Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights

OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM, A NEW SOWETO?

(iii) The right to education

Several policies and practices limit the access of Palestinian children in Jerusalem to free and compulsory education in the Jerusalem Education Authority (JEA) schools in East Jerusalem. In order for a child to be registered in school, the JEA requires proof of residency in the city. Children, whose parents have had their residency status revoked, yet remain in the city, are often denied their right to public education, as they are also not registered. This means that they have to go to private schools or study outside the city boundaries. However, school certificates are part of the requested documents to proof ones 'centre of life'.

The JEA has 169 schools in West Jerusalem and 35 in East Jerusalem. However, Palestinian students comprise one-third of the school age (5-19 years) population in the city. Besides the shortage of classrooms in East Jerusalem, the problem of class density is far more serious in this part of the city compared to the Jewish sector. The number of teaching hours per Jewish pupil or class is far greater than that per Palestinian pupil or class. The number of grants given to teachers for studying is 382 percent higher in the Jewish sector. This affects the skills of teachers and consequently pupil's achievements. Also in the field of computerisation, the Palestinian schools lack behind the Jewish schools. The percentage of Palestinian pupils dropping out of school was 5.2 percent in 1998; this is 17.3 percent more than in the Jewish sector. In 1999, the 'Dell-report', conducted under the instruction of the Ministerial Committee for Jerusalem Affairs, revealed that the East Jerusalem school system is, in many aspects, not budgeted in the same fashion as the Israeli system.

(iv) The right to social security, including social insurance

The National Insurance Institute (NII) is charged with executing the National Insurance Law and other laws with a similar objective like the State Health Insurance Law. These laws form the Israeli social insurance system, which extends a range of benefits to both citizens and residents. Benefits include payments to the elderly, the widowed, the unemployed, the permanently disabled, to children, to mothers for birth and maternity, and to injured workers. The system also provides income supplements and maintenance to those with low and no income.

Case reported to JCSER:

Mr. R. Hijazi is 76 years old and applied for elderly allowances at the NII. The NII refused to pay as its investigators claim that he is not a resident of Jerusalem. The reason for this is because he has a second house in Jericho, where they live during the winter. However, he submitted all the requested documents to proof that he is a resident in Jerusalem.

Since 1967, he has paid his income and Arnona (municipality) taxes without anybody questioning his residency in the city. Only now that he asks for the rights he is entitled to, the NII refuses. Except this, the NII also stopped his health insurance as it was concluded that he is not a Jerusalem resident.

Practices and services at the NII's office in East Jerusalem can be compared to these at the Interior Ministry as described before, for example, long lines and waiting hours, almost no waiting facilities, unclear procedures, and the use of Hebrew only. The NII is authorised by law to conduct investigations to verify that the individual claiming an allowance lives in Israel and meets the conditions. It is part of NII policy to suspect every Palestinian Jerusalemite to actually live outside the Municipality boundaries and therefore conducts an investigation for every Palestinian application. Jewish residents are not subjected to the same treatment, as their residency rights are not questioned.

NII investigations in East Jerusalem breach the principles of proper administration and grossly violate the rights of the residents. Two examples: (i) An investigation of a claim can take several months and takes place every time a Palestinian Jerusalemite approaches the NII. During the investigation period, the claimant does not receive allowances or health insurance. Accordingly, residents of East Jerusalem awaiting the results suffer financially. (ii) Investigations and their reports are in Hebrew. Palestinian Jerusalemites are forced to sign these documents without being able to understand the contents.

In 1995, the NII agreed with the Interior Ministry to forward to the Population Administration of the Interior Ministry its findings on persons who have settled outside Israel. In this way, the NII became part of the 'centre of life' policy. However, the two institutions use different definitions of 'residents of Israel'. For the Interior Ministry a resident is a person who has been granted the legal right to stay in Israel, while the NII requires that a person actually lives in Israel, including Jerusalem, and holds the requisite residency status. Because of the 'centre of life' policy and housing problems in the city, many Palestinian Jerusalemites have been forced to live outside the city borders. However, they continue to pay to the National Insurance system through payroll deductions at their Jerusalem workplace, but cannot claim benefits.

Case reported to JCSER:

Ms. Neli Saleem is pregnant and in her seventh months. She lives in the neighbourhood of El Esawiah in East Jerusalem. At least three months before delivery, a pregnant woman has to register in a hospital. The hospital needs a letter from the NII in which it guarantees to pay for the hospital expenses. Ms. Saleem applied for this letter at the NII and submitted the documents that prove her 'centre of life' in Jerusalem. Besides these documents her residency has to be investigated before being able to approve her application. However, because of the current situation, NII investigators do not go into some Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem for safety reasons. El Esawiah is one of these neighbourhoods. This means that the investigation is being delayed and Ms. Saleem does not receive a guarantee letter. To be able to register her, the hospital asked for a deposit of NIS 5000, which she paid with help of her family.

The Centre took up this case and assists Ms. Saleem in obtaining the rights she is entitled to.

(v) The right to equal access to public services

There is a policy that means to show residents and the world that Jerusalem is a �united� city, that its residents are equal in the eye of the law, without discrimination, and that they enjoy equivalent municipal services. Furthermore, Israeli law stipulates that the portion of municipal services received by any given sector of the population must be equal to the portion of taxes that they pay. However, for residents of East this is far from their reality as will be shown in this paragraph. First, the municipality tax policy is described. This will be related to the services received.

Arnona (municipal) taxes

The Arnona municipal tax was imposed on the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem after the Israeli occupation in 1967. However, it has only recently been acknowledged as a widespread area of discrimination. Amongst Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem, there is a feeling of injustice related to the collection of Arnona taxes. The injustice felt concerns: (i) the legal basis for Arnona taxes; (ii) the criteria for collection; (iii) the level of taxation; (iv) the implementation of the Arnona tax regulations; (v) and the sanctions applied following individual residents' inability to comply with the Arnona tax requests. Furthermore, there is injustice in relation to the way in which and to what extent Arnona taxes are returned to the Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem in the form of municipal services as will be described below. The Arnona tax can be divided into residential taxes and business taxes.

Residential taxes

Arnona rates are graded by area, situation of the dwelling, neighbourhood, and construction quality, corresponding to four levels of construction and size. There are no written criteria for designation of neighbourhood, and rates can vary considerably depending on the city's arbitrary classification of the dwelling's location. Arnona bills can exceed the annual rent of low-income families, for example in the Old City as this area is classified as 'Area A'. Furthermore, the tax structure does not take into account differences in income and lifestyle. Because Palestinian houses are built to accommodate a large number of household members and are usually over 120 square meters, the rates are highest for East Jerusalem. However, area does not automatically correspond with luxury. For example, large verandas, typical for Palestinian houses, are included in the area assessments.

Businesses taxes

Commercial property is assessed and charged by size, and not by economic activity or income. Jerusalem is the only city in which the Arnona fee is unified per square meter for offices, services and commerce. Therefore, the minimum Arnona fee in Jerusalem is much higher than in other Israeli cities. This puts disproportionate burdens on independents with small businesses with lower income and more insecurity compared to big companies. Studies show that the average monthly incomes of private businesses in West Jerusalem are much higher than in East.

Furthermore, the income levels of businesses in East are strongly affected by the closure policy as will be described under 'the right to freedom of movement'. However, no adjustment is made in Arnona. This has negatively affected the development of trade and has caused several small and middle-sized enterprises to close within and around the Old City. In a survey conducted by JCSER, it was concluded that 250 out of 1,000 shops in the Old City had been closed.

Finally, the Municipality has intensified the pressure on Palestinian residents as it has constantly been calling for an annual rate increase. This means that the same person, who saw his business decline because of the closure, is forced to pay taxes that have been rising 10-12 percent every year since 1993.

Seen on the background of the uneven socio-economic and demographic conditions and the uneven income levels between East and West Jerusalem, the collection of taxes based on unified fees disadvantages the Palestinian residents of Jerusalem. The problems concerning Arnona are widespread in East Jerusalem and bear heavy impact on the daily life of its citizens and their ability to maintain a living and secure the future existence of their families in the city. Many Palestinian residents of the city have been subjected to various punitive measures for being unable to pay the taxes. These range from fines to seizure of property and imprisonment. If owners of both residential as well as business property are unable to pay the tax, the Municipality files a case against them, which can finally lead to the closure of the business and the auction of the real estate. With regard to property, this auction usually favours Jewish settlers.

Case reported to JCSER:

Mr. Ziad al-Hammouri, a Palestinian Jerusalemite, used to own a shop in East Jerusalem. He protested against the Arnona tax policy. In 1992, in response to a series of brutal tax raids by the municipal authorities in East Jerusalem, he organised merchants and residents into a committee called 'the follow-up Arnona committee'. This was the first time that a Palestinian committee from East Jerusalem started negotiations with the Municipality. They held demonstrations and strikes and took the Arnona case to the Israeli High Court in 1994. However, this did not lead to changes in the Arnona tax classification system.

The Municipality obtained a court decision in 1997 and confiscated all Mr. Hammouri's merchandise and closed his shop. Mr. Hammouri was not informed about this decision and only found out about it when they actually came to confiscate. The court issued a court ruling against him, requesting the payment of NIS 335,000 for accumulated tax debts on properties that belonged to him. However, according to Mr. Hammouri this amount was not correct and he made an appeal against this decision. This case reached the High Court and pressure was put on the Municipality to reduce the amount. The Municipality did reduce the requested amount to NIS 110,000. The conflict is still not settled today. This case marked the start of JCSER and is one of many examples reported to JCSER concerning Arnona tax.

Municipality services

Structural discrimination against the Palestinian population in East Jerusalem is reflected in municipal budget and services. The following table shows the differences in the budget allocated to the Eastern and Western part of the city, and the number of employees.

Comparison of Allocation of Municipal budgets for 2001-2002 to West and East Jerusalem:

The Israeli government and Municipality have done little to reduce the gap between East and West. The gap in services has been maintained in spite of what is stated in the Israeli law and municipal and government policies as mentioned above. The garbage removal service, the state of the roads and sidewalks, street lighting and sewage are all far inferior in East Jerusalem compared to the Jewish side.

Some examples to show the differences

The Municipality presented the following data on the East-West gap in 1999:

There were 743 inhabitants per kilometre sewage pipe in West compared to 2,809 in East;

There were 690 inhabitants per kilometre of sidewalk in West compared to 2,917 in East;

There were 710 inhabitants per kilometre of road in West compared to 2,448 in East;

There were 1,079 public gardens in West compared to 29 in East;

There were 36 swimming pools in West compared to 0 in East;

There were 531 sport facilities in West compared to 33 in East;

There were 26 libraries in West compared to 2 in East

The East Jerusalem Palestinians make up 32 percent of the city's population, but received less than ten percent of the municipal budget. In the national budget their share is even smaller. In 1995, they received less than one percent (NIS 1.5 million) of the NIS 175 million allocated by the government to Jerusalem. Most of this money directed to a new highway that ran through a Palestinian neighbourhood, but which would serve large numbers of Jewish settlers.

(vi) The right to freedom of movement

The closure, which restricted the freedom of movement of Palestinians, has been imposed on Jerusalem since 1967, but it has intensified gradually since then. From 1972 until 1989, a general exit permit was issued that applied to all residents of the West Bank and Gaza and enabled them to move freely between the territories, Israel, and Jerusalem during the day. In the late 1980s, beginning of the 1990s, in the wake of the Intifada, and under the shadow of the Gulf War, Israel imposed a closure on the city of Jerusalem for security reasons. Each time an incident occurred, the closure tightened. In 1989, Israel began to restrict the general exit permit for people that where deemed a 'security risk'. Israel suspended the general exit permits in 1991 and replaced them by personal exit permits. To enforce this policy, nine checkpoints were set up, one on each main road entering the city. This closed the border between the rest of the West Bank and Jerusalem. At first, Israel issued many permits for relatively long periods. Most Palestinians could continue to enter Israel routinely. However, Israel's permit policy gradually became stricter.

To enter Jerusalem, Palestinians without Jerusalem ID must apply for a permit. Obtaining a permit is a lengthy, humiliating, and arbitrary process, which requires the submission of considerable personal documents. There are no clear procedures and criteria for receiving permits, and there is no requirement to state reasons for denying one, nor is there any avenue of appeal for Palestinians denied permits.

If granted, permits are usually for short terms and must be renewed for each new entrance to the city. The permit specifies the hours in which the holder is allowed to be in the city, and even the exact areas where the holder is allowed to go. Holding a permit does not guarantee access. Israel can choose at will to impose a total closure on Jerusalem.

The closure has had a devastating impact on all aspects of Palestinian life in Jerusalem as it isolated the city from the rest of the country. The closure has halted the economy in East Jerusalem. It used to be the centre for the surrounding villages and depended strongly on citizens from the West Bank, particularly the surrounding areas. However, these villagers now go to Ramallah or Bethlehem to buy and sell. 50 percent of the businesses in East Jerusalem closed. Most of them opened a branch outside Jerusalem in Ramallah, Bethlehem or somewhere else in the West Bank. Furthermore, the closure restrains employees from outside to reach their work inside the city.

Apart from the economic impact, the closure has also affected social, political, and cultural life. It isolated Jerusalem from the rest of the Occupied Territories. The closure restrains, for example, Moslems and Christians from reaching their religious sites in Jerusalem. Furthermore, it prohibits residents from the West Bank to visit their relatives in Jerusalem.

"In the fourth quarter of 2000, Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories have experiences the most severe Israeli-imposed closure since 1967, with 72 days of lost labour."

UN Economic and Social Council (March 2001) Question of the violation of human rights in the Occupied Arab Territories, including Palestine. Page 5.

4. Element four of the Convention on the Crime of Apartheid:

�Any measures, including legislative measures, designed to divide the population along racial lines by the creation of separate reserves and ghettos for the members of a racial group or groups, the prohibition of mixed marriages among members of various racial groups, the expropriation of landed property belonging to a racial group or groups or to members thereof;�

Measures to divide the population along Jews and non-Jews lines are again part of Israeli law, policies and practices in Jerusalem. These include land confiscation, settlement and by-pass road constructions.

4a. Land confiscation

Since the 1948 War, Israel has confiscated Palestinian land in Jerusalem for 'public interest'. The confiscation has partly been on an individual basis, but has also taken place on a far larger scale. The confiscation of areas of land covering thousands of dunums is no rare example. Most of this confiscated land has been used for the construction of settlements for the Jewish population of Jerusalem and roads leading to these settlements. The confiscation of land continues to take place for these purposes.

After the 1948 War, Israel confiscated all Palestinian owned land in West Jerusalem, which was 40 percent of the total area. In 1967, one of the first moves was the confiscation and destruction of the houses of the Old City's Al-Magharbeh to create a plaza in front of the Western Wall. Since then many other examples followed. Between 1967 and 1994, a total of 24.8 square kilometres of land (34 percent) was expropriated in East Jerusalem out of the 70.5 square kilometres annexed in 1967. 80 percent of this land was taken from the Palestinians.

The Israeli Status Law authorises the World Zionist Organisation and the Jewish Agency to control most of the land in Israel. The large-scale and systematic confiscation of Palestinian land and property by the State and the transfer of that property to these agencies constitute an institutionalised form of discrimination as these agencies by definition deny the use of these properties to non-Jews. Until now the state of Israel has taken no legislative steps to reduce its ties with these agencies and continues to conduit funds to these agencies for settlement and immigration purposes of Jews.

4b. Settlement and by-pass road construction

Since 1967, numerous Jewish settlements have been established in East Jerusalem, in the Old City as well as in the near and extended surroundings. Settlements are established in former individual Palestinian houses as well as in neighbourhoods.

In the mid 1980s, settler organisations began, for example, to receive control of homes in Silwan and the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. These settler organisations have the assistance of the Israeli government that provided large amounts of money, as well as information and legal backing.

Other settlements are totally new neighbourhoods built on confiscated Palestinian land. Most of these are built on strategic places and form an inner ring in East Jerusalem, isolating the city from the West Bank, and an outer circle ring ('Greater Jerusalem') reaching far into the West Bank. The 'Greater Jerusalem' plan follows Israel's vision of a metropolitan Jerusalem stretching from Ramallah in the north to Hebron in the south, and from Bet Shemesh (west) to Jericho (east), covering 30 percent of the West Bank. The total area comprises 440 square kilometres of which less than a quarter lies within pre-1967 Israeli borders. The Israeli government endorsed this plan in 1998.

Ma'ale Adumim is a large settlement located on a hilltop, east of Jerusalem. The land where it is built on was confiscated from the Jahalin Bedouin families in the 1970s. These families were forcibly moved from their ancestral lands. The Government of Israel has housed these families in steel container vans in a garbage dump in Abu Dis. They still live there today in inhuman living conditions.

Since 1967, the Municipality has planned and overseen the construction of an estimated fifteen Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem. Besides the settlements itself, the Israeli government opened a network of bypass roads. These roads isolate a large number of Palestinian villages in the eastern parts of the city. If the additional settlements on the Municipality's agenda are built, including the bypass roads to link the settlements, East Jerusalem will be completely separated from the West Bank and integrated into Israel's vision of a 'unified' city. At this moment 'the Jerusalem ring road' is already being built. This road will connect the surrounding settlements to the city and will run through the Palestinian neighbourhoods of Anata, Essawiyyeh, Tor, Ezariyyeh, Abu Dis, Ras al-Amud, and Sur Bahir. The construction of this road requires the confiscation of Palestinian land and the demolishing of 38 Palestinian houses of which fifteen have already been demolished so far.

The Israeli settlement policy dramatically changed the demographic reality of East Jerusalem. From an almost negligible Jewish population in 1967, Israel announced in the summer of 1993 that the Jewish settler population had outnumbered that Palestinians in East Jerusalem. This was the result of a concerted effort of the Municipality, with the support of the Knesset, to encourage Israeli Jews and new immigrants to populate the settlements in East Jerusalem. One example of the measures taken to promote the settlements was that new Jewish settlers are exempted from the Arnona (municipal) tax for a period of five years, after which they are charged at a reduced rate. In addition to tax-breaks, favourable apartment purchase terms, and subsidies, the Jerusalem area settlements have been aggressively marketed. They are promoted as integral suburbs of Jerusalem, however, not accessible for Palestinians as they are controlled by Jewish organisations as mentioned before.

5. Element five of the Convention on the Crime of Apartheid:

�Exploitation of the labour of the members of a racial group or groups, in particular by submitting them to forced labour;�

The issue of labour exploitation is not applicable to the situation in Jerusalem when interpreting labour exploitation as forced labour. However, Palestinians face discrimination in their recruitment and employment, in the wages they receive, in the deductions from their wages and the benefits they receive arising from these deductions. Although the labour situation of the Palestinian Jerusalemites is often not divided in available resources from that of the rest of the city's population or Occupied Territories, some specific information is available.

Palestinians in general have lower jobs and receive lower salaries. In contrast to high percentages of Jews employed in the public services and their high concentration in academic and scientific occupations, a high proportion of the Palestinian labour-force in Jerusalem is employed in industry, construction, commerce, and hospitality. 94 percent of the unskilled labour forces in Jerusalem are Palestinians.

Structural factors restrict the opportunities for Palestinian employment. For example, completion of military service is often mentioned as a requirement for employment. Another example is the underfunded education system as mentioned before. This is likely to have impact on the development of skills and capacities of Palestinian students in East Jerusalem. Finally, the closure has limited employment opportunities as many businesses were forced to shut down and Palestinian organisations and institutions had to move outside the municipal boundaries.

Further research on Palestinian workers rights in Jerusalem is necessary to be able to conclude if and if yes, how and in what extend discrimination is taken place concerning labour and working conditions. JCSER is conducting such a research at the moment. Results will be available soon.

6. Element six of the Convention on the Crime of Apartheid:

�Persecution of organisations and persons, by depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms, because they oppose apartheid.�

This element is interpreted by looking at the number of people killed, injured and imprisoned during the current Intifada as most of these people got killed, injured and arrested while demonstrating against the Israeli occupation and human rights violations. We therefore refer to the interpretation of element one of the convention in the beginning of this paper, namely the description of the current situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including Jerusalem. Furthermore, we refer to element three, Palestinian political participation and the recent occupation and closure of Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem.

Conclusions

Israel's policies and practices in Jerusalem today fulfil key elements of the crime of Apartheid. Various Israeli policies and practices segregate, discriminate and have the purpose to dominate over the Palestinian population. To reach the objective of establishing and maintaining control over the city, policies and practices to gain territorial integrity and a Jewish demographic majority have been implemented to ensure Israeli domination. These policies and practices adopted by the Israeli authorities in Jerusalem - the Municipality, the Interior Ministry and the National Insurance Institute - are interrelated, co-operate and strengthen each other. The most affecting policies and practices for Palestinian Jerusalemites described in this study are the planning, zoning and building restrictions as mentioned under 'element two'. The resulting shortage of housing forced many Palestinians out of Jerusalem. Jewish inhabitants, on the contrary, are assisted in all possible ways. Additionally, Israel's policy against so-called 'illegal building' as a result of this policy targets Palestinian areas disproportionately.