Adalah, with the Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem, submitted an objection to the East Jerusalem City Center Master Plan on behalf of 322 Palestinian residents
Tomorrow, 17 May 2022, the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee will hear objections against Israel’s East Jerusalem City Center Plan. On 14 September 2021, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, in partnership with the Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem (CCPRJ), submitted an objection to the Jerusalem Planning Committee on behalf of 322 Palestinian residents of occupied East Jerusalem. In the objection, Adalah argues that the Plan disregards the current and future needs of the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem. Rather, it imposes long-term restrictions on their development in all areas of their lives, including housing, economy and employment, trade, education, culture and transportation.
The objection was filed by Adalah’s Legal Director, Attorney Suhad Bishara. It was supported by two expert opinions: (1) a general analysis of the Plan and its shortcomings by Professor Yosef Jabareen of The Technion; and (2) an analysis of transportation and traffic by engineer Haitham Muna.
CLICK HERE to read the objection [Hebrew]
The Plan, introduced in October 2020, covers a wide area of approximately 689 dunams (about 170 acres) that borders Bab al-‘Amud (Damascus Gate of the Old City) to the south, and the Palestinian neighborhoods of Sheikh Jarrah and Wadi al-Joz to the north and east respectively. The area, which currently contains 976 housing units for 6,100 Palestinian residents, also includes the main thoroughfares of Nablus Road, Salah ad-Din Street, and A-Zahara Street. The area functions as an economic, political, social, and cultural center for Palestinians, including its current residents, who number around 367,000.
In March 2022, Adalah issued a position paper detailing the arguments raised in the objection illustrating the illegality of the plan.
CLICK HERE to read Adalah’s position paper [English]
In its position paper, Adalah argued that the plan must be understood within Israel’s broader political project in Jerusalem: to seize Jerusalem as the “complete and united” capital of the State of Israel, and to ensure Jewish demographic and territorial control.
