Separation Barrier cuts off children from Tel ‘Adasa, which is in East Jerusalem , and their school in Bir Nebala

Tel Adasah children break the Ramadan fast in Bir Nabala streets. Photo: Kareem Jubran, excert from B'Tselem Video.

B'Tselem, 22.10.07. Sixty-eight Palestinians, twenty-six children among them, live in the area called Tel ‘Adasa, in East Jerusalem, on land Israel annexed in 1967, near the ‘Atarot industrial area and Begin Road (Route 404). West of this road, on which Palestinians are forbidden to travel, Israel built a section of the Separation Barrier, which separates the residents of Tel ‘Adasa from the adjacent town, Bir Nebala, which lies outside Jerusalem 's municipal borders. Although all the residents of Tel ‘Adasa have dwelled permanently in their community for dozens of years, and many were even born there, Israel has never recognized them as residents of Jerusalem, and they have not been given Israeli identity cards. As a result, the Israeli authorities consider them to be staying illegally in East Jerusalem . They are technically forbidden to enter or stay in Jerusalem (even in their own homes) or receive any services provided by the state.
The refusal of Israel to recognize the residents of Tel ‘Adasa as residents of East Jerusalem, thereby turning them into persons staying illegally in Israel, gravely infringes their human rights, especially their right to freedom of movement, in flagrant breach of international law. The building of the Separation Barrier and the recent closing of the only opening in the barrier, which is their only way to get to and from the West Bank, prevents them from obtaining services outside Jerusalem . This situation has made their living conditions intolerable, and is liable to lead to the rapid removal of them from their homes. B'Tselem calls on the Israeli government to dismantle the Separation Barrier in this area and recognize the right of the residents of Tel ‘Adasa to stay in East Jerusalem and move about there freely. Until then, the authorities must reopen the passageway in the Separation Barrier and issue permanent permits to the residents so that they will be able to cross Qalandiya Checkpoint.

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Jérusalem, une ville sainte qui divise

Monique Mas, RFI, 19.10.07. Jérusalem-Est ayant été annexée en juin 1967 au secteur occidental de la ville sainte occupé depuis 1948, la Knesset, le Parlement, avait décrété Jérusalem «capitale éternelle et indivisible d’Israël», le 30 juillet 1980. Une décision jugée nulle et non avenue par le Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies, Etats-Unis compris. Il n’empêche qu’aujourd’hui encore, une loi prévoit que toute concession territoriale concernant Jérusalem doit être approuvée par la majorité absolue des députés. Hier, la moitié d’entre eux (60 sur 120) ont signé une pétition hostile à tout abandon de souveraineté aux Palestiniens sur les quartiers arabes.

L’idée d’un «partage» de Jérusalem avec les Palestiniens révulse la majorité de l’opinion israélienne, comme en témoigne par exemple le sondage publié mardi par le journal Yediot Aharonot. Selon ce dernier, 68% des Israéliens interrogés ne veulent même pas y songer, 11% renvoyant la question à un référendum devant lequel ils accepteraient de s’incliner si la majorité de leurs compatriotes concédaient le transfert de certains quartiers arabes de Jérusalem sous administration palestinienne, ce qui laisse un petit 20% de citoyens de l’Etat hébreu favorables à cette perspective.
Tout particulièrement sensibles à la symbolique religieuse de sites tels que le Mur des Lamentations, l’Esplanade des Mosquées (érigée sur l’ancien Temple juif) ou le Saint-Sépulcre, les Israéliens sont encore moins partageux concernant la Vieille Ville de Jérusalem. 16% seulement d’entre eux accepterait une souveraineté conjointe israélo-palestinienne sur les lieux saints du judaïsme, de l'islam et du christianisme, 21 % préconisant une souveraineté internationale et 61% revendiquant l’autorité pleine et entière d’Israël sur ces vestiges emblématiques.
Depuis 1967, Israël s’est attaché à limiter la présence arabe à Jérusalem en s’efforçant en même temps d’isoler sa «capitale éternelle» du reste des territoires palestiniens et de rendre toute rétrocession illusoire. "ésidents étrangers» dotés du seul droit de vote aux municipales à Jérusalem, les Arabes sont aujourd’hui plus nombreux que les Juifs à Jérusalem-Est.

Na'ima is threatening the Jewish majority

Dafna Golan, Haaretz, 03/10/07. Jerusalem, which is now joyously celebrating the 40th anniversary of its reunification, is a divided city. The discrimination in education is part of a consistent attempt to reduce the number of Palestinian residents in the city, so as to maintain a Jewish majority. These efforts are also reflected in the demolition of homes, the confiscation of land, the confiscation of ID cards from anyone who has gone to study elsewhere, for example, and in the crowded conditions in the schools. All these are the implementation of a policy that considers Palestinians second-class citizens. The educational policy in Jerusalem is a microcosm of the general situation in discriminatory Israel. A country that builds schools for children from one group and not from another is an apartheid state.

At the start of school last year the education minister declared her intention of working to reduce the shortage of about 1,300 classrooms in East Jerusalem, but during the past year only 50 new classrooms were built there. Despite the commitment of the Education Ministry and the Jerusalem Municipality to the High Court, from 2001-2007, to build at least 645 classrooms in East Jerusalem (245 according to a 2001 High Court decision and 400 in the context of the promise given to the High Court this year), in fact, fewer than 100 new classrooms have been built since 2001.

The petitions of parents whose children found no room in Jerusalem schools continue to be processed in the High Court, but the legal discussions, the focus on details, are concealing what any child can see: Jerusalem, which is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its reunification, is conducting a policy of separation.

According to the report of the Coalition for the Advancement of Arab Education in East Jerusalem, only about half the Palestinian children in East Jerusalem, about 39,400 out of about 79,000, are at present studying in the city school system. Most of the others study in private schools, in United Nations schools or outside the city. About two-thirds of the public schools in East Jerusalem operate in rented apartments. And, still, hundreds of children remain without a place in Jerusalem's schools.

During 40 years of occupation Israel built Jewish neighborhoods on Arab land in East Jerusalem, such as Gilo, French Hill, Neveh Yaakov et al, and - wonder of wonders - there are no children in these neighborhoods who have to turn to the courts in order to attend school. After all, it is unthinkable to have no room for Jewish children in the Jerusalem school system.

Jerusalem, which is now joyously celebrating the 40th anniversary of its reunification, is a divided city. The discrimination in education is part of a consistent attempt to reduce the number of Palestinian residents in the city, so as to maintain a Jewish majority. These efforts are also reflected in the demolition of homes, the confiscation of land, the confiscation of ID cards from anyone who has gone to study elsewhere, for example, and in the crowded conditions in the schools. All these are the implementation of a policy that considers Palestinians second-class citizens.

That's why there is no room for Na'ima in Jerusalem's schools. Na'ima, like thousands of other Palestinian children in Jerusalem, threatens the Jewish majority. The Israeli school system does not want Na'ima. It doesn't want Na'zz to remind it that maintaining the Jewish majority is an unethical goal. The educational policy in Jerusalem is a microcosm of the general situation in discriminatory Israel. A country that builds schools for children from one group and not from another is an apartheid state.

The writer is a member of the Law Faculty at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

A l'est de Jérusalem, l'entrelacs de routes aménagées par les Israéliens compromet la viabilité d'un futur Etat palestinien

Benjamin Barthe, Le Monde, 01/09/07. Les négociations entre le président palestinien, Mahmoud Abbas, et le premier ministre israélien, Ehoud Olmert - qui se sont rencontrés une nouvelle fois, mardi 28 août - n'impressionnent visiblement pas le ministère israélien des transports : sur le terrain, ses pelleteuses et ses géomètres façonnent pour la Cisjordanie un avenir aussi éloigné que possible d'un quelconque accord de paix.

D'après un rapport de l'organisation pacifiste israélienne La Paix maintenant, publié lundi 27 août, 315 millions de shekels (55 millions d'euros) ont été investis cette année dans la construction de six routes destinées à relier au territoire israélien des colonies situées à l'est de la "barrière de séparation", donc promises à la démolition dans la logique d'un accord de paix. L'un des chantiers prévoit notamment de connecter à Jérusalem quatre implantations du sud de Bethléem : Tekoa, Asfar, Maale Amos et Nokdim, lieu de résidence d'Avigdor Lieberman, le ministre des affaires stratégiques, chef du parti d'extrême droite Israël Beitenou. "Cette route doit lui permettre de rejoindre son bureau d'une seule traite, sans croiser le moindre indigène", raille l'avocat israélien Dany Seideman, fondateur de l'association Ir Amim, qui travaille à une meilleure entente entre Juifs et Arabes dans la Ville sainte.

Les plans du ministère des transports prévoient également l'élargissement de la route d'accès à Ariel, l'une des colonies les plus peuplées de Cisjordanie, ainsi que de l'artère Jérusalem-Jéricho, fréquentée par les colons de la vallée du Jourdain. Les nouveaux ouvrages ainsi créés s'ajouteront à la trentaine de routes préexistantes, d'une longueur de 350 km, interdites de façon partielle ou intégrale aux Palestiniens.

La version officielle, selon laquelle ces investissements ne sont motivés que par des questions de sécurité, est contestée par le géographe palestinien Khalil Toufakji. "Le gouvernement israélien veut créer deux Etats à l'intérieur de la seule Cisjordanie, affirme-t-il : un pour les colons qui disposeront d'infrastructures leur permettant d'être de facto assimilés à Israël ; et un autre pour les Palestiniens qui sera constitué de cantons isolés les uns des autres. Comme durant le processus de paix, les belles paroles prononcées devant les médias sont en décalage complet avec la réalité sur le terrain."

COUPURE NORD-SUD

En réponse à cette critique, l'Etat juif dit travailler également à la "continuité" territoriale dont le président américain George Bush a fait l'un des prérequis du futur Etat palestinien. De fait, divers chantiers ont été lancés pour désenclaver au moyen de ponts ou de tunnels les poches d'habitations créées par la barrière de séparation. A l'est de Jérusalem, une rocade est également en cours de construction dans le but d'accélérer le trafic entre Ramallah et Bethléem. L'un des tronçons sera ouvert aux automobilistes israéliens, qui seront séparés de leurs homologues palestiniens par un mur érigé au milieu de la chaussée.

Signe que la viabilité du futur Etat palestinien n'est pas le principal souci des planificateurs, l'échangeur pour accéder à Jérusalem ne sera ouvert qu'aux Israéliens. Un choix éloquent, selon Dany Seideman : "Olmert poursuit l'oeuvre de Sharon, qui avait imaginé le concept de continuité par les transports pour répondre aux inquiétudes de la Maison Blanche, tout en continuant à construire des colonies."

A l'est de Jérusalem, en l'occurrence, le gouvernement espère pouvoir bâtir la zone dite "E1", un ensemble de collines pelées qui s'étendent entre la partie arabe de la Ville sainte et l'immense bloc de colonies de Maale Adoumim. Pour les Palestiniens, la mise en oeuvre de ce projet sonnerait le glas de leur rêve d'Etat, car il promet d'accentuer la coupure nord-sud de la Cisjordanie et d'isoler celle-ci de Jérusalem-Est, dont ils veulent faire leur capitale.

"La route Ramallah-Bethléem est la réponse du gouvernement à ces critiques, dit Dany Seideman. Elle lui permet de dire aux Américains : "Regardez, même avec E1, les Palestiniens circulent librement." La continuité nord-sud ainsi créée aura la largeur de la route : 16 mètres, ni plus ni moins. Abba Eban (un ex-diplomate israélien) disait que les hommes politiques ne se mettent à agir intelligemment que lorsqu'ils ont épuisé toutes les alternatives, conclut Dany Seideman. Visiblement, nous n'y sommes pas encore."

Benjamin Barthe

Article paru dans l'édition du 01.09.07.

ILA Leasing Arab-Owned Land in Jerusalem to Ateret Cohanim

ISM, 21/08/07. The Israel Lands Administration (ILA) is working together with the Ateret Cohanim association to wrest from Palestinian landowners control of 30 dunams (7.5 acres) of land in East Jerusalem and to transfer it to the association without a tender. Such is the claim outlined in a petition submitted two weeks ago to the High Court of Justice, and appearing in documents which Haaretz has received. Ateret Cohanim promotes settlement of Jews in and around the Old City, and at times takes over Palestinian assets in East Jerusalem so as to "Judaize" that area.

The land in question, an olive grove called Kerem Hamufti, is in the
Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. From the documents received, it emerges
that the ILA has signed a contract with Ateret Cohanim for "the
agricultural cultivation" of the land, even though the association has
no experience in such work.
The documents indicate that the contract was signed even though the
land that the ILA leased apparently does not belong to it and the
Interior Ministry recognizes that the Palestinian landowners "have an
interest" in it. A senior source at the ILA has said the contract was
signed in order "to keep the territory in Jewish hands."
In the petition it is claimed that an authorized official at the ILA
"acted to advance the interests of Ateret Cohanim," to prevent the
Palestinians who claim ownership of the land from developing it. The
petitioners define the ILA action as "corrupt" and are asking the
attorney general to investigate "the involvement of Ateret Cohanim in
governmental decision-making."
In March, 40 years after declaring its intentions to do so, the state
formally expropriated the land, at the request of the ILA. Former
finance minister Abraham Hirchson signed on the plan to expropriate
the property under the rubric of "acquisition for public needs."
In its petition to the High Court, the Palestinian landowners, the
Arab Hotels Company, asks for the expropriation to be prohibited
because it was done "for an extraneous, illegitimate, racist and
discriminatory purpose ... An illegitimate and corrupt hand has worked
hand in glove with the authorities or other elements to harm the
petitioner's rights, and to disinherit the petitioner for purposes of
leasing the land to Ateret Cohanim."
Kerem Hamufti is named for its former owner, Haj Amin al-Husseini, the
mufti of Jerusalem. According to Israeli and Jordanian documents, in
the 1960s it was purchased by the Arab Hotels Company of East
Jerusalem.
After the area was annexed to Israel after the Six-Day War, the
Finance Ministry stated its intention to expropriate the land "for
public purposes," but this was never carried out and the Palestinian
owners continued to cultivate it. Several times over the years an
Israeli court confirmed that the company is indeed owner of the
property.
About seven years ago the Palestinian owners submitted to the planning
authorities a request to build a hotel, a conference center and a
cultural center on the land. Architect Moshe Margalit, who drew up the
plan, relates that at the time the District Planning Commission
confirmed that the East Jerusalem company has ownership rights to the
land. The Interior Ministry confirmed to Haaretz that the company has
been allowed to continue the planning as it has been proved that it
"has an interest in the land."
Municipal blessing
>From the summaries of meetings concerning the property at the Interior
Ministry, it emerges that representatives of the ILA were present, but
did not mention they had leased the land to Ateret Cohanim or that it
belongs to the ILA.
Margalit relates that the Palestinian landowners' plan was presented
"to the most senior people at the Jerusalem Municipality" and received
their blessing. The petition also states that the mayor of Jerusalem
at the time, Ehud Olmert, and his deputy, Yehuda Pollack, the chairman
of the Local Planning and Building Committee, supported it.
However, at a certain stage, relates Margalit, it seemed that Ateret
Cohanim also submitted a plan for this parcel of land: Two years
beforehand, the ILA had granted permission to Irving Moskowitz, the
American Jewish millionaire who supports Ateret Cohanim, to plan a
neighborhood on Kerem Hamufti. A person close to the association aims
to build 250 housing units there, and pressured ministers in former
prime minister Ariel Sharon's first government to approve it.
In June, 2000, immediately after the plan by Moskowitz and Ateret
Cohanim was revealed, the landowners' attorneys applied to Jerusalem's
Local Planning and Building Committee with a request to dismiss the
scheme because "those who submitted it are not the owners of the
land."
The committee told the attorneys that the plan had been "shelved."
A few months ago the Arab Hotels Company received notice from the
Magistrates Court, allowing it to evict a Palestinian who was
squatting on the land. However, on the day of the eviction, the Amidar
company, on behalf of the ILA, filed a demand to stop it.
While the ILA and Amidar acknowledge this was indeed a matter of a
squatter, a senior source at the ILA has told Haaretz that the
Palestinian "was working with Ateret Cohanim." The source explains his
presence was necessary "to prevent theft of land by Palestinians."
The current petition says the state owns about 20 percent of Kerem
Hamufti under the Absentee Property Law, as it belonged to Al-
Husseini, who collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.
However, the Palestinian landowners' lawyers insist that the law does
not apply to the property because it was purchased from the Al-
Husseini family before Israeli rule began in East Jerusalem in 1967.
Attorney Danny Kramer, the representative of the official guardian of
absentee property, is also a signatory to the petition, which states
that the guardian has no connection to the land, and also that the ILA
has been leasing it to Ateret Cohanim "for some years now."
In its petition, the Arab Hotels Company argues that the low lease
being paid by Ateret Cohanim is proof that this is an "artificial
contract." The association is paying NIS 42.5 per dunam (which comes
to NIS 1,278 for the entire parcel of land), although it is in a
prestigious location.
The ILA's official response to Haaretz states that the contract with
the Jewish association was signed "more than five years ago"; a senior
ILA source says the contract was signed "at the beginning of the
1990s."
At the ILA they were not able to explain how the entire plot of land
was leased to Ateret Cohanim, despite the fact that even the ILA
itself says the state owns only 20 percent of it. The ILA explains the
fact that they dealt with the association without a tender by saying
"it was the only applicant." Concerning Ateret Cohanim's lack of
experience in agriculture, the ILA says: "It is not stipulated
anywhere that the minimal condition for submitting an application for
cultivation is prior experience."
Based on past High Court of Justice rulings saying that if the state
does not implement an expropriation order for many years, it's
possible to annul it, the Palestinian landowners are asking the court
to issue a show cause order, requiring the state to explain why it
should not prohibit the expropriation in this case.