Tuesday, August 2, 2016

East Jerusalem - Jordanian occupation of the West Bank- Judea and Samaria


 East Jerusalem 
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem (Arabic: القدس الشرقية‎‎,Hebrew: מזרח ירושלים‎‎) is the sector of Jerusalem that was not part of Israeli-held West Jerusalem at the end of the 1948–1949 Arab–Israeli War. Israeli and Palestinian definitions of it differ;[1] the Palestinian official position is based on the 1949 Armistice Agreements, while the Israeli position is mainly based on the current municipality boundaries of Jerusalem, which resulted from a series of administrative enlargements decided by Israeli municipal authorities since the 1967 Six-Day War. Despite its name, East Jerusalem includes neighborhoods to the north, east and south of the Old City, and in the wider definition of the term even on all these sides of West Jerusalem.
During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Jerusalem was contested between Jordan and Israel, and on the cessation of hostilities, the two countries secretly negotiated a division of the city, with the eastern sector coming under Jordanian rule. This arrangement was formalized in the Rhodes Agreement in March 1949.[2] [3] A week after David Ben-Gurion presented his party's assertion that "Jewish Jerusalem is an organic, inseparable part of the State of Israel" in December 1949,[4] Jordan annexed East Jerusalem.[5] These decisions were confirmed respectively in the Knesset in January 1950 and the Jordanian Parliament in April 1950.[6]
On being captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, East Jerusalem, with expanded borders, came under Israeli rule.[7] It includes Jerusalem's Old City and some of the holiest sites of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, such as the Temple Mount, Western Wall, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The term sometimes refers to the area which was incorporated into the municipality of Jerusalem after 1967, covering some 70 km2 (27 sq mi), while sometimes it refers to the smaller area of the pre-1967 Jordanian-controlled part of the Jerusalem municipality, covering 6.4 km2 (2.5 sq mi).
In the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s Palestinian Declaration of Independence of 1988, Jerusalem is stated to be the capital of the State of Palestine. In 2000, the Palestinian Authority passed a law proclaiming Jerusalem as such, and in 2002, this law was ratified by then chairman Yasser Arafat,[8] [9] although Israel does not allow Palestinian government offices in East Jerusalem.
In 1980, Israel unilaterally declared all of Jerusalem, both its eastern and western sectors, to be its undivided capital, while formally disavowing that its incorporation constituted annexation. East Jerusalem's status in international law however remains uncertain: the United Nations' Security Council immediately dismissed the resolution of unification as a "violation of international law",[10] and the international community does not recognize Israel's or Palestinian sovereignty there.[11]
1948 Arab–Israeli War aftermath
Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Jerusalem was divided into two parts. The western portion, populated primarily by Jews, came under Israeli rule, while the eastern portion, populated mainly by Muslim and Christian Palestinians, came under Jordanian rule. Arabs living in such western Jerusalem neighbourhoods as Katamonor Malha either fled or were in some cases forced out; the same fate befell Jews in the eastern areas, including the Old City and Silwan. The only eastern area of the city that remained in Israeli hands throughout the 19 years of Jordanian rule wasMount Scopus, where the Hebrew University is located, which formed an enclaveduring that period.
Following the 1967 Six-Day War, the eastern part of Jerusalem came under Israeli rule, along with the entire West Bank. Shortly after the Israeli takeover, East Jerusalem was annexed to West Jerusalem, together with several neighboring West Bank villages. In November 1967, United Nations Security Council Resolution 242was passed, calling for Israel to withdraw "from territories occupied in the recent conflict" in exchange for peace treaties. In 1980, the Knesset passed the Jerusalem Law, which declared that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel", which is commonly called an act of annexation, though no such formal measure was even taken.[12] [13] This declaration was determined to be "null and void" byUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 478.
Political term
East Jerusalem is a term with heavy political implications. The term Arab Jerusalem is used by Arabs in official English language documents, emphasizing the Arabic speaking Palestinian population and distinguishing it from the Hebrew speaking parts of the city. Israelis call the Arab populated part of the city East Jerusalem because of its location in the eastern part of the single larger Jerusalem city unit.[14]
The term East Jerusalem is ambiguous and may be used to refer to either of the following:
  • From 1948 to 1967 it referred to the 6.4 km2 (2.5 sq mi) Jordanian-ruled part of the city, mainly the predominantly Arab business district, the Old City and surrounding neighborhoods; counterpart of West Jerusalem, which referred to the Israeli part of the city.
  • It may be applied to the area that Israel annexed and included in municipal Jerusalem following its capture by Israel from Jordan in 1967, which lies north, east and south of the former East Jerusalem. This area includes an additional approximate 64 km2 (25 sq mi) of the West Bank, including territory which previously included 28 villages and areas of the Bethlehem and Beit Jalamunicipalities under Jordanian rule.[15] [16]
History
Jordanian rule
Jerusalem was to be an international city under the 1947 UN Partition Plan. It was not included as a part of either the proposed Jewish or Arab states. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the western part of Jerusalem was captured by Israel, while East Jerusalem (including the Old City) was captured by Jordan. The war came to an end with the signing of the 1949 Armistice Agreements.[17]
Upon its capture, the Jordanians immediately expelled all the Jewish residents of the Jewish Quarter. 58 synagogues were destroyed.[18] [19] The ancient Jewish cemetery on Mount of Olives was desecrated, and the tombstones there were used for construction and paving roads.[20] Jordan also destroyed the Jewish villages ofAtarot and Neve Yaakov just north of Jerusalem (their sites became Jerusalem neighborhoods after 1967).
East Jerusalem absorbed some of the refugees from West Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods that came under Israeli rule. Thousands of Arab refugees who were displaced from their homes in Israeli-held West Jerusalem were settled in the previously Jewish areas of East Jerusalem.[17]
In 1950 East Jerusalem, along with the rest of the West Bank, was annexed by Jordan. However, the annexation of the West Bank was recognized only by the United Kingdom, although the Israeli and Jordanian annexations of the two parts of Jerusalem were given only de facto recognition. During the period of Jordanian rule, East Jerusalem lost much of its importance, as it was no longer a capital, and losing its link to the coast diminished its role as a commercial hub. It even saw a population decrease, with merchants and administrators moving to Amman. On the other hand, it maintained its religious importance, as well as its role as a regional center. Reaffirming a 1953 statement, Jordan in 1960 declared Jerusalem its second capital.[21] The USA (and other powers) protested this plan, and stated it could not "recognize or associate itself in any way with actions which confer upon Jerusalem the attributes of a seat of government..."[22]
During the 1960s Jerusalem saw economic improvement and its tourism industry developed significantly, and its holy sites attracted growing numbers of pilgrims, but Israelis of all religions were not allowed into East Jerusalem.[17] [23]
The Kendall Town Scheme was commissioned by the Jordanian government in 1966 to link East Jerusalem with the surrounding towns and villages, integrating them into a metropolitan area. This plan was not implemented, as East Jerusalem came under Israeli rule the following year.
Israeli rule
During the Six-Day War of 1967 Israel captured the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and eventually incorporated Eastern Jerusalem and its surroundings into the municipality of Jerusalem, including several neighboring villages.[24] This move, amounting to 111 km2 (43 sq mi) of West Bank territory,[25] excluded many of East Jerusalem's suburbs and divided several villages.
Under Israeli rule, members of all religions are largely granted access to their holy sites, with the Muslim Waqf maintaining control of the Temple Mount and the Muslim holy sites there. The old Moroccan Quarter in front of the Western Wall was bulldozed three days after its capture, leading to the deaths of several residents in the forced resettlement of its 135 families.[25] [26] [27] It was replaced with a large open air plaza. The Jewish Quarter, destroyed in 1948, was depopulated, rebuilt and resettled by Jews.[25]
After 2000
Israeli West Bank barrier in Jerusalem
With the stated purpose of preventing infiltration during the Second Intifada, Israel decided to surround Jerusalem's eastern perimeter with asecurity barrier. The structure has separated East Jerusalem neighborhoods from the West Bank suburbs, all of which are under the jurisdiction of Israel and the IDF. The planned route of the separation barrier has raised much criticism, with the Israeli Supreme Court ruling that certain sections of the barrier (including East Jerusalem sections) must be re-routed.
The Oslo Accords, prohibit the establishment of any activity of the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem. Under the pretext that they are part of the PA, Israel closed many Palestinian NGOs since 2001.[28]
In the 25 January 2006 Palestinian Legislative Elections, 6,300 East Jerusalem Arabs were registered and permitted to vote locally. All other residents had to travel to West Bank polling stations. Hamas won four seats and Fatah two, even though Hamas was barred by Israel from campaigning in the city. Fewer than 6,000 residents were permitted to vote locally in the prior 1996 elections.
In March 2009, a confidential "EU Heads of Mission Report on East Jerusalem" was published, in which the Israeli government was accused of "actively pursuing the illegal annexation" of East Jerusalem. The report stated: "Israeli 'facts on the ground' – including new settlements, construction of the barrier, discriminatory housing policies, house demolitions, restrictive permit regime and continued closure of Palestinian institutions – increase Jewish Israeli presence in East Jerusalem, weaken the Palestinian community in the city, impede Palestinian urban development and separate East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank."[29]
A poll conducted by Palestinian Center for Public Opinion and American Pechter Middle East Polls for the Council on Foreign Relations, among East Jerusalem Arab residents in 2011 revealed that 39% of East Jerusalem Arab residents would prefer Israeli citizenship contrary to 31% who opted for Palestinian citizenship. According to the poll, 40% of Palestinian residents would prefer to leave their neighborhoods if they would be placed under Palestinian rule.[30]
Status
Jerusalem municipal area, under Israel in 2000
Greater Jerusalem, May 2006. CIAremote sensing map showing areas they consider settlements, plus refugee camps, fences, walls, etc.
Sovereignty
East Jerusalem has been occupied by Israel since 1967 and has been illegaly annexed by Israel in 1980. On 27–28 June 1967, Eastern Jerusalem was integrated to Jerusalem by extension of its municipal borders and was placed under the law, jurisdiction and administration of the State of Israel.[12] [31] In a unanimous General Assembly resolution, the UN declared the measures trying to change the status of the city invalid.[32]
In a reply to the resolution, Israel denied these measures constituted annexation, and contended that it merely wanted to deliver services to its inhabitants and protect the Holy Places.[33] [34] [35]
There are different opinions whether or not it is also annexed in 1967 or in 1980. Some maintain that the application of Israeli laws on East Jerusalem implies annexation. However, Israel has never formally annexed East Jerusalem, or even claimed sovereignty over it.[12] Although the Israeli Supreme Court recognized that East Jerusalem had become an integral part of the State of Israel,[12] [36] it rejected in 1969 the argument that the imposition by Israel of its laws and administration on East Jerusalem was equivalent to annexation. According to lawyers, annexation of an area would automatically make its inhabitants Israeli citizens.[12] This, however, did not happen. They became permanent residents;[37] however, the many refugees who fled during the war were not allowed by Israel to return to their homes. Some lawyers have argued that Israel has sovereignty over East Jerusalem under international law, since Jordan did not have legal sovereignty over the territory, and thus Israel was entitled in an act of self-defense during theSix-Day War to "fill the vacuum".[38] However this is a minority position, and international law considers all the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) to be occupied territory[39] and call for Palestinians in the occupied territories (including East Jerusalem) to be given self-determination[40]
The international community regards East Jerusalem part of the Palestinian territories.[41]
The first Israeli president Weizmann, in 1948, claimed only Israeli sovereignty over West Jerusalem, not including the Old City.[42] Until the 1967 war, Israel accepted Jordanian rule over East Jerusalem, including the Old City. But after the occupation, Israel extended its claims. In 1988, while rejecting Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem, Jordan renounced its territorial claims to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The PLO claims Palestinian sovereignty over East Jerusalem, but has shown willingness to negotiate over sharing with Israel sovereignty over the Old City, including Israeli sovereignty over the Western Wall. The PLO's current position is that East Jerusalem, as defined by the pre-1967 municipal boundaries, shall be the capital of Palestine and West Jerusalem the capital of Israel, with each state enjoying full sovereignty over its respective part of the city and with its own municipality. A joint Israeli-Palestinian development council would be responsible for coordinated development.[43] [44]
Negotiations on "share" or "divide"
East Jerusalem, with Israeli West Bank barrier in the background
Both the Oslo Accords and the 2003 Road map for peace postponed the negotiations on the status of Jerusalem. Also during the last serious negotiations in 2008 with the Olmert government, Israel refused to talk about the Jerusalem question.[45] [46] Israeli leaders have frequently rejected, in various formulations, any possibility of negotiations questioning the status of East Jerusalem which, it is claimed, to remain part of "the eternal, united and indivisible capital of Israel",[47] a vision also expressed in the Jerusalem Law. The 1997 Beilin-Eitan Agreement between the Likud block and Labor postulated that all of Jerusalem would remain under Israeli sovereignty and the "Palestinian entity" would never have its "governing center" within Jerusalem.[48]
Israel's policy has been described as purportedly to obstruct negotiations by creating facts on the ground.[49] Numerous UN resolutions have declared null and void actions by the occupying power that change the status of Jerusalem. Examples of such actions are the imposition of Israeli laws upon East Jerusalem, the integration into the Jerusalem municipality, the barrier in Jerusalem and an active settlement policy designed to cut off East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.[50]
The only Israeli-Palestinian agreement ever, arranging equal share of sovereignty over Jerusalem was the unofficial Beilin-Abu Mazen agreement of 1995, which never became reality. The Palestinians would have sovereignty over East Jerusalem, however not without legalization of the major Israeli settlements in and around Jerusalem and a guaranteed two-thirds Israeli majority.[51] The Israeli proposals at the 2000 Camp David Summit, also envisaged inclusion of surrounding Israeli settlements, but not of Palestinian villages. There was not anymore Palestinian sovereignty within the current municipality, but some autonomy instead. The Old City would not become part of the capital of Palestine.[52] [53] [54] As the Palestine Papers revealed, Ehud Olmert's offer in 2008 was quite similar to that of Ehud Barakin 2000, although Israel offered more compensation elsewhere. Again, with almost the same map as in 2000, the largely reduced Palestinian area was embedded in the surrounding settlements annexed by Israel. The Palestinians would have sovereignty over the Arab neighbourhoods, while the question of sovereignty over the Haram al-Sharif was shifted to the future.[55] The Palestinian Authority gave away almost all of the Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem (in exchange for land elsewhere), but not Ma'ale Adumim. The Israelis were still not satisfied. They wanted, inter alia, also Ma'ale Adumim, Har Homa and the major Ariel-block;[45] and control over the Palestinian water resources, the air space and the Jordan Valley, including access routes.[53] [56]
Jerusalem as capital
Dome of the Rock in the Old City
While both Israel and Palestine declared Jerusalem their capital, the Palestinians usually refer to East Jerusalem as the capital of theState of Palestine.[57] This is consistent with the view of a shared Jerusalem, with West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and East Jerusalem within the pre-1967 municipal borders as the capital of Palestine.[43]
In 1980, the Knesset adopted the "Jerusalem Law" as a Basic Law, declaring Jerusalem "complete and united", "the capital of Israel". The law applied to both West and East Jerusalem within, among others, the expanded boundaries as defined in June 1967. While the Jerusalem Law has political and symbolic importance, it added nothing to the legal or administrative circumstance of the city.[12] Already on 23 January 1950, the Knesset had proclaimed Jerusalem capital of Israel; it refrained, however, from explicitly including East Jerusalem, which was governed by Jordan, at the time.[58] In response to the Jerusalem Law, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 478 (the U.S. abstained), declaring the law "null and void" and a violation of international law.
The Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles (Oslo I), signed 13 September 1993, deferred the settlement of the permanent status of Jerusalem to the final stages of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The possibility of a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem was considered by Israel for the first time in the Taba Summit in 2001,[59] although these negotiations ended without an agreement and this possibility has not been considered by Israel since.
To solve the oxymoron of a Palestinian capital in the "eternal, united and indivisible capital of Israel", Israeli peace proposals pushed a mere symbolic capital "East Jerusalem" confined to the outskirts of Jerusalem, outside the municipal borders, notably in Abu Dis.[60] In such solution, Israel would keep primary sovereignty, while the Palestinians would get some form of self-rule in Arab neighbourhoods. Indeed, in 1996, the Palestinians began building government offices and even a parliament in Abu Dis, being part of East Jerusalem. Then, Israel cut it off from Jerusalem by building the separation wall.[61] In the end, East Jerusalem will be completely isolated from the West Bank by the wall and a long chain of Jewish settlements.[62]
United States position
In 1990 the United States Senate adopted a resolution "acknowledging Jerusalem as Israel's capital" and stating that it "strongly believes that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city."[63] In 1991 however, United States Secretary of State James Bakerstated that the United States is "opposed to the Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem and the extension of Israeli law on it and the extension of Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries".[64] Historically, the US had viewed East Jerusalem as forming part of the West Bank, a territory under belligerent occupation.[65] However, the subsequentClinton Administration refused to characterise East Jerusalem as being under occupation and viewed it as a territory over which sovereignty was undefined.[65]Vice President Gore stated that the US viewed "united Jerusalem" as the capital of Israel. In light of this designation, the US has since abstained from Security Council resolutions which use language which construes East Jerusalem as forming part of the West Bank.[65]
In 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act which declared that Jerusalem should remain undivided and that it should be recognized as Israel's capital.[66]
Residency
Following the 1967 war, Israel conducted a census in East Jerusalem and granted permanent Israeli residency to those Arab Jerusalemites present at the time of the census. Those not present lost the right to reside in Jerusalem. JerusalemPalestinians are permitted to apply for Israeli citizenship, provided they meet the requirements for naturalization—such as swearing allegiance to Israel and renouncing all other citizenships—which most of them refuse to do. At the end of 2005, 93% of the Arab population of East Jerusalem had permanent residency and 5% had Israeli citizenship.[67]
Between 2008 and 2010, approximately 4,500 Palestinians resident in East Jerusalem applied for Israeli citizenship, of which one third were accepted, one third rejected, and one third had the decision postponed.[68]
As residents, East Jerusalemites without Israeli citizenship have the right to vote in municipal elections and play a role in the administration of the city. Residents pay taxes, and following a 1988 Israeli Supreme Court ruling, East Jerusalem residents are guaranteed the right to social security benefits and state health care. Until 1995, those who lived abroad for more than seven years or obtained residency or citizenship in another country were deemed liable to lose their residency status. In 1995, Israel began revoking permanent residency status from former Arab residents of Jerusalem who could not prove that their "center of life" was still in Jerusalem. This policy was rescinded four years later. In March 2000, the Minister of the Interior,Natan Sharansky, stated that the "quiet deportation" policy would cease, the prior policy would be restored, and Arab natives to Jerusalem would be able to regain residency[69] if they could prove that they have visited Israel at least once every three years. Since December 1995, permanent residency of more than 3,000 individuals "expired", leaving them with neither citizenship nor residency.[69] Despite changes in policy under Sharansky, in 2006 the number of former Arab Jerusalemites to lose their residency status was 1,363, a sixfold increase on the year before.[70]
Urban planning
39 percent (372,000) of Jerusalem’s 800,000 residents are Palestinian, but the municipal budget allocates only 10% of its budget to them.[71]
According to the Israeli non-governmental organization B'Tselem, since the 1990s, policies that made construction permits harder to obtain for Arab residents have caused a housing shortage that forces many of them to seek housing outside East Jerusalem.[72] East Jerusalem residents that are married to residents of the West Bank and Gaza have had to leave Jerusalem to join their husbands and wives due to the citizenship law. Many have left Jerusalem in search of work abroad, as, in the aftermath of the Second Intifada, East Jerusalem has increasingly been cut off from the West Bank and thereby has lost its main economic hub. Israeli journalist Shahar Ilan argues that this outmigration has led many Palestinians in East Jerusalem to lose their permanent residency status.[73]
According to the American Friends Service Committee and Marshall J. Breger, such restrictions on Palestinian planning and development in East Jerusalem are part of Israel's policy of promoting a Jewish majority in the city.[74] [75]
On 13 May 2007, the Israeli Cabinet began discussion regarding a proposition to expand Israel's presence in East Jerusalem and boost its economy so as to attract Jewish settlers. To facilitate more Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, the Cabinet is now considering an approximately 5.75 billion NIS plan to reduce taxes in the area, relocate a range of governmental offices, construct new courthouses, and build a new center for Jerusalem studies. Plans to construct 25,000 Jewish homes in East Jerusalem are in the development stages. As Arab residents are hard-pressed to obtain building permits to develop existing infrastructure or housing in East Jerusalem, this proposition has received much criticism.[76] [77]
According to Justus Weiner of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, the Jerusalem municipality granted the Arab sector 36,000 building permits, "more than enough to meet the needs of Arab residents through legal construction until 2020". Both Arabs and Jews "typically wait 4-6 weeks for permit approval, enjoy a similar rate of application approvals, and pay an identical fee ($3,600) for water and sewage hook-ups on the same size living unit". Weiner writes that while illegal Jewish construction typically involves additions to existing legal structures, illegal Arab construction involves the construction of entire multi-floor buildings with 4 to 25 living units, built with financial assistance from the Palestinian National Authority on land not legally owned by the builder.[78]
A European Union report of March 2010 has asserted that 93,000 East Jerusalem Palestinians, 33% of the total, are at risk of losing their homes, given Israeli building restrictions imposed on them, with only 13% of the municipal territory allowed for their housing, as opposed to 53% for Jewish settlement. It wrote further that in 2013 98 such buildings were demolished, leaving 298 people homeless, while a further 400 lost their workplace and livelihoods, and that 80% live below the poverty level. 2,000 Palestinian children, and 250 teachers in the sector must pass Israeli checkpoints to get to school each day.[71]
Jewish neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem have 30 times the number of playgrounds that Palestinian areas have. One was built for the 40,000 strong community of Sur Baher with foreign funding in 2015 after a Jerusalem court directed the municipal council to begin constructing them. It was constructed without a permit, and the Israeli authorities say the difference is due to the difficulty of finding vacant lots suitable to playgrounds in the Arab sectors.[79]
Because many residents of East Jerusalem boycott Jerusalem's mayoral elections, they are under represented in the Jerusalem City Council, and as such is another reason why such funding and permits may be under represented.
Demographics
In the 1967 census, the Israeli authorities registered 66,000 Palestinian residents (44,000 residing in the area known before the 1967 war as East Jerusalem; and 22,000, in the West Bank area annexed to Jerusalem after the war). Only a few hundred Jews were living in East Jerusalem at that time, since most Jews had been expelled in 1948 during the Jordanian occupation.[80]
By June 1993, a Jewish majority was established in East Jerusalem: 155,000 Jews were officially registered residents, as compared to 150,000 Palestinians.[81]
At the end of 2008, the population of East Jerusalem was 456,300, comprising 60% of Jerusalem's residents. Of these, 195,500 (43%) were Jews, (comprising 40% of the Jewish population of Jerusalem as a whole), and 260,800 (57%) were Arabs. Of the Arabs, 95% were Muslims, comprising 98% of the Muslim population of Jerusalem, and the remaining 5% were Christians.[82] In 2008, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reported the number of Palestinians living in East Jerusalem was 208,000 according to a recently completed census.[83]
At the end of 2008, East Jerusalem's main Arab neighborhoods included Shuafat(38,800), Beit Hanina (27,900), the Muslim Quarter of the Old City (26,300), At-Turincluding As-Sawana (24,400). East Jerusalem's main Jewish neighborhoods includeRamot (42,200), Pisgat Ze'ev (42,100), Gilo (26,900), Neve Yaakov (20,400), Ramat Shlomo (15,100) and East Talpiot (12,200). The Old City (including the already mentioned Muslim Quarter) has an Arab population of 36,681 and a Jewish population of 3,847.[84]
Healthcare
Until 1998, residents of East Jerusalem were disadvantaged in terms of healthcare service and providers. By 2012, almost every neighborhood in East Jerusalem had health clinics that included advanced medical equipment, specialized ER units, X-ray diagnostic centers and dental clinics.[85] Israel's system of healthcare entitles all Israeli citizens and East Jerusalem residents to receive free healthcare service funded by the Israeli government. In some cases, East Jerusalem residents can get free transportation to clinics, free subscriptions to health clubs or free dental care, to ensure they do not switch to a rival health care HMO provider.
According to Haaretz, the quality of healthcare centers between Israeli cities and East Jerusalem are almost equal. The health quality indices in East Jerusalem increased from a grade of 74 in 2009 to 87 in 2012, which is the same quality grade the clinics in West Jerusalem received.[85] According to ACRI, only 11.3% of the residents of East Jerusalem are treated by the welfare services. In 2006 64% of the Palestinian population lived below the population. By 2015 75.4%, and 83.9% of their children, live below the poverty line.[86]
Culture
Jerusalem was designated the Arab Capital of Culture in 2009.[87] [88] In March 2009, Israel's Internal Security Minister responded with a number of injunctions, banning scheduled cultural events in the framework of this designation in Jerusalem, Nazareth and in other parts of the Palestinian Territories. The Minister instructed Israel Police to "suppress any attempts by the PA to hold events in Jerusalem and throughout the rest of the country". The minister issued the ban on the basis that the events would be a violation of a clause in the interim agreement between Israel and the Palestinians that forbids the Palestinian Authority (PA) from organizing events in Israeli territory.[89]
On 22 June 2013, the Israeli Public Security Minister closed the El-Hakawati Theaterfor eight days, to prevent a puppet theater festival with an 18-year tradition. Israel Security Agency Shin Bet accused the Palestinian Authority of funding the child-festival, which was denied by the theater director.[90] A month later, members of Israel’s theater world held a protest.[91]
On 29 June 2013, Israel denied members of the Ramallah Orchestra from the Al Kamandjâti music school access to East Jerusalem, where they would give a concert in the French St. Anne's church. However, after they had climbed over theSeparation Wall, the concert eventually took place.[92] [93]
Economy
May 2013, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTADpublished a report detailing a thorough investigation of the East Jerusalemeconomy.[94] The report concluded that the Israeli occupation had caused the economy to shrink by half in the last 20 years compared to West Bank and Gaza Strip, which it described as "a dismal testament to the decline of the East Jerusalem economy and its growing isolation under prolonged occupation", that resulted in the economic isolation of Palestinian residents.[94] [95] It found a 77% to 25% differential in the number of households living below the poverty line in non-Jewish and Jewish households respectively, with the differential in child poverty being 84% for Palestinian children as opposed to 45% for Jewish children.[94] [95] Major problems were said to be restrictions on movement of goods and people, which Israel says are imposed for security reasons, and Israeli neglect of "dire socio-economic conditions".[94] [95] UNCTAD said "the Israeli government could go much further in meeting its obligations as an occupying power by acting with vigour to improve the economic conditions in East Jerusalem and the well-being of its Palestinian residents".[94] [95] The Palestinians' governor of Jerusalem said "some relaxation of the political situation" was required for the economy to improve.[94]
Other
East Jerusalem residents are increasingly becoming integrated into Israeli society. Trends among East Jerusalem residents have shown: increasing numbers of applications for an Israeli ID card; more high school students taking the Israeli matriculation exams; greater numbers enrolling in Israeli academic institutions; a decline in the birthrate; more requests for building permits; a rising number of East Jerusalem youth volunteering for national service; a higher level of satisfaction according to polls of residents; increased Israeli health services; and a survey showing that in a final agreement more East Jerusalem Palestinians would prefer to remain under Israeli rule.[85]
According to the Israeli Education Ministry, the number of East Jerusalem high school students who took Israeli matriculation exams rose from 5,240 in 2008 to 6,022 in 2011. There are 10 schools in East Jerusalem that specialize in preparing East Jerusalem students for Israeli universities and colleges; one of the biggest schools is the Anta Ma’ana (“You are with us”) Institute on Al-Zahara Street.[85]
East Jerusalem has a shortage of schools for Palestinian children. In 2012, the classroom shortage was reportedly 1,100, due to what Haaretz described as "years of intentional neglect of East Jerusalem schools, which serve the Arab population by the Education Ministry and the city". A relatively high dropout rate of schoolchildren is found in the Arab sector, even 40% among 12th graders in 2011.[96]
Education
The new building is Schmidt's Girls College
Schools in East Jerusalem include:
Mayors
See also
Notes
  1. Leila Farsakh, Palestinian Labour Migration to Israel: Labour, Land and Occupation, Routledge 2005 p. 9: "Israeli and Palestinian sources differ in their definition of East Jerusalem."
  2. Shlomo Hasson, 'A Master Plan for Jerusalem: Stage One – the Survey,' in Moshe Maʻoz, Sari Nusseibeh (eds.), Jerusalem: Points Beyond Friction, and Beyond, Kluwer Law International, pp. 15-24.
  3. Sharon Korman, The Right of Conquest: The Acquisition of Territory by Force in International Law and Practice, Oxford University Press, 1996 p. 251:"Both states treated the respective sectors of Jerusalem under their effective control as forming an integral part of their state territory between 1948 and 1967, and each recognized the other's de facto control in their respective sectors by the signature of the 1949 Jordan-Israel General Armistice Agreement."
  4. "Statements of the Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion Regarding Moving the Capital of Israel to Jerusalem".
  5. Menachem Klein, Jerusalem: The Contested City, 2001, Hurst & Co. Publishers, p. 51.
  6. Sharon Korman, The Right of Conquest: The Acquisition of Territory by Force in International Law and Practice, Oxford University Press, 1996 p. 251, n. 5.
  7. Ian S. Lustick, "Has Israel Annexed East Jerusalem?", Middle East Policy, Vol. V, No. 1, pp. 34-45, January 1997; accessed 25 November 2014.
  8. "Arafat Signs Law Making Jerusalem Palestinian Capital", People's Daily, published 6 October 2002
  9. Arafat names Jerusalem as capital, BBC News, published 6 October 2002.
  10. Sharon Korman, The Right of Conquest: The Acquisition of Territory by Force in International Law and Practice, Oxford University Press, 1996 p. 254.
  11. Tobias Kelly, "Laws of Suspicion: Legal Status, Space and the Impossibility of Separation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank", Franz von Benda-Beckmann, Keebet von Benda-Beckmann, Julia M. Eckert (eds.) Rules of Law and Laws of Ruling: On the Governance of Law, Ashgate Publishing 2009, pp. 83-99
  12. Ian Lustick, "Has Israel Annexed East Jerusalem?", Middle East Policy, Volume V, January 1997, Number 1, pp. 34–45 (on web.archive.org). PDF; accessed 25 November 2014.
  13. Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel, knesset.gov.il; accessed 25 November 2014.
  14. Menachem Klein (2001). Jerusalem: the contested city. NYU Press. p. 6.ISBN 978-0-8147-4754-4. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  15. Yvonne Schmidt (May 2008). Foundations of Civil and Political Rights in Israel and the Occupied Territories. GRIN Verlag. p. 340. ISBN 978-3-638-94450-2. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  16. Israeli, Raphael. Jerusalem Divided: the armistice regime, 1947-1967, Routledge, 2002, p. 118.
  17. Narkiss, Bezalel (1988). The real and ideal Jerusalem in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic art. Center for Jewish Art, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. p. 247.ISBN 965-391-007-8.
  18. Mike Evans (1997). Jerusalem Betrayed. Thomas Nelson, Inc. ISBN 978-0-8499-4002-6. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  19. Goodman, Arnold (2003). A Plain Pine Box: A Return to Simple Jewish Funerals and Eternal Traditions. KTAV. ISBN 0-88125-787-7.
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  21. Hirsch, Moshe; Lapidoth, Ruth Eschelbacher (1994). The Jerusalem Question and Its Resolution: Selected Documents. The Hague: M. Nijhoff. p. 160. ISBN 0-7923-2893-0. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  22. Martin Gilbert, Jerusalem in the Twentieth Century (Pilmico 1996), p. 254.
  23. "Israel & the Palestinians: Key Maps". British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved28 May 2007.
  24. Joost R. Hiltermann. "Teddy Kollek and the Native Question". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on December 1, 1998. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  25. The Moroccan Quarter: A History of the Present, Jerusalem Quarterly (Winter 2000/7), Institute of Jerusalem Studies, Appendix I (retrieved 31 March 2010)
  26. "ארגון הקבלנים והבונים בירושלים". Kbj.org.il. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  27. Najat Hirbawi and David Helfand, Palestinian Institutions in Jerusalem, Palestine-Israel Journal, Vol. 17 No. 12 2011 (JERUSALEM, In the Eye of the Storm)
  28. Rory McCarthy (7 March 2009). "Israel annexing East Jerusalem, says EU". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
  29. Yitzhak Benhorin (13 January 2011). "Jerusalem Arabs prefer Israel; US poll: 39% of east Jerusalem Arabs prefer to live under Israeli sovereignty; 30% didn't answer". Ynetnews.com. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  30. Law and Administration Ordinance (Amendment No. 11) Law, 5727-1967 and Municipalities Ordinance (Amendment No. 6) Law, 5727-1967 of 27 June 1967; and "The Jerusalem Declaration" (extension of the boundaries of the municipal corporation), 1967 of 28 June 1967.
  31. General Assembly Resolution 2253, 4 July 1967
  32. The letter, delivered to the U.N. Secretary General on July 10, stated: "The term "annexation" used by supporters of the General Assembly's resolution of 4 July was out of place since [...] the measures adopted related to the integration of Jerusalem in the administrative and municipal spheres and furnished a legal basis for the protection of the Holy Places".
  33. Yearbook of the United Nations 1967, Chapter 1.1.IX, pg. 216, unyearbook.un.org; accessed 25 November 2014.
  34. unispal, domino.un.org; accessed 24 November 2014.
  35. Ruth Lapidoth, Justice No. 3, Autumn 1994, pp. 7-14; International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists; Jerusalem: The Legal and Political Background (see p. 10). On the Israeli Government webpage: [1]
  36. "Surge in East Jerusalem Palestinians losing residency". news.bbc.co.uk. 2 December 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  37. Lacey, Ian, ed. International Law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict – Extracts from Israel and Palestine – Assault on the Law of Nations by Julius Stone, Second Edition with additional material and commentary updated to 2003, AIJACwebsite; retrieved 11 December 2011. See also Yehuda Z. Blum, The Juridical status of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, The Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations, 1974); id., "The missing Reversioner: Reflections on the Status of Judea and Samaria", 3 The Israel Law Review (1968), pp. 279–301.
  38. "United Nations News Centre – UN deplores Israeli approval of more settlements in West Bank". Un.org. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  39. "Palestine-Israel Journal: Settlements and the Palestinian Right to Self-Determination". Pij.org. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  40. UNGA, 29 November 2012; Resolution 67/19. Status of Palestine in the United Nations (doc.nr. A/RES/67/19); accessed 25 November 2014.
  41. 3. Israel Claims Jerusalem, Address by President Weizmann in Jerusalem, mfa.gov.il, 1 December 1948 (see the last part of the article); accessed 25 November 2014.
  42. PLO-NAD, June 2010, Jerusalem Non-Paper on Statements and Speeches, nad-plo.org; accessed 25 November 2014.
  43. PLO-Negotiations Affairs Department (NAD), August 2013, East Jerusalem today – Palestine's Capital: The 1967 border in Jerusalem and Israel's illegal policies on the ground, nad-plo.org; accessed 25 November 2014, pg. 5
  44. "The biggest Yerushalayim", Al Jazeera − Palestine Papers, aljazeera.com, 23 January 2011; accessed 25 November 2014.
  45. Al Jazeera − Palestine Papers, Letter from Qurei to Rice Re: Annapolis Negotiations (Final), 15 June 2008, pp. 3–4. Onhttp://transparency.aljazeera.net/en/projects/thepalestinepapers/201218232924546615.html
  46. Menachem Begin, 1978; Ehud Olmert, 1993; Ehud Barak, 2000; Ehud Olmert, 2006; Sharon, 2006;Benjamin Netanyahu, 2009. Also American president candidate Barack Obama supported the claim at AIPAC in 2008. Obama, 2008
  47. Knesset website, Beilin-Eitan Agreement: National Agreement Regarding the Negotiations on the Permanent Settlement with the Palestinians
  48. Khaled abu Toameh, "PA: Israeli gov't seeking to create facts on the ground", jpost.com, 11 August 2011; accessed 25 November 2014.
  49. UNGA, 30 November 2011, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly, 66/18. Jerusalem (doc.nr. A/RES/66/18 d.d. 26 January 2012), unispal.un.org; accessed 25 November 2014.
  50. JewishVirtualLibrary, The Beilin-Abu Mazen Document
  51. JewishVirtualLibrary, July 2000, The proposed division of Jerusalem
  52. Camp David Peace Proposal of July 2000, Also the maps here, nad-plo.org, 1 July 2000.
  53. Abu Mazen's speech at the meeting of the PLO's Palestinian Central Council, 9 September 2000; accessed 25 November 2014.
  54. The "napkin map" revealed The maps: [2], Al Jazeera – Palestine Papers; accessed 25 November 2014.
  55. Al Jazeera − Palestine Papers,Demanding a demilitarized state, aljazeera.com, 25 January 2011; accessed 25 November 2014.
  56. "On international day of solidarity with Palestinians, Secretary-General heralds Annapolis as new beginning in efforts to achieve two-state solution" (Press release). United Nations, Department of Public Information, News and Media Division. 29 November 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
  57. Ruth Lapidoth & Moshe Hirsch, The Jerusalem Question and Its Resolution: Selected Documents, p. 105. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1994;Knesset Proclaims Jerusalem As Israel's Capital; Mapam and Herut Abstain from Voting, jta.org,Tucson Daily Citizen Tuesday, 24 January 1950; accessed 25 November 2014.
  58. "The Moratinos' "Non-Paper" on Taba negotiations". 27 January 2001.
  59. Akram Hanieh, The Camp David Papers, pp. 86-87; on www.palestine-studies.com. Journal of Palestine Studies XXX, no. 2 (Winter 2001). Another version is published here (see p. 20)
  60. Arnon Regular, PA institutions in Abu Dis cut off from East Jerusalem. Haaretz, 19 January 2004.
  61. Aluf Benn, "U.S. warns Israel: Don't build up West Bank corridor", Haaretz, 24 July 2009; accessed 25 November 2014.
  62. "S.Con.Res.106 for the 101st Congress". Retrieved 4 July 2007.
  63. James Baker's Letter of Assurance to the Palestinians, 18 October 1991
  64. Stephen Bowen (1997). Human rights, self-determination and political change in the occupied Palestinian territories. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 39–40.ISBN 978-90-411-0502-8. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  65. "Congress Jerusalem Embassy Act" (PDF).
  66. "Selected Statistics on Jerusalem Day 2007 (Hebrew)". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 14 May 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  67. Nir Hasson (22 April 2013). "More East Jerusalem Palestinians seeking Israeli citizenship, report shows". Haaretz. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  68. "B'Tselem – Revocation of Residency in East Jerusalem". Btselem.org. Retrieved26 March 2013.
  69. "A capital question". The Economist. 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  70. Amira Hass, "EU diplomats warn of regional conflagration over Temple Mount",Haaretz, 28 March 2014.
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  78. 'East Jerusalem community inaugurates first ever playground,' The Times of Israel 11 February 2016.
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References
  • Bovis, H. Eugene (1971). The Jerusalem Question, 1917–1968. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press. ISBN 0-8179-3291-7.
  • Bregman, Ahron (2002). Israel's Wars: A History Since 1947. London: Routledge;ISBN 0-415-28716-2
  • Cohen, Shaul Ephraim (1993). The Politics of Planting: Israeli-Palestinian Competition for Control of Land in the Jerusalem Periphery. University of Chicago Press; ISBN 0-226-11276-4.
  • Crisis Group, Extreme Makeover? (I): Israel’s Politics of Land and Faith in East Jerusalem, December 2012 [3]
  • Crisis Group, Extreme Makeover? (II): The Withering of Arab Jerusalem, December 2012 [4]
  • Ghanem, As'ad (2001). The Palestinian-Arab Minority in Israel, 1948–2000: A Political Study. SUNY Press; ISBN 0-7914-4997-1.
  • Israeli, Raphael (2002). Jerusalem Divided: the armistice regime, 1947–1967, Routledge, p. 118; ISBN 0-7146-5266-0.
  • Rubenberg, Cheryl A. (2003). The Palestinians: In Search of a Just Peace. Lynne Rienner Publishers; ISBN 1-58826-225-1.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to East Jerusalem.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for East Jerusalem.

Jordanian occupation of the West Bank 
Jordanian occupation of the West Bank refers to the occupation and annexation of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) by Jordan (formerly Transjordan), during a period of nearly two decades (1948–1967) in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.[1] [2] During the war, Jordan's Arab Legion, conquered the Old City of Jerusalem and took control of territory on the western side of the Jordan River, including the cities of Jericho, Bethlehem, Hebron and Nablus.[3] At the end of hostilities, Jordan was in complete control of the West Bank.
Jordan formally annexed the West Bank on 24 April 1950. The annexation was regarded as illegal and void by the Arab League and others. It was recognized by the United Kingdom, Iraq and Pakistan.[4] [5] [6] The annexation of the West Bank more than doubled the population of Jordan.[3]
History
1948 Arab–Israeli War
On 14 May 1948, David Ben-Gurion, on behalf of the Jewish leadership, "declared the establishment of a Jewish state in British Palestine, to be known as the State of Israel".[7] The Jordanian Arab Legion, under the leadership of Sir John Bagot Glubb, known as Glubb Pasha, was ordered to enter Palestine, secure the UN designated Arab area, and then enter the Jerusalem corpus separatum as defined by the UN Partition Plan.
On 22 September 1948, the All-Palestine Government was established in Gaza captured by Egypt. On 30 September, the First Palestine Congress, which saw Palestine as part of Syria, denounced the Gaza "government."[8] The December 1948Jericho Conference, a meeting of prominent Palestinian leaders and King Abdullah, voted in favor of annexation into what was then Transjordan.[9]
By the end of the war, Jordanian forces had control over the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. On 3 April 1949, Israel and Jordan signed an armistice agreement. The main points included:
  • Jordanian forces remained in most positions they held in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Old City.
  • Jordan withdrew its forces from its front posts overlooking the Sharon plain. In return, Israel agreed to allow Jordanian forces to take over positions in the West Bank previously held by Iraqi forces.
  • A Special Committee was to be formed to make arrangements for safe movement of traffic between Jerusalem and Mount Scopus campus of theHebrew University of Jerusalem, along the Latrun-Jerusalem Highway, free access to the Holy Places, and other matters. The committee was never formed, and access to the Holy Places was denied to Israelis throughout the Jordanian occupation.
The remainder of the area designated as part of an Arab state under the UN Partition Plan was partly occupied by Egypt (Gaza Strip), partly occupied and annexed by Israel (West Negev, West Galilee, Jaffa). The intended international enclave of Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan. The Jordanians immediately expelled all the Jewish residents of East Jerusalem.[10] All but one of the 35 synagogues in the Old City were destroyed over the course of the next 19 years, either razed or used as stables and chicken coops. Many other historic and religiously significant buildings were replaced by modern structures.[11] [12] The ancient Jewish cemetery on Mount of Olives was desecrated, and the tombstones were used for construction, paving roads and lining latrines; the highway to the Intercontinental Hotel was built on top of the site.[13]
Annexation
In March 1948, the British Cabinet had agreed that the civil and military authorities in Palestine should make no effort to oppose the setting up of a Jewish State or a move into Palestine from Transjordan.[14]
The United States, together with the United Kingdom favored the annexation by Transjordan. The UK preferred to permit King Abdullah to annex the territory at the earliest date, while the United States preferred to wait until after the conclusion of the Palestine Conciliation Commission brokered negotiations.[15]
Jordan formally annexed the West Bank on 24 April 1950, giving all residents automatic Jordanian citizenship. West Bank residents had already received the right to claim Jordanian citizenship in December 1949.
Jordan's annexation was widely regarded as illegal and void by the Arab Leagueand others. Elihu Lauterpacht described it as a move that "entirely lacked legal justification."[16] The annexation formed part of Jordan’s "Greater Syria Plan" expansionist policy,[17] and in response, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Syria joined Egypt in demanding Jordan’s expulsion from the Arab League.[18] [19] A motion to expel Jordan from the League was prevented by the dissenting votes of Yemen and Iraq.[20] On 12 June 1950, the Arab League declared the annexation was a temporary, practical measure and that Jordan was holding the territory as a “trustee” pending a future settlement.[21] [22] On 27 July 1953, King Hussein of Jordan announced thatEast Jerusalem was "the alternative capital of the Hashemite Kingdom" and would form an "integral and inseparable part" of Jordan.[23] In an address to parliament in Jerusalem in 1960, Hussein called the city the "second capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan".[24]
Only the United Kingdom formally recognized the annexation of the West Bank, de facto in the case of East Jerusalem.[25] The United States Department of State also recognized this extension of Jordanian sovereignty.[26] [27] Pakistan is often claimed to have recognized Jordan's annexation too, but this is dubious.[28] [29]
In 1950, the British extended formal recognition to the union between the Hashemite Kingdom and that part of Palestine under Jordanian occupation and control - with the exception of Jerusalem. The British government stated that it regarded the provisions of the Anglo-Jordan Treaty of Alliance of 1948 as applicable to all the territory included in the union.[30] Despite Arab League opposition, the inhabitants of the West Bank became citizens of Jordan.
Tensions continued between Jordan and Israel through the early 1950s, with Palestinian guerrillas and Israeli commandos crossing the Green Line. Abdullah I of Jordan, who had become Emir of Transjordan in 1921 and King in 1923, was assassinated in 1951 during a visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in East Jerusalem by a Palestinian gunman following rumours that he was discussing a peace treaty with Israel. The trial found that this assassination had been planned by Colonel Abdullah el-Tell, ex-military governor of Jerusalem, and Musa Abdullah Husseini. He was succeeded by his grandson King Hussein of Jordan once he came of age in 1953, after his father Talal's brief reign.
Jordanian occupation
Unlike any other Arab country to which they fled after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Palestinian refugees in the West Bank (and on the East Bank) were given Jordanian citizenship on the same basis as existing residents.[31] However, many of the refugees continued to live in camps and relied on UNRWA assistance for sustenance. Palestinian refugees constituted more than a third of the kingdom's population of 1.5 million.
In the Jordanian parliament, the West and East Banks received 30 seats each, having roughly equal populations. The first elections were held on 11 April 1950. Although the West Bank had not yet been annexed, its residents were permitted to vote. The last Jordanian elections in which West Bank residents would vote were those of April 1967, but their parliamentary representatives would continue in office until 1988, when West Bank seats were finally abolished.
Agriculture remained the primary activity of the territory. The West Bank, despite its smaller area, contained half of Jordan's agricultural land. In 1966, 43% of the labor force of 55,000 worked in agriculture, and 2,300 km² were under cultivation. (Numbers that have fallen considerably since.) In 1965, 15,000 workers were employed in industry, producing 7% of the GNP. This number fell after the 1967 war, and would not be surpassed until 1983.[32] The tourism industry also played an important role. 26 branches of 8 Arab banks were present. The Jordanian dinarbecame legal tender, and remains so there today.
There was a significant flow of population from the West Bank to East Bank, in particular to the capital, Amman.
Access to holy sites
Jordan had obligated itself within the framework of the 3 April 1949 Armistice Agreements to allow "free access to the holy sites and cultural institutions and use of the cemeteries on the Mount of Olives." Christian pilgrims were allowed to visit the Temple Mount, but Jews of all countries and non-Jewish Israelis were barred from entering Jordan and therefore could not travel to the area.[33] Tourists entering East Jerusalem had to present baptismal certificates or other proof they were not Jewish.[34] [35]
The special committee that was to make arrangements for visits to holy places was never formed and Israelis, irrespective of religion, were barred from entering the Old City and other holy sites.[36] The Jewish Quarter and its ancient synagogues were systematically destroyed such as the Hurva Synagogue[37] [38] and gravestones from the Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives were used to build latrines for Jordanian army barracks.[39] [40]
Six-Day War
By the end of the Six-Day War, the formerly Jordanian-controlled West Bank with its one million Palestinian population had come under Israeli military occupation. About300,000 Palestinian refugees fled to Jordan. After 1967, all religious groups were granted administration over their own holy sites, while administration of the Temple Mount—sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims—remained in the hands of theJerusalem Islamic Waqf which had held the responsibility for the previous 800 years.
Aftermath
On 31 July 1988, Jordan renounced its claims to the West Bank (with the exception of guardianship over the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem), and recognized thePalestine Liberation Organization as "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."[41] [42]
The 1993 Oslo Accords between the PLO and Israel "opened the road for Jordan to proceed on its own negotiating track with Israel."[43] The Washington Declaration[44]was initialed one day after the Oslo Accords were signed. "On July 25, 1994, King Hussein met with Israeli Prime Minister Rabin in the Rose Garden of the White House, where they signed the Washington Declaration, formally ending the 46-year state of war between Jordan and Israel."[43] Finally, on 26 October 1994, Jordan signed the Israel–Jordan peace treaty, which normalized relations between the two countries and resolved territorial disputes between them.
Gallery
See also
Notes
  1. East Jerusalem was annexed to Israel via Jerusalem Law but Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is regarded as illegal by the International Community..
References
  1. Raphael Israeli, Jerusalem divided: the armistice regime, 1947-1967, Volume 23 of Cass series--Israeli history, politics, and society, Psychology Press, 2002, p. 23.
  2. "Under Jordanian occupation since the 1948 Palestine war," Chicago Tribune, 3 June 1954
  3. Drozdiak, William. "Jordan Formally Annexes the West Bank". Highbeam.com. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  4. Benveniśtî, Eyāl (2004). The international law of occupation. Princeton University Press. p. 108. ISBN 0-691-12130-3. This purported annexation was, however, widely regarded as illegal and void, by the Arab League and others, and was recognized only by Britain, Iraq, and Pakistan.
  5. Yoram Dinstein; Mala Tabory (1 September 1994). Israel Yearbook on Human Rights: 1993. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-7923-2581-9. Retrieved 21 December 2010. Israel considers Jordan’s annexation of the West Bank, recognised only by Great Britain and Pakistan, to have been illegal.
  6. George Washington University. Law School (2005). The George Washington international law review. George Washington University. p. 390. Retrieved 21 December 2010. Jordan's illegal occupation and Annexation of the West Bank
  7. "Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Declaration of Establishment of State of Israel: 14 May 1948: Retrieved 8 April 2012". Mfa.gov.il. 14 May 1948. Retrieved 20 April2014.
  8. Identity and civilization: Essays on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. University Press of America. 1999. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  9. "FRUS, US State Department Report". Digicoll.library.wisc.edu. Retrieved 20 April2014.
  10. Michael J. Totten. "Between the Green Line and the Blue Line". City-journal.org. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  11. "Letter from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations Addressed to the Secretary-General". Unispal.un.org. 5 March 1968.
  12. Mark A. Tessler. (1994). A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Indiana University Press. p. 329. Retrieved 23 April 2015. Jordan's illegal occupation and Annexation of the West Bank
  13. Shragai, Nadav. "The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem: Why Continued Israeli Control Is Vital". Jcpa.org. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  14. CAB/128/12 formerly C.M.(48) 24 conclusions 22 March 1948
  15. Foreign relations of the United States, 1950. The Near East, South Asia, and Africa, Page 1096
  16. Eli E. Hertz (April 2005). Reply. Myths and Facts, Inc. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-9741804-0-3. Retrieved 21 December 2010. Thus Jordan’s occupation of the Old City, and indeed of the whole of the area west of the Jordan, entirely lacked legal justification.
  17. Naseer Hasan Aruri (1972). Jordan: a study in political development (1921-1965).Springer. p. 90. ISBN 978-90-247-1217-5. Retrieved 22 December 2010. For Abdullah, the annexation of Palestine was the first step in the implementation of his Greater Syria Plan. His expansionist policy placed him at odds with Egypt and Saudi Arabic. Syria and Lebanon, which would be included in the Plan were uneasy. The annexation of Palestine was, therefore, condemned by the Arab League’s Political Committee on May 15, 1950.
  18. American Jewish Committee; Jewish Publication Society of America (1951).American Jewish year book. American Jewish Committee. pp. 405–6. Retrieved21 December 2010. On April 13, 1950, the council of the League resolved that Jordan's annexation of Arab Palestine was illegal, and at a meeting of the League's political committee on May 15, 1950, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Syria joined Egypt in demanding Jordan’s expulsion from the Arab League.
  19. Council for Middle Eastern Affairs (1950). Middle Eastern affairs. Council for Middle Eastern Affairs. p. 206. Retrieved 21 December 2010. May 12: Jordan's Foreign Minister walks out of the Political Committee during the discussion of Jordan's annexation of Arab Palestine. May 15: The Political Committee agrees that Jordan's annexation of Arab Palestine was illegal and violated the Arab League resolution of Apr. 12, 1948. A meeting is called for June 12 to decide whether to expel Jordan or take punitive action against her.
  20. Naseer Hasan Aruri (1972). Jordan: a study in political development (1921-1965).Springer. p. 90. ISBN 978-90-247-1217-5. Retrieved 22 December 2010. The annexation of Palestine was, therefore, condemned by the Arab League's Political Committee on May 15, 1950. A motion to expel Jordan from the League was prevented by the dissenting votes of Yemen and Iraq
  21. Sicker, Martin (2001). The Middle East in the twentieth century. Greenwood. p. 187. ISBN 0-275-96893-6.
  22. El-Hasan, Hasan Afif (2010). Is the Two-State Solution Already Dead?. Algora. p. 64. ISBN 0-87586-792-8.
  23. Martin Gilbert (12 September 1996). Jerusalem in the twentieth century. J. Wiley & Sons. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-471-16308-4. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  24. Tamar Mayer; Suleiman Ali Mourad (2008). Jerusalem: idea and reality. Taylor & Francis. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-415-42128-7. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  25. Announcement in the UK House of Commons of the recognition of the State of Israel and also of the annexation of the West Bank by the State of Jordan. Commons Debates (Hansard) 5th series, Vol 474, pp1137-1141. April 27, 1950.
  26. United States Department of State / Foreign relations of the United States, 1950. The Near East, South Asia, and Africa pg. 921
  27. Joseph Massad said that the members of the Arab League granted de facto recognition and that the United States had formally recognized the annexation, except for Jerusalem. See Massad, Joseph A. (2001). Colonial Effects: The Making of National Identity in Jordan. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 229. ISBN 0-231-12323-X.
  28. Silverburg, S. R. (1983). "Pakistan and the West Bank: A research note". Middle Eastern Studies 19 (2): 261–263. doi:10.1080/00263208308700547.
  29. P. R. Kumaraswamy (March 2000). "Beyond the Veil: Israel-Pakistan Relations"(PDF). Tel Aviv, Israel: Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv University.
  30. See JORDAN AND ISRAEL (GOVERNMENT DECISION) HC Deb 27 April 1950 vol 474 cc1137-41
  31. Al Abed, Oroub. "Palestinian refugees in Jordan" (PDF). Forced Migration Online. Retrieved 6 July 2015. Palestinians were granted Jordanian Citizenship. Article 3 of the 1954 law states that a Jordanian national is: ‘Any person with previous Palestinian nationality except the Jews before the date of May 15, 1948 residing in the Kingdom during the period from December 20, 1949 and February 16, 1954.’ Thus Palestinians in the East Bank and the West Bank of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan were granted Jordanian nationality.
  32. Paul H. Smith (July 1993). "Assessing the Viability of a Palestinian State". Defense Intelligence College.
  33. Friedland, Roger; Hecht, Richard (2000). To Rule Jerusalem. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 39. ISBN 0-520-22092-7.
  34. Thomas A Idinopulos, Jerusalem, 1994, p. 300, "So severe were the Jordanian restrictions against Jews gaining access to the old city that visitors wishing to cross over from west Jerusalem...had to produce a baptismal certificate."
  35. Armstrong, Karen, Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths, 1997, "Only clergy, diplomats, UN personnel, and a few privileged tourists were permitted to go from one side to the other. The Jordanians required most tourists to produce baptismal certificates — to prove they were not Jewish ... ."
  36. Martin Gilbert (1996). 'Jerusalem in the Twentieth Century. Pimlico. p. 254.
  37. Collins (1973), pp. 492–494.
  38. Benny Morris (1 October 2008). 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War. Yale University Press. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-300-14524-3. Retrieved 14 July 2013. On 26–27 May, the Legionnaires took the Hurvat Israel (or “Hurva”) Synagogue, the quarter’s largest and most sacred building, and then, without reason, blew it up. “This affair will rankle for generations in the heart of world Jewry,” predicted one Foreign Office official. The destruction of the synagogue shook Jewish morale.
  39. "Jordan's Desecration of Jerusalem: Table of Contents". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  40. Oren, M. (2003). Six Days of War. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 307. ISBN 0-345-46192-4.
  41. King Hussein (31 July 1988). "Address to the Nation".
  42. Shaul Cohen (2007). West Bank. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 1 November 2009.
  43. "Jordan - History - The Madrid Peace Process". The Royal Hashemite Court.
  44. "The Washington Declaration". The Royal Hashemite Court.
Further reading
  • Morris, B. (1999) Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-1999, Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-679-42120-3
  • Morris, B. (2003). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-00967-7
External links
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