Last year Israel celebrated the 40th anniversary of its so-called
re-unification of Jerusalem, and this year the celebrations have
extended to the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence. The blue
logos of "Jerusalem 40" and "Israel 60" decorate the streets of
Jerusalem. 1948 and 1967 are two historical moments that symbolize
the victory of one nation over another, the national fulfillment
for one identity, and the simultaneous disappearance of another.
Today, decades after those historical moments, we witness a
unilateral control of the city of Jerusalem and a continuously
shrinking Palestinian Jerusalemite population. Jerusalem's urban
space is being swallowed up by the expanding illegal settlements,
and the Palestinian Jerusalemite population continues to struggle
to maintain its residency rights in the city.
This article examines the significance of the years 1948 and 1967
as important markers in Palestinian history which prescribed the
beginning of a continuous legacy of displacement for the
Palestinian Jerusalemite population from their land, property and
home. While examining refugee and migration trends in Jerusalem, it
is important to consider the new forms of displacement that occur
daily - gradually but systematically. It is no longer sufficient to
speak about the 1948 and 1967 Palestinian refugees: home
demolitions, illegal land appropriations, transfers and de facto
exile policies that uproot people have been ongoing throughout the
last six decades.
The Jerusalemite Refugee Experience
The onset of the process of Palestinian displacement from Jerusalem
dates to the 1948 Nakba and the expulsion of its inhabitants from
eight Arab neighborhoods in the western area of Jerusalem, and from
39 other surrounding villages. The Palestinians who fled from their
homes during the war were not able to return, due to the partition
and the subsequent declaration of the Absentee Property Law.1
The second wave of displacement occurred in 1967 with the
relocation of Palestinians from the Jewish Quarter of the Old City
to the Shu'fat refugee camp, or to other areas on the northern
edges of Jerusalem.2 Having witnessed two overwhelming events of
displacement, many Palestinians were largely unaware of the subtle
policies employed since 1967 to limit the number of Palestinians
living in Jerusalem. Housing and urban policies, the price of land
and the processes of land registry played an important role in
pushing Palestinians to the surrounding suburbs of Jerusalem.
During the early 1960s, East Jerusalem began to expand further to
the north. Internal migration into areas such as Abu Tor and
Shu'fat began to occur. The main determinant of migration trends at
that time was the price of land. Real estate prices outside the
Jerusalem city center were equal to 10% of those in the city
center.3
Creating Facts on the Ground
On June 28, 1967, the Israeli Knesset passed a law formally
extending Israeli laws, jurisdiction and civil administration over
Arab East Jerusalem. The Israeli Ministry of the Interior issued a
special decree dissolving the Jordanian municipality council and
extending the jurisdiction of the Jewish municipality over the
entire annexed area.4 In addition to these formal political-legal
acts, Israel also set in motion a series of policies designed to
"create facts on the ground." A two-pronged strategy was adopted
and implemented with great speed and energy. First, in order to
establish a strong Jewish physical presence in East Jerusalem, a
massive program of Jewish settlement was carried out beyond the
pre-1967 dividing line. Second, the Israeli authorities sought to
maintain and, if possible, even enlarge the Jewish demographic
majority by encouraging Jews to settle in Jerusalem, while at the
same time limiting the migration of Arabs from the West Bank into
the newly annexed areas of East Jerusalem.5
Following the geopolitical act of annexing East Jerusalem, the
Israeli government confiscated more than 30,000 dunums (34% of East
Jerusalem territories) of Palestinian land for the building of new
Jewish neighborhoods or settlements. Between 1982 and 1992, only
270,000 of the 5,000,000 square meters built up in Jerusalem were
designated for Palestinian use.6 Large tracts of Palestinian land
were designated as "green areas" through zoning ordinances. These
later became areas on which building and construction was
prohibited.7
Redrawing the Boundaries of East Jerusalem
These regulations caused many Jerusalemites to migrate from the
city center to the suburbs and to the West Bank areas. After the
annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967 and the expansion of the
municipal boundaries, the suburbs of Jerusalem began to expand
further. Scott Bollens rightly asserts that one of the effects of
boundary-drawing post-1967 was an "exclusionary one, where it was
possible to exclude the Arab population from the greatly expanded
new "Jerusalem." He refers to the new map that was redrawn,
clarifying further that the "new border was intentionally drawn to
exclude several Arab nodes of population well within the urban
sphere.8 The combination of demographic-political planning,
combined with an ethnic definition of citizenship, has had a
critical effect on the long- term devolution of the relationship of
Palestinians to their city. In particular, it has restricted
population growth through migration to the city and encouraged
residents to relocate outside the city.
A clear decision was made by the Knesset in 1980 to allow the
boundaries of Jerusalem permanent flexibility. This unilateral law
deleted an item from the Basic Law that stated that the "the
integrity and unity of Greater Jerusalem and its boundaries after
the Six Day War shall not be violated."9 The omission of this law
meant that the Knesset can draw as many arbitrary, unilaterally
established, dynamic lines and divisions as is desired, and that no
law deters it from doing so. Since this decision, many Jewish
settlements have been declared extensions of Jerusalem, thus
expanding the reach of this octopus. New areas were added to the
municipal borders of the city, while other neighborhoods were
excluded.10 Later maps of metropolitan and Greater Jerusalem
designed by the Israeli municipality marked a dramatic increase in
settlement expansion. The settlements that were established
post-1967 in East Jerusalem have swallowed the possibility of
Palestinian neighborhoods expanding.11
Among these communities excluded from Jerusalem with the redrawing
of maps is A-Ram in the north, and Azariyya and Abu Dis to the
east.12 Israeli fears that the Jerusalemite Palestinian population
will outnumber the Jewish population has created a system of
demographic and territorial control through the various municipal
policies implemented in the Palestinian neighborhoods. The process
of emptying the Jewish Quarter in East Jerusalem of its Palestinian
Arab residents began a few years before the 1967 war. Many were
transferred to the Shu'fat refugee camp, which was established on
land that was offered by the Jordanians and later was under the
care of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Some other
Palestinian residents of the Jewish Quarter moved to the northern
Jerusalem suburbs such as A-Ram. Other major changes were taking
place in and around the Jewish Quarter, heralded in 1968 by the
wholesale destruction of the Moroccan Quarter - to allow for the
building of the Western Wall Plaza.13
"The Center of Life"
The Oslo Accords in the early 1990s imposed the beginning of a
well- planned strategy to isolate Jerusalem from its West Bank
hinterland. Military roadblocks and checkpoints were used to
implement this isolation policy. Unfortunately, although the
Jerusalemites had hoped that the Oslo Accords would create some
kind of improvement in the general situation, Jerusalem was
uniquely denied the benefits of Oslo. Many shop owners moved their
businesses to Ramallah, and non-governmental organizations and
international organizations were mostly established in the West
Bank. As Jerusalem was losing its economic livelihood, Ramallah was
flourishing as the main Palestinian center. Many businessmen moved
their work to Ramallah, and many residents of Jerusalem relocated
to Ramallah.14 A-Ram checkpoint in the north and the Bethlehem
checkpoint in the south were the first of the checkpoints that were
established around Jerusalem.
Until 1993, the Palestinian Jerusalemites were largely unaware of
the implications of the Israeli policies implemented in the areas
of East Jerusalem. With the closure policies in the West Bank and
Gaza in 1993, and the Israeli "Center of Life Policy" in 1996, they
began to recognize the imminent threat of losing their Jerusalem
IDs.15 Earlier on, Jerusalemites had envisioned the boundaries of
Jerusalem quite differently. The metropolitan vision of Jerusalem
had included the towns of Ramallah in the north and Bethlehem in
the south. Having had no previous physical border separating areas
of Jerusalem from the West Bank, the Palestinians did not envision
the possibility of ever being barred from entering Jerusalem.
Sadly, the boundaries of Jerusalem were continuously shrinking in
the Palestinian areas, while Israeli Jerusalem was expanding with
the extensive construction of settlements.
A return migration flow back to Jerusalem occurred in 1996 with the
introduction of the Center of Life Policy, whereby Palestinians
needed to prove that their center of life, work, education and
place of residence was in Jerusalem. This policy resulted in the
confiscation of Jerusalem IDs and the inability of many
Jerusalemites to return to Jerusalem. People who could afford to
keep a second address in Jerusalem did so in order to prove their
right to reside in and enter the city. During the years 1996-1997,
for example, a net positive relocation by Palestinian
identification card holders from suburban communities to the city
was recorded in response to the threat of losing their IDs. For the
first time in more than a decade, the number of Arabs exceeded that
of Jews in the eastern part of the city.
With the outbreak of the al-Aqsa intifada in 2000, Israel increased
its military checkpoints around the city, and the plan to erect the
separation wall began to be implemented. Today's separation wall,
which is close to completion, has created an envelope around
Jerusalem, separating Palestinian neighborhoods from other
Palestinian neighborhoods, completely and physically barring West
Bank inhabitants from Jerusalem.16 Furthermore, the separation wall
has excluded areas of Jerusalem that were pushed out of the
municipal borders in 1967. Most of the residents living in these
areas possess a Jerusalem ID, and are dependent on Jerusalem for
their livelihoods. The second intifada did attract many businesses
back into Jerusalem; however, the total closure of the West Bank
from Jerusalem and the beginning of the construction of the
separation wall killed the life of the city that used to attract
thousands of pilgrims from all over the world.
Restricted by Zoning
Another factor that pushed Jerusalemites out of the city was the
restriction on building permits for Palestinian Jerusalemites and
excessive taxation policies imposed by the Israeli municipality.
Municipal officials continuously withheld building permits and
demolished many Palestinian homes which were claimed to have been
built illegally. These illegal building activities were carried out
in response to the strict Israeli municipal system which followed a
system of zoning and unofficial government quotas. This system
defined the spaces where Palestinians could or could not build.
According to Sarah Kaminker, an urban planner and a former member
of the Jerusalem City Council, Palestinians are prevented from
using 87% of the land area in Arab Jerusalem to expand their
residential needs. This restricted land has been zoned either for
public utilities and green areas, or was expropriated for the
exclusive use of Jewish residents.17
The municipal tax, or arnona, is another aspect viewed as
threatening to every Jerusalemite.18 Arnona is defined as "the
municipal tax which is levied on buildings by the Israeli
municipality in which the property is located."19 Any resident of
Jerusalem who lives within the municipal boundaries of the city and
owns a house or any other building property is required to pay this
tax. Rates of arnona vary between the different neighborhoods in
the municipality or area of local authority. These rates are
calculated in accordance with the size of the property.20
Palestinian Jerusalemites have avoided paying the arnona tax over
the years, mostly through building or living outside of the
Jerusalem municipal boundaries. Reasons for escaping these taxes
vary, and may be related to an individual's inability to pay, or as
an attempt to avoid strict property surveillance. Certain sites,
like A- Ram and Shu'fat refugee camp, have partially exempted
residents or made it easier for them to avoid paying this tax.
These sites lack the strict surveillance that other areas in
Jerusalem are under, and therefore allow for more informal
construction and economic activities. However, failing to pay the
arnona tax has recently resulted in consequences. Since the 1996
Center of Life Policy was implemented, making the arnona an
important factor in retaining one's Jerusalem ID, many Jerusalem ID
holders have lost their IDs as a result of not paying the
tax.
The numbers of settlers and settlements have been increasing
drastically in the Old City, as well as in areas that are referred
to as the Holy Basin, which include Silwan, Abu Dis, Ras al-Amud,
Jabal al-Mukkaber, Walajeh, Beit Safafa, and also in Jerusalem's
immediate environs, such as Sheikh Jarrah and Wadi el-Joz. The
continuously expanding settlements of Har Homa and Ma'ale Adumim
have not stopped despite the current peace negotiations and
international pressures.
In Permanent Refugee Mode
Sixty years ago, the appropriation of Palestinian lands and homes
in Jerusalem occurred in a moment of organized and declared warfare
and, since 1967, the unconventional methods of warfare through
municipal policies and continued settlement-building have aimed at
limiting the number of Palestinians in Jerusalem. The building of
the separation wall was a unilateral action by the Israeli
government that has excluded a large number of Palestinian
Jerusalemites from the city. Today, Jerusalemite Palestinian
identity is barely surviving the harsh municipal policies, the
building regulations and the high taxations.
Jerusalemites fear the threat of losing their Jerusalem IDs, which
means being denied free access to the city where their relatives
reside and where they have their property and businesses. This fear
has rendered them passive and acquiescent to the status quo. With
the death of Palestinian PLO representative in Jerusalem Faisal
al-Husseini and the closing down of Orient House, Palestinian
Jerusalemite political life was completely frozen. A continuation
of the Israeli Ministry of the Interior's current policies of
ethnic cleansing through the cancellation of Jerusalem IDs
according to the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law, and the
municipal policies of restricting Arab building licenses in the
city, and demolishing Arab houses, Israel has revoked the
Jerusalemites' residency rights, and created a new category of
Palestinian refugees in their own country
The Palestinian Jerusalemites today live in an ever-changing
environment that necessitates a constant revision of upcoming
threats. For many Jerusalemites, a daily exercise of "redefining
home," "flight from danger," and "fear of displacement," "fear of
losing their IDs" govern their thinking. Unlike the 1948 and 1967
Palestinian experiences, which occurred more or less in a moment of
declared war and, simultaneously, created populations that fit the
legal definitions of refugees, the current political situation and
the slower process of displacement has created a permanent refugee
mode of behavior. It is one that contains all the psychological
components of refugee behavior and is much more internalized, yet
does not figure in the legal definition of refugees.
Endnotes
1. The Absentee Property Law of 1950 formally denied refugees and
internal refugees any right to their property in the newly
established state of Israel (see Bishara below).
2. Bishara, Amal. "House and Homeland: Examining Sentiments about
Claims to Jerusalem and Its Houses." Social Text 75, Vol.21, No.2,
2003, p. 144.
3. Zilberman, Ifrah. "Migration from Hebron: Development in the
Area of Jerusalem" (unpublished article in Arabic).
4. Benvenisti, Meron. The Peace of Jerusalem. Tel Aviv: HaKibbutz
HaMeuchad (Hebrew),1981. Nasrallah, Rami. Rassem Khamaisi, and
Michael Younan. Jerusalem on the Map. Jerusalem: Jerusalem
International Peace and Cooperation Center, 2003.
5. Romann, Michael. and Alex Weingrod. Living Together Separately:
Arabs and Jews in Contemporary Jerusalem. Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1991. Nasrallah, Rami, et. al.
6. Amirav, Moshe. Israel's Policy in Jerusalem since 1967. Working
Paper Series, No.102. Palo Alto: Stanford Center on Conflict and
Negotiation, 1992.
7. Nasrallah, Rami." Jerusalem between the Utopia of an Open City
and the Reality of Separation," in Friedman, Abraham and Rami
Nasrallah, eds. Divided Cities in Transition. Jerusalem: Jerusalem
International Peace and Cooperation Center, 2003.
8. Bollens, Scott A. On Narrow Ground: Urban Policy and Ethnic
Conflict in Jerusalem and Belfast. New York: State University of
New York, 2000, p. 72
9. Lustick, Ian S. "Yerushalyim and al-Quds: Political Catechism
and Political Realities." Journal of Palestine Studies 30.1: 5-21,
2000.
10. Tamari, Salim. "A Contested City in a Sacred Geography," in
Friedman and Nasrallah, eds. Divided Cities in Transition, p.120.
This is an expanded version of an earlier article that appeared in
Shami, Seteney, ed. Capital Cities and Globalization in the Middle
East. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002.
11. de Jong, Jan. "Israel's Greater Jerusalem Engulfs the West
Bank's Core." Jerusalem Quarterly File, Issue 10, 2000.
12. Bollens, p. 60.
13. Rashid Khalidi. Palestinian Identity: The Construction of
Modern National Consciousness. New York: Columbia University Press,
1997, p. 8.
14. Nasrallah et al., p. 228.
15. Center of Life Policy: Under this policy Palestinian
Jerusalemites can have their Jerusalem residency rights revoked if
they cannot prove that municipal Jerusalem is their center of life.
They must prove that they work and live within the municipal
boundaries and send their children to schools in Jerusalem. Since
1996, this policy has been applied not only to those who live
abroad for more than seven years, but also to those who live in the
suburbs of Jerusalem within the West Bank. In Nasrallah et al.,
pp.15, 34-35.
16. Nasrallah, Rami. Environmental Policies as a Double-Standard
Planning Method: The Case of Jerusalem. 2005. A paper presented at
the Middle East Environment Futures Project Conference.
17. Kaminker, Sarah. "East Jerusalem: A Case Study in Political
Planning." Palestine-Israel Journal Vol. 2, No. 2, 1995, pp.
59-66.
18. Khamaisi, Rassem and Rami Nasrallah. The Jerusalem Urban
Fabric: Demography, Infrastructure, and Institutions. Jerusalem:
Jerusalem International Peace and Cooperation Center, 2003.
19. Capital Property Consultants. "Taxation."
http://www.property.co.il/information/taxation.htm
20. Khamaisi and Nasrallah, p. 35.