A general view over the Israeli separation wall in East Jerusalem near Abu Dis. (Inbal Rose, Maan Images)

The number is staggering, to say the least. A total of 4,577 Palestinian residents of Jerusalem were stripped of their residency rights in 2008 alone, 35 percent of all east Jerusalemites who lost their residency rights since 1967 and more than any average year since Israel's occupation of the eastern sector of the city almost 42 years ago. For the less versed in the ways of Israel where Palestinian residency rights in Jerusalem are concerned, here is a quick rundown. Upon Israel's occupation in 1967 of east Jerusalem, those Palestinians who had stayed in their homes were included in Israel's census of the city and granted "permanent residency".

This, by no means is citizenship, which Israel also duly offered to the war torn residents of the even more war torn neighborhoods of Jerusalem. But taking on Israeli citizenship was, for most Palestinians, tantamount to high treason, given that they would assume the nationality of the country that had usurped most of their homeland and made hundreds of thousands of their fellow Palestinians refugees either outside the borders of Palestine or within it. Not to mention that one condition for citizenship was to swear allegiance to Israel.

Since then, the majority of Jerusalem's Palestinians have lived the precarious existence of permanent residents. Falling short of a full-fledged citizen, Israeli authorities impose strict conditions for Jerusalemites to maintain this residency. As the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem writes, "Israel treats Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem as immigrants who live in their homes at the beneficence of the authorities and not by right."

According to Israeli interior ministry sources, the majority of Jerusalem residents whose residency rights have been revoked were living abroad, which according to Israeli "law" is illegal. Palestinians, of course, see it in a different light altogether. Following the 1995 legislation to impose the "center of life" policy on Jerusalem residents, more and more Jerusalemites are finding that their blue ID card was no longer valid.

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The center of life policy is draconian in nature and is aimed at making it as difficult as possible for Palestinians to remain in their homes in Jerusalem. It demands that Palestinians living in Jerusalem prove that every element of their lives is cemented within the boundaries of the Israeli municipal borders for Jerusalem. That is, rent, land taxes, schools, work, immunization records, phone bills and a slew of other proofs must be ready at any minute to provide as evidence of a person's life in Jerusalem. If something doesn't add up, this could mean bidding farewell to any rights in the city, namely the right to live in your own home.

The most obvious Israeli plot behind these measures is to rid Jerusalem of its Palestinian Arab residents, thus claiming the city as Israel's "undivided and eternal capital." Coupled with Israel's other oppressive measures against Palestinians such as house demolitions, land confiscation and discrimination in education and basic services, this seems like a fair assumption, especially if one is to compare east Jerusalem with its western (Israeli) counterpart. Modern roads and buildings characterize west Jerusalem, which gives off any overall air of economic prosperity whereas east Jerusalem's dank and shabby roads and houses mirrors quite a different reflection.

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