Why is Jerusalem so significant in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict?

Jerusalem is a hugely contentious city as both Palestinians and Israelis consider it to be their state’s rightful capital. The city is the site of a large number of sacred places to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Western Wall is one of the holiest Jewish sites, the Haram al-Sharif, site of the Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock, is the third holiest site in Islam and for Christians, Jerusalem is where Jesus spent his last week and is the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Now, however, these Holy sites, along with the rest of the city, are only accessible to those holding Israeli citizenship or the precious few in the West Bank who can obtain a permit to visit the city for the day. In barring Palestinian Muslims and Christians in the West Bank and Gaza from visiting the city, Israel is not only preventing their freedom of worship but is also separating people from their land and families.

What is the city’s legal status?

In the original partition plan drawn up by the United Nations in 1947, it was decided that Jerusalem would be a neutral zone (or corpus separatum) meaning that it was neither part of the Palestinian or Israeli state and would have been the responsibility of the UN. However, during the 1948 war, Israel occupied West Jerusalem and Jordan moved into East Jerusalem and the West Bank in support of the Palestinians. The 1949 Armistice agreements affirmed this state of affairs and they remained until 1967.

In the Six Day War of 1967 Israel vastly increased its territory, occupying the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. At this time Israel declared the whole of Jerusalem to be ‘the eternal and undivided capital of the state of Israel’. To this day, the Israeli occupation continues in East Jerusalem but is not legal under international law.  UN Resolution 242 which was passed just after the ’67 war demands that Israel withdraw from all territories occupied. What is more, Israel continuously breaks the internationally recognised laws set out for the Occupying Power in the Fourth Geneva Convention. Some of the most significant of these laws are:

• Population Transfer: Article 49 states that the occupying power must not move their population into the occupied territory, or the existing population out. Israel has a systematic policy of moving settlers into occupied East Jerusalem and has taken many measures, including arbitrarily removing residency rights, evictions and house demolitions, to move the Palestinian population out.
• Destruction of Property: Article 53 prohibits any destruction by the Occupying Power of ‘real of personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State’. Israel has demolished whole neighbourhoods of the old city of Jerusalem including the Moroccan or Maghrebi Quarter which was made a protected area by the Islamic authorities as early as 700 AD. In addition to the destruction of heritage building such as these, Israel has demolished over 24,000 homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967.

There’s a lot of legal jargon here but it’s important to be able to show that the rights of the Palestinians living in the city are backed up by international law and conventions and it’s great if you can use these facts in your letter-writing and campaigning.

So what can you do?

• You can sign the petition (organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign) demanding that the Government of the UK stand up for the rights of the Palestinian people living in Jerusalem. You can also print out a copy of the petition to be circulated at an event you’re holding, a church service or stall. Once you’ve collected the signatures, please send them to us.
• You can also write you your MP asking him or her to encourage the UK government to do more to urge Israel to comply with international law.