On the right to live in Jerusalem

THE FACTS

Since 1967, Israel has reduced the number of East Jerusalem Palestinians in the city by various means:

HOUSING

• Israel granted Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem the legal status of residents comparable to that granted foreign nationals who settled in Israel. Consequently, in the city of their birth, Israel treats Palestinians like foreigners.
• In many instances, Israel revokes the East Jerusalem residency status of Palestinians, among them Palestinians living in the city's West Bank suburbs, those residing abroad, and those who became citizens of foreign countries;
• The Israeli authorities make it difficult for residents of the Occupied Territories married to a city resident to obtain Jerusalem resident status. A child whose father is not a city resident does not have the right to live in Jerusalem, even if his or her mother is a city resident.

THE RESULTS

Thousands of Palestinians have lost their right to live in Jerusalem; familites are forced to leave the city to live together; children do not receive education, health, and welfare services.

RESIDENCY

• Israel expropriated from Palestinians more than one-third of East Jerusalem's land area (some23,500 km2) on which it built tens of thousands of housing units solely for Israelis. At the same, the Israeli government refrained from planning and developing Palestinian residential areas;
• Because Israel refused to grant building permits to Palestinins, many were forced to build without the requisitie permits.

THE RESULTS

Since 1967, the gap in housing density between Jers and Palestinians has doubled.

CONCLUSIONS

• Israel's policy towards Palestinian residents contradicts fundamental democratic principles and grossly violates basic human rights;
• The permanent status negotiations must be determined within the framework of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Until a permanent status is reached, Israel must:
• grant irrevocable permanent residency status to East Jerusalem's Palestinian residents, including whose residency was revoked;
• grant residency status to the spouse and children of East Jerusalem residents, and supply the services inherent in such status;
• allocate land and prepare town planning schemes for Palestinian neighborhoods in appropriate scope to meet their needs.