Jul 18, 2013
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM -- A Palestinian senior official on Thursday commended Jordan's role in defending Jerusalem and the steadfastness of its people against systematic Israeli attempts to change the cultural identity and demographic reality of the city.
Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Governor of Jerusalem Adnan Husseini told a Jordanian media delegation that Jordan's Hashemite leadership has been relentlessly working to preserve Jerusalem's character and support its Arab residents.
Such efforts have paid off in a relatively better situation of the city's holy sites and more resilience among the Jerusalemites, the official said. But under the occupation, the situation remains bitter for Palestinians, he said, citing a list of examples.
Since 1967, when Israel occupied and annexed Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the world, the occupation authorities have cancelled more than 14,500 residency IDs that belonged to Arab residents in the holy city.
"Currently, there are around 350,000 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem territories that fall inside the segregation wall in addition to 90,000 who live outside the wall but still hold Israeli Jerusalem IDs," he said.
Palestinians in Jerusalem constitute 36 per cent of the total population of the 128-square-kilometre city. Construction activity is highly encouraged for Israelis and effectively banned for Arabs, according to the official.
"Israel has constructed a total of 36 settlements within the borders of the governorate of Jerusalem, which is occupied by 200,000 settlers in addition to 280,000 Israelis who live in West Jerusalem," he said.
The occupation authorities issue some 140 construction permits to Arabs, whose actual need is around 6,000 permits, Husseini said, stressing that it takes several years for the Palestinians to obtain an approval from the occupation municipal authorities to build a house or an apartment in Jerusalem.
In addition, he noted that life is too expensive for the Arabs living in Jerusalem.
"We live according to the Israeli living standards with the difference that the annual per capita income for Palestinians is around $3,000 while among Israelis it is nearly ninefold.
Meanwhile, the head of the Islamic Christian Commission in Ramallah, Hanna Issa, told The Jordan Times Thursday that the number of Palestinian Christians in Jerusalem constitutes 1 per cent of the Arab population, adding that the occupation and the deteriorating living conditions in the holy city drive the Christian minority to leave the city in pursuit of a better life.
"There is no social justice in Jerusalem because of the occupation's policy of discrimination against the Arabs in the holy city, let alone the instability there. The diversified ethnicities in Jerusalem have always been the shield that has protected the city against invaders throughout history," Issa said, stressing that unless the Arabs support the steadfastness of the Arab residents in Jerusalem, "a very dire price will be paid".
Arab summits customarily end with a statement on Jerusalem and pledges of providing funds to "keep Jerusalemites on their land", but reportedly only a small fraction of the assistance reaches them.
© Jordan Times 2013
