East Jerusalem facts for kids
East Jerusalem (Arabic: القدس الشرقية, al-Quds ash-Sharqiya; Hebrew: מִזְרַח יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, Mizraḥ Yerushalayim) is the part of Jerusalem that was controlled by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. This is different from West Jerusalem, which was controlled by Israel. Many countries see East Jerusalem as part of the West Bank and Palestinian territories. They consider it to be under Israeli occupation. Some countries, like Brazil, China, and Russia, recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine. Others, like Australia and France, say it "will be the capital of Palestine" and call it an occupied territory.
In 2020, about 595,000 people lived in East Jerusalem. About 361,700 (61%) were Palestinian Arabs, and 234,000 (39%) were Jewish settlers. Many countries and international groups believe that Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem are against international law.
The UN plan in 1947 imagined Jerusalem as a special international city. But after the Israel declared independence, the 1948 war divided the city. The western part came under Israeli control. The eastern part, which includes the famous Old City, came under Jordanian control. Israel took control of East Jerusalem during the Six-Day War in 1967. Since then, Israel has controlled the entire city. In 1980, the Jerusalem Law said that a united Jerusalem was Israel's capital. This made Israel's control over East Jerusalem more official.
Palestinians and many in the international community believe East Jerusalem should be the future capital of the State of Palestine. The status of Jerusalem is one of the hardest issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. There are different claims about who should control the city and who should have access to its holy sites.
Israel and Palestine have different ideas about what "East Jerusalem" means. After the 1967 war, Jerusalem's city limits were made much larger. This included several West Bank villages that are now considered neighborhoods of Jerusalem. It also included new neighborhoods built since then. The international community sees these new neighborhoods as illegal settlements. However, the Israeli government disagrees.
East Jerusalem includes the Old City, which has many important religious sites for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These include the Temple Mount / Al-Aqsa, the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Arab residents of East Jerusalem are becoming more involved in Israeli society, including in education and other areas.
Contents
What's in a Name?
On June 27, 1967, Israel expanded the city limits of West Jerusalem. This new area, called East Jerusalem, included the part Jordan controlled (about 6 square kilometers) and 28 villages from the West Bank.
The term East Jerusalem is common in English. Arab officials often use Arab Jerusalem to show that most people there are Arabic-speaking Palestinians. Israelis call it East Jerusalem because it is in the eastern part of the larger city.
A Look Back in Time
Ancient Times
People have lived in the East Jerusalem area since about 5,000 BCE. Tombs from around 3,200 BCE show early settlements. Later, people settled around the City of David because it was close to the Gihon Spring. Ancient people built huge structures, including a water channel through rock and a strong citadel wall.
British Rule (1934-1948)
In 1934, the British rulers divided Jerusalem into 12 areas for elections. Some people thought this division was made to give Palestinians a majority on the city council. However, others say the borders were drawn to include more Jewish neighborhoods in the west. To the east, the city border stopped at the Old City walls, leaving out Arab neighborhoods like Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah. By 1947, most people in the wider Jerusalem district were Palestinian Arabs. But within the British city limits, Jews were the majority, with 99,000 Jews to 65,100 Arabs.
1948 War and Its Impact
Jerusalem has many holy places. Most of them are in the eastern part of the city. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, many churches, mosques, and synagogues in Jerusalem were damaged. After the war, the city was divided. The western part came under Israeli control. The eastern part, where most people were Muslim and Christian Palestinians, came under Jordanian control.
Fighting in the Jewish Quarter was very intense, leaving it in ruins. Many synagogues and schools were destroyed. The Jordanian army reportedly blew up the Hurva Synagogue. During the war, thousands of Jews left the city. After the fighting, about 1,300 Jews were moved from the Old Quarter to the western part of the city. The only eastern area that stayed under Israeli control was Mount Scopus, where the Hebrew University is. Many Palestinians also left or were forced out of western Jerusalem neighborhoods and sought safety in the Old City.
East Jerusalem took in thousands of Palestinian refugees. Many of them were middle-class people from Arab neighborhoods in West Jerusalem. By 1952, East Jerusalem had about 46,700 Arab residents.
Under Jordanian Rule (1948-1967)
The 1947 UN plan wanted Jerusalem to be an international city. It was not meant to be part of either the proposed Jewish or Arab states. But during the 1948 war, Israel captured West Jerusalem, and Jordan captured East Jerusalem, including the Old City. After the war ended in 1949, Israel declared Jerusalem its capital in 1950. Jordan also made East Jerusalem part of its kingdom in 1950. The United Kingdom recognized Jordan's control but not its claim of full ownership over East Jerusalem. The United States also did not recognize either Israel's or Jordan's full claims over Jerusalem.
Jordan expanded the city limits of East Jerusalem to include nearby villages. This was partly to help house the Palestinian refugees. Jordan made East Jerusalem its "second capital" in 1953.
Jordan generally kept the existing rules for holy sites in East Jerusalem. When the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was damaged by fire in 1949, repairs were delayed for ten years. This was because different Christian groups had to agree on the plans, with Jordan helping to mediate.
In the early 1960s, Jordan allowed the Intercontinental Hotel to be built on the Mount of Olives. Some gravestones in the Jewish cemetery there were damaged during road construction for the hotel. Opinions differ on how much damage occurred.
Tourism in Palestine was not very developed. After Jerusalem was divided in 1948, political issues made it hard for tourism to grow. East Jerusalem saw some people leave, like merchants moving to Amman. But it remained important for religious reasons. In the 1960s, tourism improved, and more pilgrims visited the holy sites. However, Jewish and Muslim Israelis were not allowed to visit their holy sites in East Jerusalem.
After the 1967 War
After the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel took control of East Jerusalem and the entire West Bank. Soon after, East Jerusalem was joined with West Jerusalem, along with some nearby West Bank villages. In November 1967, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 called for Israel to leave the territories it had occupied in exchange for peace. In 1980, the Knesset (Israel's parliament) passed the Jerusalem Law. This law declared that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel." This was seen by many as an act of making East Jerusalem officially part of Israel. However, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 declared this law "null and void."
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) declared in 1988 that Jerusalem was the capital of the State of Palestine. In 2000, the Palestinian Authority passed a law saying Jerusalem was its capital. Since then, Israel has closed PLO offices and related groups in East Jerusalem. Israel says the Oslo Accords do not allow the Palestinian National Authority to operate in Jerusalem. In 2017, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) recognized East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine.
How East Jerusalem is Managed
On June 28, 1967, Israel applied its laws and administration to East Jerusalem. This meant it was included in the municipality of West Jerusalem. Israel said this was to provide equal services to all residents. However, the United Nations Security Council criticized this move and declared it "null and void." The international community still sees East Jerusalem as occupied territory.
After 1967, the elected Arab city council of East Jerusalem was dissolved. The city was then managed by West Jerusalem's mayor. Services like electricity were changed from Palestinian to Israeli companies. A policy was set to keep a certain ratio of Jewish to Palestinian residents in the city.
Many Palestinians in East Jerusalem chose to keep their "permanent resident" status rather than apply for Israeli citizenship. Most of the land added to East Jerusalem's municipality after 1967 was private land owned by Palestinians. According to a former deputy mayor, the plan was to include as much land as possible with as few Arab residents as possible.
A property tax system was introduced. Jewish settlers received tax breaks, while Palestinians in East Jerusalem paid high taxes but received fewer city services. For example, by 1986, 60% of Arab East Jerusalem lacked proper garbage collection. Schools could not expand and had to use a double-shift system. Jewish neighborhoods were allowed to build taller buildings, while Palestinians were limited. The area's infrastructure still needs much improvement.
According to B'Tselem, a human rights group, as of 2017, the 370,000 Palestinians in this area have little control over their lives. Building permits are rarely given. A separation wall separates them from the rest of the city. Many Palestinians have to pass through checkpoints daily to work or get medical care. Poverty has increased among them.
A 2012 report described East Jerusalem as an "orphan city." It is cut off from trade with the West Bank by the separation barrier. Palestinian political groups are not allowed to operate there. With building blocked, Palestinian neighborhoods have become crowded.
Changes to the Area
When Israel extended its control over East Jerusalem, it included several nearby villages. This expanded the city's area significantly. However, Israel did not give citizenship to the Palestinians living in these new municipal borders.
The old Mughrabi Quarter in front of the Western Wall was cleared three days after it was captured. Its 135 families were moved. A large open plaza was built there. The Jewish Quarter, which was destroyed in 1948, was rebuilt and settled by Jews.
After 1980
Under Israeli rule, people of all religions are mostly allowed to visit their holy sites. The Muslim Waqf manages the Temple Mount and other Muslim holy sites there.
To prevent people from crossing illegally during the Second Intifada, Israel built a security barrier around Jerusalem's eastern side. This barrier has separated East Jerusalem neighborhoods from West Bank suburbs. The planned route of the barrier has been criticized, and the Israeli Supreme Court has ordered some sections to be re-routed.
In the Oslo Accords, the PLO agreed to leave the question of East Jerusalem for later negotiations. Israel has closed many Palestinian NGOs since 2001, saying they are part of the Palestinian Authority.
In 2009, a confidential European Union report said that Israel was "actively pursuing the illegal annexation" of East Jerusalem. The report stated that Israeli actions, like building new settlements and limiting Palestinian development, were increasing Jewish presence and weakening the Palestinian community.
In 2018, it was reported that Israel approved building 640 new homes for Jewish people in the Ramat Shlomo settlement. Some of these will be built on privately owned Palestinian lands. According to B'tselem, Israeli authorities have destroyed many Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem since 2004, making thousands of Palestinians homeless.
A 2011 poll among East Jerusalem Arabs showed that 39% would prefer Israeli citizenship, while 31% preferred Palestinian citizenship. Also, 40% would prefer to leave their neighborhoods if they were placed under Palestinian rule.
As of 1998, Jerusalem's religious sites include over 1,000 synagogues, 52 mosques, 65 churches, and 72 monasteries.
Who Controls It?
East Jerusalem has been controlled by Israel since 1967. In 1980, Israel effectively made it part of its territory, an act that was condemned internationally. The United Nations General Assembly declared that actions changing the city's status were not valid.
Israel has never formally annexed Jerusalem or claimed full ownership. However, its actions in 1967 and the 1980 Jerusalem Basic Law are often seen as an effective annexation. The Israeli Supreme Court has recognized East Jerusalem as part of Israel. Palestinians in East Jerusalem have the status of "permanent residents" rather than citizens. A 2012 UN resolution stated that East Jerusalem is part of Occupied Palestine Territory.
Talks About Sharing or Dividing
Both the Oslo Accords and the 2003 Road map for peace delayed talks on Jerusalem's status. Israel's policy of building settlements in East Jerusalem has been described as a way to create facts on the ground before negotiations.
In 2008, during serious talks, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert showed a map that suggested a shared arrangement for Jerusalem. Israeli settlements would remain in Israel, and Palestinian neighborhoods would be part of a Palestinian state and its capital. The Holy Basin, including the Old City, would be managed jointly by Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the United States, and the State of Palestine.
Jerusalem as Capital
Both Israel and Palestine claim Jerusalem as their capital. Palestinians usually refer to East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine.
In 1980, the Knesset adopted the "Jerusalem Law", declaring Jerusalem "complete and united" as "the capital of Israel." This law applied to both West and East Jerusalem within the expanded 1967 borders.
The Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles (Oslo I), signed in 1993, agreed to discuss Jerusalem's permanent status in the final stages of negotiations.
United States' View
The United States refers to East Jerusalem as part of "the West Bank – the larger of the two Palestinian territories" and calls Israeli Jews living there "settlers."
Historically, before 1967, the U.S. saw East Jerusalem as part of the West Bank, a territory under military occupation. In 1990, President George H. W. Bush publicly objected to Israeli building in East Jerusalem. In 1995, the Jerusalem Embassy Act set a date for the U.S. embassy to move to Jerusalem, stating Jerusalem should be recognized as Israel's capital.
In 2017, President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. On May 14, 2018, the United States moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. However, the Secretary of State clarified that this did not decide Jerusalem's final status, which would be left for the two parties to negotiate.
When U.S. President Joe Biden visited in 2022, his team removed Israeli flags from his vehicle when entering East Jerusalem. This was seen as a sign that the U.S. does not recognize Israeli control over East Jerusalem.
City Planning
The term East Jerusalem can refer to the area added to the Jerusalem municipality after 1967 (about 70 square kilometers). It can also refer to the smaller area Jordan controlled before 1967 (about 6.4 square kilometers). About 39% of Jerusalem's residents are Palestinian, but only 10% of the city's budget is given to them.
East Jerusalem has been planned to become a Jewish city with small areas for Palestinian residents under military control. A new settlement called Har Homa was approved in 1997 to connect settlements and separate East Jerusalem from the West Bank.
According to the Israeli non-governmental organization B'Tselem, since the 1990s, it has been harder for Arab residents to get building permits. This has caused a housing shortage, forcing many to look for homes outside East Jerusalem. Some East Jerusalem residents married to people from the West Bank or Gaza have had to leave Jerusalem because of citizenship laws. Many have also left to find work abroad.
Restrictions on Palestinian building in East Jerusalem are seen by some as part of Israel's policy to keep a Jewish majority in the city. In 2007, the Israeli Cabinet discussed plans to expand Israel's presence in East Jerusalem and attract more Jewish settlers. This included tax reductions and building new Jewish homes. This plan has been criticized because Arab residents find it hard to get building permits.
According to one view, the Jerusalem municipality has given enough building permits to the Arab sector to meet their needs through legal construction. This view states that Arabs and Jews wait similar times for permits and pay similar fees. However, another view states that illegal Arab construction often involves entire multi-floor buildings.
A 2010 European Union report said that 93,000 East Jerusalem Palestinians (33% of the total) are at risk of losing their homes due to Israeli building restrictions. Only 13% of the city's land is allowed for their housing, compared to 53% for Jewish settlements. The report also noted that many Palestinian homes were demolished, leaving people homeless, and that 80% of Palestinians in East Jerusalem live below the poverty line.
Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem have many more playgrounds than Palestinian areas. One playground was built for the 40,000 people in Sur Baher in 2015 with Belgian funding. It was built without a permit.
The number of building permits for Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem has increased by 60% since 2017. Since 1991, Palestinians, who are the majority in East Jerusalem, have received only 30% of building permits.
In May 2021, there were clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police over possible evictions of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Who Lives There?
Population Numbers
In the 1967 census, Israeli authorities counted 66,000 Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem. Only a few hundred Jews lived there at that time, as most had left in 1948 during Jordanian rule.
By June 1993, Jewish people became the majority in East Jerusalem, with 155,000 registered Jewish residents compared to 150,000 Palestinians.
At the end of 2008, East Jerusalem had 456,300 people, making up 60% of Jerusalem's residents. Of these, 195,500 (43%) were Jews, and 260,800 (57%) were Arabs. Most of the Arabs (95%) were Muslims.
In 2016, the population of East Jerusalem was 542,400. About 214,600 (39.6%) were Jews, and 327,700 (60.4%) were Arabs.
Among the Arab neighborhoods, the northern ones tend to be wealthier. The southeastern neighborhoods have poorer residents, often from rural or tribal backgrounds. Many wealthier Arabs have moved there from northern Israel.
Residency and Citizenship
After the 1967 war, Israel gave "permanent Israeli residency" to Arab Jerusalemites who were present during a census. Those not present lost their right to live in Jerusalem. Palestinian Jerusalemites can apply for Israeli citizenship, but most refuse to do so. By the end of 2005, 93% of East Jerusalem's Arab population had permanent residency, and 5% had Israeli citizenship.
Between 2008 and 2010, about 4,500 Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem applied for Israeli citizenship. About one-third were accepted.
As residents, East Jerusalemites without Israeli citizenship can vote in city elections. They pay taxes and receive social security and state healthcare benefits. Until 1995, those who lived abroad for more than seven years could lose their residency status. In 1995, Israel began taking away permanent residency from Arab residents who could not prove their main home was still in Jerusalem. This policy was changed later. Since December 1995, more than 3,000 people have lost their permanent residency.
More than 95% of East Jerusalemite Palestinians keep their residency status rather than citizenship. Applying for citizenship has become more common, but it is still difficult to get approval. Reasons for rejection can include not speaking enough Hebrew or having property in the West Bank.
East Jerusalem residents are becoming more integrated into Israeli society. More students are taking Israeli high school exams and enrolling in Israeli colleges. There is also a decline in the birthrate and more requests for building permits. Some polls show that more East Jerusalem Palestinians would prefer to remain under Israeli rule in a final agreement.
Healthcare
Until 1998, East Jerusalem residents had fewer healthcare services. By 2012, most neighborhoods had health clinics with modern equipment and specialized units. Israel's healthcare system provides free healthcare to all Israeli citizens and East Jerusalem residents.
In 2015, the quality of healthcare centers in East Jerusalem was almost equal to those in Israeli cities. However, B'tselem states that the municipality runs only six healthcare centers in the Palestinian sector, compared to 27 in Jewish neighborhoods. In 2015, 75% of the Palestinian population and 84% of their children lived below the poverty line.
In 2018, the U.S. government cut $25 million in funding for hospitals in East Jerusalem that treated cancer patients from the Palestinian territories. This cut put the future of some hospitals at risk.
Culture
Jerusalem was named the Arab Capital of Culture in 2009. In March 2009, Israel's Internal Security Minister banned cultural events planned for this designation in Jerusalem and other Palestinian areas. The minister said these events violated an agreement that forbids the Palestinian Authority from organizing events in Israeli territory.
In June 2013, the Israeli Public Security Minister closed the El-Hakawati Theater to stop a puppet festival. Israel accused the Palestinian Authority of funding the festival, which the theater denied.
In June 2013, Israel prevented members of the Ramallah Orchestra from the Al Kamandjâti music school from entering East Jerusalem for a concert. However, the musicians climbed over the Separation Wall, and the concert eventually took place.
Environment
East Jerusalem is recognized as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because its old buildings provide nesting sites for lesser kestrels. The city, especially the Mount of Olives region, is also on a migration route for white storks.
Economy
In May 2013, a UNCTAD report found that the Israeli occupation had caused East Jerusalem's economy to shrink by half in 20 years. This led to economic isolation for Palestinian residents. The report noted that 77% of non-Jewish households and 25% of Jewish households lived below the poverty line. Major problems included restrictions on movement of goods and people, which Israel says are for security reasons. The report suggested that Israel should do more to improve economic conditions for Palestinian residents.
Education
East Jerusalem has a shortage of schools for Palestinian children. In 2012, there was a reported shortage of 1,100 classrooms. This was due to what Haaretz described as "years of intentional neglect of East Jerusalem schools." The dropout rate for Arab schoolchildren is relatively high.
Schools in East Jerusalem include:
- Schmidt's Girls College
|
