East Jerusalem: Key humanitarian concerns – OCHA update (Dec 2012)

EAST JERUSALEM:
KEY HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS

UPDATE DECEMBER 2012

القدس الشرقية:
مخاوف إنسانية أساسية

1. Israel’s unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem and the surrounding West Bank hinterland contravenes international law. It is not recognized by the international community which considers East Jerusalem an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), (see UN Security Council resolutions 252, 267, 471, 476 and 478).

2. Since1967, Israeli measures have altered the status of East Jerusalem and affected the residency status of Palestinians, their access to basic services, and their ability to plan and develop their communities. In the long term, failure to address these factors risks undermining the Palestinian presence in East Jerusalem.

3. Israeli settlement activity in East Jerusalem is illegal and occurs at the expense of land and resources for Palestinian construction and development, placing residents at risk of forced eviction, displacement and dispossession. As the occupying power, Israel is responsible for administering the occupied territory for the benefit of the protected Palestinian population.

4. Israeli-imposed movement and access restrictions also impede the access of Palestinians from the rest of the West Bank and from the Gaza Strip to services in East Jerusalem, including health facilities which provide specialised and emergency health services unavailable elsewhere in the oPt. Physical and bureaucratic obstacles impact access of medical staff to hospitals and clinics and access of students to schools.

5. The Barrier, settlement expansion and related restrictions on Palestinian move­ment are increasingly cutting off East Jerusalem – the focus of Palestinian political, commercial, religious and cultural life – from the rest of the oPt. Planned settlement expansion in the wider Jerusalem metropolitan area, particularly the E1 plan, will increase this separation.