupied by Israel and the occupying power has from the very beginning attempted to change  “al-Megaribe” neighborhood completely which reflects the historical texture of the city on the grounds that it is “not suitable for settlement.” A total of 1,000 Palestinians were forced to leave their houses and the “Wailing Wall” was constructed in the area which was formerly known as “Buraq Wall.” In addition, a Palestinian land which had an area of 17,700 decares was seized. All these were made as preliminary steps of an international resolution that could be made about Jerusalem.

The main purpose of Israel’s seizure of Jerusalem’s land and establishing Jewish settlement units and neighborhoods was to block any contact between Jerusalem and Arab neighborhoods in its surrounding and eventually make the Arabs in the city live in an isolated place under the blockade of Jews. Israel continued its actions to take complete control of Jerusalem, expel real owners of the city and make the city a place where there are no Arabs. In this respect, various proposals were made at the occupying Israel’s Parliament Knesset to annex Jerusalem. A law approved on 31 July 1980 was of crucial importance for Jerusalem.

“Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and it is the center of the president, Israeli Parliament Knesset, Israeli government and Israeli top court,” stated this law. This law was from the very beginning preventing any Israeli government from making an agreement that could deal harm to the hegemony of Israel over Jerusalem. Following Israeli governments resorted to various methods and practices to speed up Jerusalem’s becoming a Jewish city. Some of these are as follows:

Masjid al-Aqsa’s being taken under blockade and its demolishment

Israel was aware that a Jerusalem which has Masjid al-Aqsa and Kubbetus Sahra (Dome of the Rock) will never lose its Arabic and Islamic identity. Excavation work which continues under al-Aqsa and has begun to threaten the foundation of the mosque is the open indication of Israel’s desire to eventually demolish al-Aqsa and other Arabic and Islamic heritage in the city.

Israel also carried out work to open tunnels under al-Aqsa during long occupation periods. This work has begun to shake the foundation of the mosque and threaten it. The collapse of the Jerusalem Primary School, which is linked to The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), in al-Megaribe Gate neighborhood which is close to Masjid al-Aqsa has been the harbinger of the disaster awaiting the mosque.

Under the supervision of “Historical works belonging to Israel” administration and colonialist “El’ad” institution, Israel began to open a new tunnel on the left of Ayn-i Selvan Masjid which is located in southern Masjid al-Aqsa. The purpose of opening a new tunnel there is to link it with the tunnels which are dug under Masjid al-Aqsa.

In September 1996, then mayor of West Jerusalem Ehud Olmert inaugurated the (historical) al-Buraq tunnel which extends under Jerusalem in a bid to prove that there are historical works belonging to Jews in the region. Nevertheless, historians revealed that this tunnel was opened on a cliff by Kenans of Arabic origin in order to fortify the defense of the city. Following this, Palestinians took to the streets to stand by the holy values of this holy city, defend their rights and protest Israel. 65 Palestinians were martyred in the clashes with Israeli forces.

The occupying power is trying to evacuate Arabs from the surroundings of Masjid al-Aqsa and confiscate properties and houses of the Arabs there. As part of its efforts to eliminate Arabic-Islamic values in the region, Israel threatened to demolish 88 houses in Selvan neighborhood which is close to Masjid al-Aqsa.

As a matter of fact, Selvan Hill, which stands in parallel with the southern wall of the Masjid al-Aqsa and located in the main entrance of Selvan neighborhood, gives alarming signals. Since the entire ground of the neighborhood has been dug and tunnels have been opened, it faces the risk of collapse.

In addition to this, occupant Israeli forces have been allowing thousands of foreign and Jewish tourists particularly women with inappropriate clothes to enter Masjid al-Aqsa from the al-Megaribe Gate whose key it has had since 1967 and pollute the holy atmosphere of the mosque in this way.

 “Holy Shrine Institute,” which is hard-line Zionist, has been trying to install cameras at Masjid al-Aqsa to watch it for 24 hours and post the footage in the website of the institute to prove the mobility and protests in the area.

Occupant Israeli forces have also begun to construct the largest and tallest synagogue with a dome in the place of the al-Masjid’l Omari in es-Seref neighborhood which is located within the boundaries of Jerusalem. The synagogue is named “HaHurba Synagogue.” In the meantime, Israel has allowed Jewish settlers to build a synagogue with the name “Ohel Isaec” in the place of historical “Hamamu’l Ayn” which is close to Masjid al-Aqsa.

In addition to this, the demolishment of the road that linked al-Megaribe to Masjid al-Aqsa reveals what Israel’s ultimate goal is. Despite reactions from the international community, occupying power has continued to implement its projects one by one and started the construction of a mosque to facilitate its moves at the Masjid al-Aqsa and change the Islamic texture of the area. Hard-line Zionists have never given up from their goals to set Masjid al-Aqsa on fire. An attempt to burn the mosque in 1969 resulted in the damage of some parts of the mosque. In the following years, Israel attempted to hit the mosque with missiles and turn Jerusalem into a holy city of Jews by completely alienating the city particularly the Masjid al-Aqsa from the world.

Since 1994, occupant Israel has made some laws which prevented Palestinians which do not carry a Jerusalem identity on them to enter Masjid al-Aqsa to pray. The same goes with the Christians in the west side and Gaza Strip. Israeli practices also prevent them from having access to churches in Jerusalem.

As part of its efforts to eliminate historical and religious works belonging to Arabic and Islamic culture in Jerusalem, Israel has been making efforts since 2008 to demolish the Me’menullah Cemetery which belongs to Muslims. According to reports, thousands of Muslims including commanders and scholars are buried in this cemetery which is at an Islamic foundation.

Forced deportation of Muslims and seizure of IDs: A silent transfer!

Although Israel annexed East Jerusalem to the lands it occupied, this annexation did not include the residents of the area. The occupying power did not seize Jordanian passports of Palestinian citizens but gave them Israeli identity cards. As a result of this, Palestinians became people who reside there temporarily and not given the status of a citizen, which meant a violation of their rights.

Thanks to their racist laws, the occupying power tries to create the image that 88 percent of the residents of Jerusalem are Jews while only 12 percent of them are Arabs. Identity cards of hundreds of Jerusalem residents were seized, depriving them of the right to reside in Jerusalem. So, the number of Jerusalem Palestinians whose right of habitation was violated during the occupation years has risen to 10,000. However, Israel’s such practices are against the Geneva Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, particularly the 6^th and 47^th articles of the convention, and the 34^th article of the Hague Convention of 1889-1907.

Demolishment of homes and deportation of their owners

In the meantime, the occupying power enacted a Construction and Planning Law which sets the criteria for those who want to construct a building. According to this law, one needs to get a license to construct a building. Israel’s attitude regarding the construction of buildings led to a crisis in the construction sector of Jerusalem and people began to construct unlicensed buildings because Israel was placing many obstacles before those who wanted to get a license. The fact that it issued licenses only 5 percent of those who applied for a license is a clear sign of this. In addition to this, the cost of getting a license is $35,000. In this case, Jerusalem residents were forced to choose between two options, they would either construct unlicensed buildings or they would leave Jerusalem.

Missing Persons Law

A law regarding the property of missing persons was adopted in 1950. According to this law, the property of the individuals who were outside the boundaries of the occupying Israel State during the population census conducted by Israel in 1967 were transferred to the administrative unit which is responsible for the property of the missing persons. This unit had the right to sell or rent these properties. So, the occupant Israel began confiscating the land and property of Palestinians who are missing. The administrative unit responsible for the property of the missing persons handed over the property of the missing persons to the Jewish organizations in the holy city.

Israelization

This is a project which aimed to grant Israeli citizenship to the Arabian citizens in East Jerusalem by giving them Israeli identity cards. After the annexation of the city, the rate of these citizens has risen to 22 percent. Israel tried to implement this project by linking healthcare, administration, commerce, industry and service sectors to Israel.

Jewish settlement and land resources

The main purpose of Jewish settlement activities in Jerusalem is to rise the number of Jews who have settled on the east of the city since 1967, up to 250.000, in other words to make it higher than the Palestinian population. In this respect, the occupying power occupied and demolished 32 villages around the city and established Jewish settlements in place of them. Israeli historian Tom Segif’s statements are very meaningful: “What takes place in Jerusalem today is beyond taking security measures and aimed to realize this Zionist dream: The largest lands and the least number of Arabs.”

Currently, occupying forces have seized 74 percent of the land in East Jerusalem and Palestinians have the ownership of only 14 percent land while the rest is green area. So, the Jerusalem Municipality has expanded its boundaries as much as 27 square kilometers thanks to the lands confiscated and annexed.

Great Jerusalem (Jerusalem Metropolitan)

One of the steps of taken to make the region Jewish is the drawing of boundaries. This is a project which is called the boundaries of the Great Jerusalem (Metropolitan) and starts from Ramallah in the north, extends to Beit Lahm in the south, Mealiye Edumim in the east and comprises a total area of 640 square kilometers. This area comprises of around 10 percent of the west side.  

Abu Guneim Mount

In 1997, occupying forces implemented their blockade project which they conducted through Jewish settlement units by confiscating Palestinian lands in Jerusalem. As part of this project, Israel took control of Abu Guneim (known as Har Homa to Israelis) in order to construct 6,500 settlement units where 30,000 Jews would reside. 

East 1 Plan E1

In 1998, occupant Israeli government approved establishment of a new settlement unit. In this respect, occupying power began to construct 3,500 settlement units in the region between al-Aizeriyye and Mealiye Edumim.  According to this plan, the center of the occupation would be carried to El from Ra’sul Amud and an industrial zone, offices, recreational and sports centers, 10 hotels and a cemetery would be established. In addition, a link would be established between Jerusalem and Mealiye Edumim settlement unit and Arabs would not be allowed to construct any buildings on this line. In the meantime, EL plan aims to increase the number of Jewish settlers in Mealiye Edumim to 70,000 and implement the division project of the west side.

Separation wall (Jerusalem blockade)

Occupying power has completed a significant part of the annexation wall which surrounds the city and alienates it from the outside world as part of its efforts to make the region Jewish. Israel does not allow the entry of people from Jerusalem who leave outside the city to enter the city from even the limited number of gates and check points. In this way, Israel has the opportunity to expel the locals of the city from the city, which helps it realize its dream of having a Jewish majority in Jerusalem.

Economic pressure

Occupying power uses economic pressure as an indirect method to deport Arabs from Jerusalem. In this respect, Israel has taken a series of measures which aim to damage the Arab economy and flourish the Israeli economy. To achieve this, Israel has economically isolated Jerusalem from the Arab cities and villages in surroundings to prevent the trade of industrial or agricultural products.

One of the most important taxes: “Arnona tax”

This is a tax imposed on households, workplaces and companies without taking the revenues of these places into consideration. Since the amount of this tax sometimes exceeds the amount of revenues of the business owners, some business owners had to close down their businesses.

Closure of national non-governmental organizations

There are around 50 national non-governmental organizations in Jerusalem but occupying powers aims to prevent the social and humanitarian aid activities of these organizations for people of Jerusalem, living under Israeli occupation, by closing down some of them or by arresting their officials. Among leading such organizations, there are East House and Arabian Studies Foundation whose activities were stopped and were closed down  in 2000.

Occupying power does not allow any cultural, political or social activities by Arabs in Jerusalem. In 2009, even ceremonies and celebrations were banned in Jerusalem, which is the cultural capital of the Arabic world.

Violation of right to life

There are heavy violations of the right to life in Jerusalem. We can mention some of them as follows. The occupying power martyred 16 Palestinians either through assassinations or mines planted on the roads in March 2008. Three of these victims were children. A 16-year-old youth from Tobas named Jemal Abdunnasır Fakha lost his life after the blast of an explosive which was left in the region after a military exercise of the occupant Israeli military.

The incidents mentioned here are just some of the violations and acts of violence of Israel it perpetrates on Palestinians and on the holy city. We can talk about the goals of the racist-fascist policies of Israel as follows:

1-      Isolating Jerusalem geographically from other Palestinian regions which are under occupation

2-      Expanding Jewish settlement activities and keeping the population of the Jews higher than Arabs

3-      Preparing the ground that will prevent the establishment of a State of Palestine whose capital will be Jerusalem

4-      Trying to make the city gain on a Jewish identity by completely demolishing works of art which belong to Arabic and Islamic culture

(*) This is a presentation made at the International Masjid al-Aqsa Symposium.