East Jerusalem: Key humanitarian concerns - OCHA factsheet

EAST JERUSALEM:

KEY HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS

UPDATE AUGUST 2014

KEY FACTS

Around 298,000 Palestinians currently reside in East Jerusalem, in addition to 200,000 Israeli settlers who reside in the settlements which have been constructed and expanded since 1967, contrary to international law (end of 2011, Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, ICBS).

Approximately 4 million Palestinians from the remainder of the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) are prohibited from entering East Jerusalem without Israeli-issued permits, which are difficult to obtain.

Access to East Jerusalem is controlled by a combination of physical and administrative obstacles. Palestinians who are able to obtain permits can only use four of the 13 checkpoints along the Barrier.

Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem lack a secure legal residency status. Since 1967, at least 14,000 Palestinians had their Jerusalem residency revoked by the Israeli authorities.

Tens of thousands of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem are physically separated from the urban centre by the Barrier; they must cross crowded checkpoints to access health, education and other services to which they are entitled as residents of Jerusalem.

35% of land in East Jerusalem has been confiscated for Israeli settlement use; only 13% of East Jerusalem is zoned for Palestinian construction, much of which is already built-up.

At least a third of all Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem lack Israeli-issued building permits, which are difficult to obtain, potentially placing over 90,000 residents at risk of displacement, which has a psychological impact.

Since 1967, the Israeli authorities have demolished some 2,000 houses in East Jerusalem.

Several hundred Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem are at risk of forced displacement due to settler activities, particularly in the Old City, Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah.

There is a chronic shortage of classrooms in East Jerusalem: 2,200 additional classrooms are required to accommodate Palestinian children and many existing facilities are substandard or unsuitable.

KEY FACTS

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. Since 1967, 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.

P. O. Box 38712 East Jerusalem 91386

East Jerusalem: Key humanitarian concerns – OCHA factsheet

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East Jerusalem: Key humanitarian concerns – OCHA factsheet

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