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Factual statement

At the beginning of 1999, the Israeli Ministry of Interior warned that more than twenty thousand houses had been built illegally in East Jerusalem. The Municipality of Jerusalem issued 141 demolition orders in 1999 and 19 were carried out. All in all, 92 homes have been demolished since the Oslo agreement was signed, leading to the displacement of hundreds of people in the city.

Between 1967 and 1997, no more than 12 percent of all new buildings were built in Palestinian neighborhoods (most housing there was privately constructed), while the Israeli public sector constructed at least 40,000 housing units for Israeli Jews on expropriated land.

Planning and zoning restrictions

24.5 square kilometre, 35 percent of the total annexed area of East Jerusalem (70 square kilometre) is expropriated land. Theoretically, this leaves 45.5 square kilometre for Palestinian use. However, several methods are adopted by the Jerusalem Municipality to severely limit this number.

East Jerusalem: expropriated areas, planned areas, and areas currently available for residential construction:

• 35% area expropriated by the Israeli government;

• 23% unplanned areas;

• 17% planning in progress;

• 25% planned areas, plan approved of which 7.3% is currently available for residential construction.

Land distribution and zoning designations in East Jerusalem as determined by the municipal authorities:

Source: IrShalem (1998) East Jerusalem; The current planning situation

Most land for Palestinian use is restricted. Two techniques are used, namely the 'Blue line' and 'Green area'. Only on land within the blue line can be built. In general, the blue areas are synonymous with the areas that have already been built on. 'Green area' is land set aside to preserve it for environmental or recreational purposes. However, in fact it is a zoning tactic to remove the land from use by Palestinian owners and to hold it as reserve for Jewish housing. This was, for example, the case at Jabal Abu Ghneim. Initially defined as 'Green area' to prevent the neighbouring Palestinian villages of Sur Baher and Umm Tuba from expanding, Jabal Abu Ghneim was subsequently rezoned for residential construction of the new Jewish settlement of Har Homa.

A Town Planning Scheme (TPS) is a precondition for land within the blue lines to be developed although this is already built-up area. Normally, it ensures adequate and efficient development of an area in line with the overall planning goals of the Municipality. However, in the case of East Jerusalem, TPS has been used as a means of restricting Palestinian development by minimising the scope of TPS in Palestinian areas, delaying their implementation or simply failing to draw up a TPS for the majority of Palestinian land in East Jerusalem. Over a third of East Jerusalem lacks TPS. For the Israeli settlements in this part of the city, the state takes the responsibility for reparcelling the lands, allocating funds, as well as hiring the planners and architects necessary to put the TPS together. The development projects in Palestinian neighbourhoods, all costs and resources needed to draw up a TPS fall on the Palestinians themselves. Furthermore, submitting a complete TPS does not mean that the Municipality automatically approves. From 1978 to 1996 only thirteen plans in Palestinian neighbourhoods have been approved. Even when approved, a plan is often not implemented. After expropriations, 'Green areas', and land that lacks TPS, only seven percent of East Jerusalem is left for Palestinian building.

"It was reported that at a meeting of the Jerusalem Regional Planning Committee, Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert has said that the most important task in the coming years was to increase the numbers of the Jewish inhabitants within the city limits. He had also said it was important to include 'Green areas' in the plan. He had made little mention of any particular vision to develop the eastern part of the city." (Jerusalem Post, 21 October 1999)

Building restrictions

Approved and implemented TPS limits the number of additional houses allowed to be built in Palestinian areas because of the demographic quota, and restrict the building percentages to low levels for Palestinian homes, namely to one or two floors, while Jewish housing units can go up to eight floors. In other words, different attitudes and conditions are being used by the authorities when it comes to planning in Palestinian and Jewish neighbourhoods. The policy for the latest is to promote and assist as much as possible in planning and building to settle the maximum number of people on a given piece of land, while for Palestinians it is exactly the opposite, namely confronting them with many obstacles and restrictions.

For construction to be legal, a building permit is required. As a result of zoning restrictions, recalcitrance on approval of TPS, and the difficulty of the planning process required by the Municipality, it is almost impossible for Palestinian landowners to obtain the necessary building permits to legally utilise their land for housing. The process of applying for such a permit is cumbersome, intrusive, time consuming, and expensive. In many cases the licensing process in East is more complex than in West Jerusalem due to problems relating to existing infrastructures and bureaucracy.

On average, the Municipality grants the Palestinians only 150 building permits per year. Even though they make up about 32 percent of the Jerusalem population, the number of building permits issued to Palestinians made up only 16.5 percent and 17.5 percent of the total number of permits issued in Jerusalem in the years 1997 and 1998. A building permit costs about US$ 25,000, which forms another restriction for many Palestinians as income levels differ considerably between East and West.

The Municipality also places restrictions on renovation works. JCSER estimates that there are 1,400 houses inside the walls of the Old City in desperate need of renovation at the moment.

Housing shortage and illegal building

As a consequence of the small percentage of space allowed for building, restrictions on building, the influx of Palestinians returning to Jerusalem and the demographic growth, there is a chronic lack of housing in Palestinian areas of Jerusalem and a high level of overcrowding. At the beginning of the 1990s, Palestinians in Jerusalem faced a shortage that exceeds 20,000 housing units. Since then, the gap in construction for the city's two populations has only increased.

Homes completed between 1990-1997 in Jerusalem:

The policy of obtaining building permits and the shortage of housing lead to large-scale 'illegal construction'. To battle against 'illegal construction', the Ministry of the Interior and the Jerusalem Municipality adopted several measures. These include: (i) imposing high fines; (ii) and a policy of demolishing 'illegal buildings' at various stages of construction, such as skeleton, foundations, and during the expansion of existing buildings. Demolition orders can be issued by the Municipality or by a court decision. The Municipality can carry out demolition orders within 24 hours. This short period of time makes it impossible for most residents to go to court and defend themselves. Demolition orders issued by the courts do give residents the opportunity to make appeal.

The Israeli authority's policy against 'illegal building' targets Palestinian areas disproportionately.

House demolition orders carried out in East Jerusalem between 1991 and 2000:

While nearly 300 Palestinian houses were demolished in Jerusalem between 1987 and 2000, in West Jerusalem some demolition orders were carried out, but only of an extra room or a porch, never a whole building like in Palestinian neighbourhoods. However, it is estimated that 84 percent of the building violations take place in the Jewish sector. While Palestinians are responsible for sixteen percent of the building violations, more than 60 percent of the demolitions are carried out on Palestinian houses.

Recent developments

During 2001, JCSER has documented an increase in violations of the right to housing. The biggest demolition campaign took place on July 9 in Shu'fat refugee camp. Israel demolished fourteen homes leaving their inhabitants homeless, many of them for the second time.

According to the Municipality, 191 out of 219 requests for building permits submitted in East Jerusalem were approved, while 1,087 out of 1,519 requests for building permits were granted in the rest of the city last year. Licenses for East Jerusalem were concentrated in South-East Jerusalem according to the Palestinian housing council and decreased compared to 2000. The decrease of the applications for building permits probably can be explained by the decreasing economic situation for most Palestinian Jerusalemites. Nowadays, the average cost of obtaining a permit is about US$ 20,000.

In East Jerusalem, 1117 buildings were built illegally in 2001 according to municipal information; the Municipality took legal procedures against 270 cases; 68 civil orders were sent to announce a demolition; 32 houses were actually demolished by the Municipality. These figures should be compared to the ones in West Jerusalem where 6051 buildings were built illegally in 2001; the Municipality took legal procedures against 760 cases; 8 civil orders were sent to demolish; 7 buildings were actually demolished by the Municipality. These were four tents; one kiosk; and two buildings, which were built on a cemetery.

These are only the demolitions of the Municipality. However, the Interior Ministry also demolishes homes. The estimated total number of homes demolished in East Jerusalem in 2001 is 51 buildings, which consists of 74 housing units.

In 2002, so far 24 houses have been demolished.

• 2002: 24

  • January: 12

    • 14 January: 9 houses Issawiyya

    • 21 January: 1 house Old City

    • 23 January: 2 houses Beit Hanina

  • February: 7

    • 04 February: 2 houses Issawiyya

    • 06 February: 3 houses Beit Hanina

    • 19 February: 2 houses Um Tuba

    • 20 February: 4 houses Anata (wooden barracks belonging to Bedouin families just outside the Municipal boundaries)

  • March: 0

    05 March: 7 barracks to keep animals of 5 owners in Issawiyya (just outside the Municipal boundaries)

  • April: 0

  • May: 5

    • 06 May: 2 (parts of) houses Silwan

    • 21 May: 3 houses Beit Hanina

On 24 November 2001, the UN Committee Against Torture stated Israel's policy of demolishing Palestinian homes may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in breach of article 16 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which Israel ratified in 1991.


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