EU report on Jerusalem

The European Union Representation to the Palestinian Authority issued its report on the situation in the city of Jerusalem in 2022. The report, which was supported by 21 member states, indicates an acceleration in the targeting of Jerusalem and Jerusalemites by the official Israeli establishment. Its utmost importance stems from the fact that it literally sums up the consistency of the plans and actions of the Israeli government with the plans and activities of settlement associations, which are hastening to erase the history, narrative, and authentic identity of the city of Jerusalem, and cancel any hopes for a future political solution.

The report confirms that the Israeli plans aim to strip the city of Jerusalem and the Jerusalemites from their geographical and national depth through checkpoints and military measures, and by strengthening the cover of settlements and their infrastructure around Jerusalem, and by punitive measures targeting Jerusalemites in all aspects of their lives, including targeting educational, cultural and health institutions.

In this regard, the report refers to the adoption by the Israeli security establishment of a strict annual inspection regime for Jerusalemite schools and obliging schools to adopt modified Palestinian or Israeli curriculum books, and to the threat of revoking licenses and closing down schools that "do not cooperate" with the Israeli establishment.

With regard to the socio-economic situation, the report refers to the miserable situation in which the Jerusalemite neighborhoods live as a result of the Jerusalem Municipality's lack of interest in them, despite the fact that it collects taxes from them, and that the development budgets in these neighborhoods are less than 15% of the municipality's total budget, although Jerusalemites constitute about 40% of the total "residents" of the city. In this context, the report states that only 45% of Jerusalemites are connected to the water and sewage networks, which increases and exacerbates the social and economic vulnerability of Jerusalemites and raises poverty rates among them to more than 60%.

With regard to Jerusalemite institutions that supervise cultural and educational services, they are still targeted by the Israeli establishment, and this is evident from the continued closure of the "Orient House" institution, the Directorate of Education and many institutions concerned with human rights and culture. The report also refers to the demolitions of homes, the withdrawal of identities, and the lengthy, complex, and costly building permit procedures for Jerusalemites, in exchange for supporting construction in Israeli settlements, promoting housing in Jerusalem, and highlighting the Jewish religious character, at a time when Jerusalemite neighborhoods are fragmented and any geographical contiguity between them and the rest of the West Bank is prevented. .

The report singled out an important aspect for describing the acceleration of the Israeli establishment's actions to change the status quo in and around Al-Aqsa Mosque, and showed that while settlers are allowed to enter it freely and ignore their prohibited appearances, Jerusalemites are prevented from praying in it under the pretext of achieving security for the settlers. And that the restrictions that are imposed on the holy ones, whether on their holidays, or even during the Jewish holidays, are to restrict them and create a fait accompli in Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings. The report lists the procedures for targeting Christian Jerusalemites and the Israeli institution's intentions to impose the Arnona tax on churches in its endeavor to seize ecclesiastical property, as is happening in the Hebron Gate area, in addition to restricting the movement of Jerusalemites during Christian holidays.

The report describes many illegal measures taken by the Israeli institution against the Palestinian Jerusalemite presence, considering that the main goal is to cancel the heritage, national and even religious identity of the holy people (Muslims and Christians) and that these measures are constantly escalating and accelerating. The report concludes with important recommendations for the European Commission to preserve what remains of the possibility of a "two-state solution!"

In conclusion, I would like to record my appreciation for the representative of the European Union in Jerusalem, who will soon finish his work. He was a diplomat with humanitarian and professional principles, and there is no doubt that Jerusalem will miss him.