Just the Facts: Jerusalem

  • 90% of Jerusalem’s city budget is directed towards Jewish Israeli neighborhoods.
  • Only 10% is directed towards Palestinian neighborhoods, home to 37% of the population.
  • 10,000 Palestinians born in Jerusalem have NO legal status because their parents hold different ID cards and Israel will not register them.
  • Over 200,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements on Palestinian land in East Jerusalem.
  • 14,500 Palestinians have had their Jerusalem residency revoked.
  • 87% of East Jerusalem is zoned to not allow Palestinian construction.
  • 93% of building permits are awarded for Jewish Israeli construction across Jerusalem.Palestinians receive 7% of the building permits.
  • This despite a shortage of 43,000 homes for Palestinian families.
  • Approximately 4.5 million Palestinians from the remainder of the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) are prohibited from entering East Jerusalem without Israeli-issued permits.
  • Those who obtain permits can only use 3 of the 13 checkpoints along the wall.
  • Since 2000, the Israeli authorities have demolished some 1,500 houses and other structures in East Jerusalem.
  • 76% of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem and 83% of the children live below the Israel-defined poverty line.
  • There is a chronic shortage of classrooms in East Jerusalem: More than 2,200 additional classrooms are required to accommodate Palestinian children and many existing facilities are substandard or unsuitable.
This week’s Just the Facts comes from:A number of infographics from Visualizing Palestine: one, two, three, fourOCHA oPt’s “West Bank | East Jesrusalem: Key Humanitarian Concerns”. Learning More
You can start with the two-part documentary from Al Jazeera, Jerusalem: A Rock and a Hard Place. It features both Sabeel’s Omar Haramy, and our guest from this last week, Dr. Meir Margalit. You can watch part 1 and part 2 on YouTube. And then see our extensive list of additional resources. We’re also starting playlists on YouTube for each week, where we can add news reports, documentaries, webinars, and other videos as we find them. You can find our playlist on Jerusalem here.