This has formed the core of Israel's policy in Jerusalem over 33 years of occupation with the aim of 'Judaizing' the Holy City and imposing the reality of coercive annexation. Violations committed by the Israeli government against Palestinian residents in the Holy City have diversified.

Most prominent violations committed Against Arab Residents In East Jerusalem

I. Confiscation of Properties & Coercive annexation of Jerusalem

Israeli successive governments, including the current government, have continued to expropriate Arab land and properties in East Jerusalem in many illegal ways, which are based on the superiority of the occupying country and its regulations in explicit violation of international laws and conventions. At least, 34% of the land of Jerusalem has been confiscated by the Israeli occupation authorities to build new and expand existing Jewish settlements, and 52% declared 'green area' where construction is forbidden for Arab Palestinians. However, 'green area' remains a strategic reserve for present and future settlement activities. Throughout the years, Israel did not hesitate to use this reserve for settlement expansion and construction as in the case of the Jewish settlement of Jabal Abu Ghneim 'Har Homa', the settlement of Ghib'at Ha Shu'fat and other settlements. The settlement construction is carried out not only at the expense of Arab properties, but also at the expense of Palestinian housing needs. Palestinian Jerusalemites are denied housing rights, as a result of the Israeli restrictive policies in the city.

The Israeli government has imposed property tax on privately owned properties, including properties, which have not been exploited by its owners, or on properties that owners have not used due to:

• Financial difficulties;

• Military orders banning construction;;

• Problems related to settlement of inheritance;;

• High costs of building; ;

• Difficulties in obtaining building permits from the Israeli government;;

• Restrictions imposed by Israel concerning building permits.;

Property tax was imposed retroactively on landowners. If the landowner was unable to pay the tax, the Israeli government filed a case against him and put the real estate for auction in favor of Jewish settlements. This has been the case in the northern and southern parts of Jerusalem.

The Israeli government confiscated 34% of the land of Jerusalem under the pretext of 'public interest'. An estimated 15 Jewish settlements were built on the confiscated land, nine industrial zones, and a hundred factories for light and heavy industries. Large numbers of properties have been confiscated in Jerusalem and its suburbs, through Israeli official institutions, to accommodate fascist and extremist groups. These properties belonged to individual, Islamic Waqf, Christian Waqf and public properties (state or municipality).

Throughout 33 years of occupation, Israel launched three expansion campaigns involving the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem in order to pave the way for the 'Judaization' of the Holy City and emptying the city of its original inhabitants. The first campaign was carried out following the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem in June 1967, in which it became 70.5 square km2. The second took place in 1982 in what was called 'The Center Project', while the third expansion was part of the 'Greater Jerusalem' or the 'Metropolitan Plan', which was endorsed by the Israeli government on 28 June 1998. The Plan aimed primarily at expanding the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem and linking surrounding Jewish settlements together in a way to enable Israel to swallow up more land to build new Jewish neighborhoods. According to the 'Greater Jerusalem Plan', Israel swallows up parts of the heart of the West Bank up to Jericho eastwards and Ramallah northwards and the northern part of the governorate of the West Bank city of Hebron. The municipal boundaries of Jerusalem will be expanded to become 665 square km2. The aerial maps of the bypass road show that these villages are isolated from each other, whereas Jewish settlements built on the borders of Jerusalem are linked together. Reports have shown that the Israeli company, Moriah, has completed preparing the structural plans for the bypass road, which starts from the Jerusalem-Hebron road in the northern crossroads of 'Talpiot', passes through the village of Sur Baher, Sawahreh Al-Gharbiya and Sawahreh Ash-Sharqiya and twists around the villages of East Jerusalem. The road goes northwards up to Qalandia Airport, passes through Bitunia and ends at Beit Sheimesh area near Ben Gurion Airport. The maps clarified that the bypass road links the settlement of Jabal Abu Ghneim, south of Jerusalem, to the Jewish settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, passing through the Jerusalem-Jericho road. The schemes of the bypass road contain three tunnels each 1.8 square km2 long. By opening the road, over 700 dunums and tens of homes will be destroyed, not to mention the environmental damages caused in the area. II. Flagrant Discrimination against Jerusalemites (original inhabitants)

Palestinians have access to only 14% of the land of East Jerusalem, on which construction is allowed. However, difficult conditions are set by the Israeli government to obtain building permits. At least, 34% of the land has been confiscated to build new and expand existing Jewish settlements, and 52% declared 'green area' where construction is forbidden for Arab Palestinians. Israel has allowed for settlement construction seven times more than what is planned for Palestinians despite their desperate need for housing.

• Confiscation of land for settlement expansion and construction;

• Demolition of Arab houses for settlement activities;

• Restrictions on building and renovation works;

• High fines imposed on Palestinians for building without permits.

Palestinian Jerusalemites have for long experienced an unbearable housing crisis. Many of them are forced to build without obtaining permits from the Israeli government in order to provide shelter to their families, not to mention those who are forced to live outside the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, due to lack of housing possibilities.

According to JCSER and the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights & the Environment (LAW), some 177 Arab houses have been demolished in Jerusalem by Israel over the past five years, in addition to issuing over 558 house demolition orders for building without permits.

Building restrictions are imposed on Palestinians in East Jerusalem, many of whom are forced to build without permits from the Israeli government, if issued, a $25,000-fee must be paid. It usually takes over a year to obtain a building permit from the Israeli government and those who build without permits are charged high fees by Israel.

Arab houses are demolished by Israel to make way for settlement activities in Jerusalem and its suburbs. The policy of house demolition, adopted by Israel since June 1967, is one form of collective punishment against Palestinians and constitutes grave violations of International Laws, especially article 33 of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits such a policy.

Restrictions are also placed on renovation works. There are 1,400 houses inside the walls of the Old City in desperate need of renovation. 356 out of 1,400 are on the verge of collapse, due to insufficient services and proper renovation, in addition to excavations carried out by the Jerusalem Municipality.

The general closure and separation policy imposed by Israel since March 1993 has caused severe damages in various sectors. The Israeli government has continued illegally and unjustly to impose exorbitant taxes on Palestinian Jerusalemites in return for poor quality services. Taxes are imposed on Palestinians without taking into consideration the different income levels and social differences between East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem. This has led to the spread of bankruptcy amongst Palestinians. There has been a 40% increase in poverty rates and 35% rise in the unemployment rate amongst Palestinians, not to mention that a number of retail shops have been forced to close down as the owners were unable to pay taxes imposed by the Jerusalem Municipality.

Palestinians unable to pay the Arnona tax are being subjected to a series of illegal and punitive measures by the Israeli government. Imprisonment and confiscation of properties is one form of measures taken against Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Although Palestinian citizens have to pay high Arnona tax, they receive poor quality services. According to JCSER, the total amount of taxes earned from Palestinian Jerusalemites exceeds 30% of the Arnona tax fund at the Jerusalem Municipality in return for only 5% of the total services provided to them. Israel's tax policy in East Jerusalem is completely racist. Taxes imposed in East Jerusalem are the same as those in West Jerusalem without taking into consideration the different income levels between East and West Jerusalem and the differences in cultural and social life that affect income levels and living patterns.

It has become familiar to see growing numbers of businesses shut down, as a result of the Israeli policy in East Jerusalem. According to a field study conducted by JCSER, 250 out of 1000 shops shut down in the Old City, due to their inability to pay taxes.

Arab East Jerusalem suffers from severe shortage of infrastructure services. Israel is tightening its control over Jerusalem and its residents in various aspects of life. On the educational level, Israel continues to impose its curriculum on schools in East Jerusalem. There is a shortage of 344 classrooms, which contribute to the deterioration of education standards compared to that of West Jerusalem.

The tourism sector has reported severe loses, as a result of the Israeli practices in Arab East Jerusalem. During the Israeli occupation, not a single hotel was built in Arab East Jerusalem. Palestinians have for long been prevented from distributing printed brochures to tourists. Instead, they are given Israeli publications, which provide incorrect and distorted facts and information about the Holy City, its history, and archeological sites. Israel has for long monopolized this industry by providing Israeli tourist guides who present distorted information about Jerusalem, its history, and its residents.

According to official Palestinian sources, the number of Arab tourist guides and tourist agencies in Jerusalem has dropped. In 1967, there were 207 tourist guides, this figure dropped to 100 in 1990, and 47 tourist agencies in 1967 dropped to 32 in 1990. The number of Arab-owned hotels in Jerusalem has dropped to 40. The ongoing closure of Jerusalem imposed since March 1993 has prevented Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip from marketing their products, such as the olivewood produced in Bethlehem and glass in Hebron. Christians constituted 72% of the total pilgrims visiting the Holy Land from all over the world, Jews 18% and Moslems 10%. People visiting the Holy City for religious reasons constituted 25% of the total pilgrims during 1994, confirming that Jerusalem is a Palestinian tourist city and that tourism is an essential sector for the Palestinian national economy. Jerusalem is a main touristic treasury for Palestinians, especially as religious tourism is one of the most ancient industries in Palestine.

The Israeli slogan 'United Jerusalem is Israel's Eternal Capital' was promoted to create the idea amongst tourists that united Jerusalem is one city and that the occupied Arab East Jerusalem is an integral part of the city. Besides promoting the slogan, Israel took a number of measures to realize this slogan and to control the Arab population in the city. These include:

• Expropriation of Arab land and properties;

• Unrealistic increase in the price of land;

• Uprooting olive trees and agricultural products to pave the way for settlement construction and expansion;

• Imposing high taxes on Palestinians;

• Imposing difficult conditions on Palestinians to obtain building permits;

• Placing restrictions on buildings by not exceeding certain height;

• Placing restrictions on renovation of archeological and religious sites.

These measures contributed significantly to the deterioration in the Palestinian economy in East Jerusalem.

III. Confiscation of Citizenship Rights

Palestinian citizens are constantly harassed by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior with the aim of forcing them out of their homes and denying their basic rights to citizenship, residency, housing, medical care, work, schooling, and other rights. To achieve this, the Interior Ministry coordinates closely with other Israeli institutions, including the National Insurance Institute (NII).

Palestinian Jerusalemites are regarded as residents subject to the treatment and conditions of residency rights applied to foreigners despite their deep roots in the Holy City. Identity cards granted to Palestinian Jerusalemites provide these residents with the same status of permanent resident granted to foreigners living in Israel. Israel deals with Palestinians as immigrants living in their homes as a 'favor', not as their natural right acknowledged in international and humanitarian laws and conventions before anything else.

Israel has imposed difficult and impossible conditions on Palestinian Jerusalemites by challenging them with the burden of having to prove their 'center of life' without justification. Palestinians have to provide official documents and papers that prove their place of residence in Jerusalem for a minimum period of seven years. According to unofficial Israeli sources and human rights organizations, some 20,000 children are denied registration on their parents' ID cards, which means they are also deprived of services to which they are entitled from the National Insurance Institute. The situation became worse by the end of 1995 when the Ministry of the Interior confiscated randomly a huge quantity of ID cards from Palestinians, claiming that they were not resident inside the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. The 1952 Law of Entry to Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem was applied according to the whims and interpretations of the Ministry of the Interior, which contradicts the articles of the law itself.

The instructions given by the Interior Ministry to Palestinians concerning requirements to prove their 'center of life' are characterized by ambiguity and vagueness. Providing incorrect information to Palestinians helps the Interior Ministry to achieve its main objectives. It also adopts several measures to control the Arab population in the city. These include confiscation of Jerusalem ID cards, its refusal to register children on their parents' ID cards, and its denial of their social services and benefits provided by the National Insurance Institute. As a result, Palestinians face numerous health, psychological and financial problems and entire families are forced to flee the city.

In accordance with Israeli residency laws adopted against Palestinian Jerusalemites, women married to non-Jerusalemites are automatically considered residents outside the 'municipal boundaries of Jerusalem' unless the National Insurance Institute proves the opposite. In order for pregnant women to obtain birth allowances (hospital expenses covered by the National Insurance Institute), their names should be registered in a hospital and periodical medical examinations must be made within the first sixth months of pregnancy, attaching two copies of the medical reports showing the progress of pregnancy.

Israeli officials, including Former Interior Minister, Natan Sharansky, and Deputy Minister in Charge of Jerusalem Affairs, Haim Ramon, have repeatedly stated that radical changes will be made in the Ministry's policy towards Arab residents. They noted that there would be an improvement in the treatment of Arab residents according to new instructions by the Interior Ministry. But practices adopted by the Ministry of the Interior and the National Insurance Institute against Arab residents contradict these statements.

JCSER confirmed that there has been no change in the treatment of Palestinian Jerusalemites by the National Insurance Institute. Arabs are humiliated and dehumanized by the Interior Ministry's employees. Bureaucratic and humiliating conditions are imposed on Arabs by challenging them with the burden of having to prove their 'center of life' within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. The Ministry's employees still deny that they received new instructions with regard to improving the treatment of Arab residents, however, JCSER obtained a copy of the instructions.

The instructions are summarized as follows:

• 'According to Israeli law, any Jerusalemite whose name has been cancelled from the Jerusalem census records since 1995 until now due to moving his place of residence outside the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem for seven years or more, loses his citizenship and residency rights in Jerusalem. A person can obtain a new residency permit and can have his name registered in the Jerusalem census record only if he lives in Israel for two consecutive years upon his return to the country.'

• 'According to Israeli law, anyone who lived abroad (outside the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem) for more than seven years and, for some reason, has not been informed by the Interior Ministry about his ID card confiscation and the cancellation of his residency permit, continues to keep his ID card and residency right.'

• It is worth-mentioning that these instructions are the results of the case filed by a group of human rights organizations against the Interior Ministry at the Israel Supreme Court. The 'Coalition against ID Card Confiscation', of which JCSER is an affective member, was part of this group.

According to a statistical study published by Israeli Journalist Amira Hass in the Hebrew daily Ha'aretz, some 739 Jerusalem ID cards were confiscated in 1996, and 1067 in 1997; some 788 residency rights were revoked in 1998; 414 citizenship rights were revoked in 1999 and 207 in 2000. These figures confirm that confiscation of citizenship right still occurs. However, as there has not been any significant change in the policy of the Interior Minister, it can be concluded that the efforts of human rights organizations, including JCSER, were successful in restoring citizenship and residency rights to many Palestinians.

Israel publicly declares its policy that aims to maintain a Jewish presence over the Arab population in Occupied Arab Jerusalem and prevents an increase in the number of Arab citizens exceeding more than 25% of the population. Former Israeli governments have allocated huge budgets for this purpose to expedite the process of land confiscation and settlement construction in Jerusalem and its suburbs. Government committees have been formed for this purpose, including the 'Jerusalem Support Committee', headed by the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Housing, Shlom Ghreinberg. The Committee aims to build 110,000 units in the year 2001 in its continuous effort to disrupt the balance of the demographic composition of the city in favor of Jewish settlers.

Israel's policies in the city of Jerusalem race with time in an attempt to create new facts on the ground before entering any kind of political settlement related to Jerusalem. Such polices contradict international laws and conventions and UN Security Council Resolutions, which describe Israel's policies as 'illegal and illegitimate' and constitute grave violations of international laws, according to which Jerusalem is an occupied territory. Violations committed by Israel indicate that racial discrimination is practiced against Arab residents and that Jerusalem is not united as it claims.

JCSER stresses that daily Israeli practices against Palestinians constitute grave violations of international conventions related to human rights in general and civilians under occupation in particular. Practices include:

• Confiscation of Arab land and property;

• Revocation of residency and citizenship rights;

• Confiscation of Jerusalem ID cards;

• Denial of political, civil, social and economic rights of Palestinians, including their right to residency, citizenship, housing, work, education, medical treatment, freedom of movement, freedom of worship and other rights.

Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads as follows, 'Every person has the right to leave any country, including his country, and to return to it.' This right has been confirmed in articles 12B & 12D of the international law pertaining to civil and political rights. According to international law, Israel is an occupying state and Jerusalem is occupied territory. Israel should abide by the articles of the international laws, including the 1949 Forth Geneva Convention, which was signed by 188 states, including the State of Israel. These articles include: 1, 22, 27, 29, 34, 47, 49, 51, 52, 55, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76 & 77. International resolutions have confirmed the necessity for Israel to comply with the articles of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention and international laws and conventions pertaining to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), including Arab East Jerusalem.

In his speech, Mr. Hammouri noted that Arab Jerusalem is not only a piece of land for the Palestinian people, but also a religious and cultural history. If the Palestinian issue is the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Jerusalem is the heart of the Palestinian issue, refugees, Jewish settlements and borders.