Within a systematic plan to reduce the number of Palestinians in the Occupied Jerusalem, Israeli Occupation Authorities seek to impose de facto in relation to the Palestinian neighborhoods founded in the periphery of the city and which are isolated behind the apartheid wall.

Reportedly, the targeted neighborhood are Shu'fat camp, Ras Khamis, Anata Ras Shehada, Qalandiya camp and Kufr Aqab, the inhabitants of which exceed 150,000 Jerusalemites ( holders of Jerusalem ID).

Israeli parliament member Naftali Benet submitted a proposal to separate the aforementioned neighborhoods from Jerusalem municipal borders, expelling around 150,000 Arabs from the city.

Later, the proposal was refused based on the Israeli law that states that Jerusalem "shall be unified".

The chair of maps department at Orient House, Khalil Tafakje, told Land Research Center the following:

" This means that Jerusalem Municipality will not have jurisdiction on those neighborhoods, leading to create local councils to run the areas. This also means that the citizens of those areas will not have same privileges of other Jerusalemites. As a result, this move will lead to isolate several Palestinian communities behind the apartheid wall; especially in Al-Eizariya, Abu Dis and Beit Jala areas."

The targeted neighborhoods in Jerusalem

Israel's policy seeks to reduce the number of Palestinians inside the borders of Occupied Jerusalem through colonial plans aiming at expelling as many people as possible. Not only, Israeli's measures and practices aim at pushing Jerusalemites out and forcibly displacing them through confiscation of houses and lands in addition to demolitions. Also, major neighborhood are banned from master plans as part of collective punishment on certain areas.

This case study is part of Kan'aan Project