The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. (Mimmi Nietula, Maan Images)
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1. What sparked the current unrest in Jerusalem?
In February, Israel announced plans to designate two religious sites in occupied Palestinian territory as Jewish Heritage sites, in effect annexing them to Israel. The March 15 rededication of a synagogue in Occupied East Jerusalem similarly caused alarm among Palestinians. All of this comes in the context of intensified Israeli settlement building in East Jerusalem in recent weeks, along with evictions of Palestinians from their East Jerusalem homes.
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2. Why is East Jerusalem part of the Occupied Territories and what is its status under international law?
Israel seized East Jerusalem, along with the rest of the West Bank, in the 1967 war, and extended its law to East Jerusalem - in effect, annexing it - after the war. UN Security Council resolution 242, responding to the occupation, refers to "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." Israel's changes to the juridical status of Jerusalem have been deemed violations of international law by the United Nations Security Council (UN Security Council resolution 478 of 1980), as have its civilian settlements, both in Jerusalem and other parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
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3. What is Jerusalem's importance to Palestinians?
Jerusalem is considered holy to all three monotheistic faiths and both Palestinian Christians and Muslims revere the city as such. Jerusalem is also the historic economic and cultural center of Palestinian life and has been for centuries. For this reason East Jerusalem is seen as the natural and proposed site for the capital of the future Palestinian state.
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4. What is the U.S. position on Israeli actions in Jerusalem?
American policy has consistently stated that Israeli settlement construction in occupied East Jerusalem should stop. Despite this, Israeli settlement of Jerusalem has continued unabated for decades. On March 9th, when Israel announced plans to build 1,600 new Jewish homes in East Jerusalem during a visit by Vice President Biden, diplomatic tensions arose between the U.S. and Israel. According to State Department Spokesperson Philip Crowley, Secretary of State Clinton informed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that "the United States considered the announcement a deeply negative signal that "undermined trust and confidence in the peace process and in America's interests."
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1. What sparked the current unrest in Jerusalem?
The current tension comes in the context of illegal Israeli settlement expansion in occupied East Jerusalem and the expulsion in the past 16 months of several Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the city. Weekly demonstrations have been held in Sheikh Jarrah and have grown in size in the intervening months. Tensions were exacerbated as settlers, backed by the Israeli government, recently celebrated the confiscation of Palestinian homes and sang the praises of mass murderer Baruch Goldstein.
Further, Israel's decision in February to add the Ibrahimi Mosque/Cave of the Patriarchs in occupied Hebron and the Mosque of Bilal ibn Rabah/Rachel's Tomb in occupied Bethlehem to a list of national Jewish heritage sites caused alarm among Palestinians. The March 15 rededication of the Hurva Synagogue in Jerusalem's Old City caused similar alarm.
Palestinians from the West Bank were prohibited by Israeli forces from entering Jerusalem between March 11 and 16. In response to this and to extensive Israeli settlement activities in the city, Palestinian leaders called for demonstrations on March 16 in Jerusalem. A Fatah representative in Jerusalem, Dimitri Diliani, said, however, that current Palestinian anger is not against the synagogue "in its religious context, but rather as a natural expression of protest against cumulative violations carried out by the state of Israel as an illegal occupier of East Jerusalem."
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2. Why is East Jerusalem part of the Occupied Territories and what is its status under international law?
Jerusalem, under the UN partition resolution of 1947 was to be a "Corpus Separatum" administered separately from the two envisioned states - Arab and Jewish. That has not been the case. From the end of the conflict between Israel and the Arab states in 1949 until 1967, the city of Jerusalem had been divided - the western half controlled by Israel, and the eastern half under Jordanian rule.
In the June, 1967 war, Israel seized the eastern part of Jerusalem, along with the rest of the West Bank. The Old City of Jerusalem, bounded by a wall, and holding the most important religious sites to Jews, Muslims and Christians, was in the eastern half of the city.
After the 1967 war, Israel extended its law to East Jerusalem - in effect, annexing it - and also progressively expanded the municipal boundaries of the city, incorporating the lands of 28 villages in the West Bank. Israel is widely recognized as the occupying power there. UN Security Council resolution 242, responding to the occupation, refers to "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." Israel's changes to the juridical status of Jerusalem have been deemed violations of international law by the United Nations Security Council (UN Security Council resolution 478 of 1980), as have its civilian settlements, both in Jerusalem and other parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War states, "The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies." Settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem is therefore illegal.
Israel has routinely dismissed the application of international law to the Palestinian territories and is particularly adamant regarding East Jerusalem, frequently insisting that Jerusalem is its eternal and united capital. Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as their capital and the return of Palestinian refugees to West Jerusalem.
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3. What is Jerusalem's importance to Palestinians?
Jerusalem is the historic center of Palestinian cultural and economic life, and is revered by Palestinian Christians and Muslims alike. It is the third holiest place in Islam, as well as the holiest place for Palestinian Christians. Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Its combination of religious, political, and economic significance for both Palestinians and Israelis makes it a central issue to be resolved in negotiations.
Israel's de facto control over the city results in considerable strife. Palestinians have pushed back against Israel's effort, documented by former Deputy Mayor Meron Benvenisti, to keep the city's population 72 percent Jewish. Maintaining a presence in East Jerusalem, however, has not been easy due to Israel's discriminatory policies targeting Palestinian Jerusalemites, including home demolitions, evictions, denial of residency rights, and refusal to issue building permits. Palestinians also contend with religious affronts, such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center's decision to build a "Museum of Tolerance" on top of the Ma'man Allah Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem.
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4. What is the U.S. position on Israeli actions in Jerusalem?
On March 9, during the visit of Vice President Joe Biden, Israel announced 1,600 new settlement units would be built in the occupied East Jerusalem settlement of Ramat Shlomo. Biden condemned the accouncement, calling it "precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now…"
There is considerable Palestinian concern, however, that American officials will offer little more than condemnation and prove unwilling to exact the consequences necessary to pressure Israel to cease such provocative actions. Prime Minister Netanyahu apologized to Biden for the timing of the announcement, but pointedly has not revoked the action. On the contrary, Israeli officials are vehemently asserting a right to build wherever they desire in Jerusalem. For example, a tender to build a further 309 units in the occupied East Jerusalem settlement of Neve Yaakov exacerbated the situation when announced on March 16.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu by phone for nearly 45 minutes on March 12. According to Ha'aretz, Clinton urged four steps Israel could take to demonstrate its interest in peace talks and support the bilateral relationship with the US.
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