The UN has called on Israel to end its program of demolishing homes in East Jerusalem and tackle a mounting housing crisis for Palestinians in the city.
Dozens of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem are demolished each year because they do not have planning permits. Critics say the demolitions are part of an effort to extend Israeli control as Jewish settlements expand.
The 21-page report from the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs is the latest round in an intensifying campaign on the issue.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Although Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has defended the planning policy as even-handed, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in March described demolitions as “unhelpful.”
An internal report for EU diplomats described them as illegal under international law and said they “fuel bitterness and extremism.”
Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and later unilaterally annexed it, a move not recognized by the international community.
The UN said that of the 70km² of East Jerusalem and the West Bank annexed by Israel, only 13 percent was zoned for Palestinian construction and this was mostly already built up. At the same time 35 percent had been expropriated for Israeli settlements, even though all settlements on occupied land are illegal under international law.
Palestinians in East Jerusalem had found it increasingly difficult to obtain planning permits and many had built without them, risking fines and eventual demolition. As many as 28 percent of all Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem were built in violation of Israeli planning rules.
“Throughout its occupation, Israel has significantly restricted Palestinian development in East Jerusalem,” the UN report said.
It said 673 Palestinian structures had been demolished in the east between 2000 and last year. Last year alone 90 structures were demolished, leaving 400 Palestinians displaced, the highest number of demolitions for four years. Similar demolitions are carried out regularly by the Israeli military across the West Bank.
The UN said it was particularly concerned about areas facing mass demolition, including Bustan in Silwan, just south of the old city, where the threatened destruction of 90 houses would lead to the displacement of 1,000 Palestinians.
Families who lose their homes are faced with the choice of moving into crowded apartments with relatives or renting new homes. They face “significant hardships,” including having their property destroyed and struggling with debts from fines and legal fees, the UN said.
A 2007 survey, quoted in the UN report, found that more than half of the displaced families took at least two years to find a new permanent home and often moved several times.
The authorities in Jerusalem challenged the UN report and denied “the accusations and numbers throughout.”
Israel’s Jerusalem municipality accepted there was a “planning crisis,” but said it was “not just in eastern Jerusalem but throughout all of Jerusalem that affects Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.”
The UN report said: “Israel should immediately freeze all pending demolition orders and undertake planning that will address the Palestinian housing crisis in East Jerusalem.”
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