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Collective Punitive Measures in East Jerusalem Severely Infringe on Palestinian Rights
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Since the attacks in Jerusalem on January 27 and 28, Israeli authorities have launched a series of collective punitive measures against East Jerusalem residents that infringe on their basic freedoms and severely impact daily life. While depicted as “measures of deterrence,” such practices are rather a form of collective punishment and state-sanctioned acts of reprisal, which not only constitute a violation of human rights, but also serve to recreate the cycle of enmity and violence.
These measures are in addition to the ongoing systematic discrimination and human rights abuses which East Jerusalem Palestinians regularly face from police brutality to land confiscation to discriminatory housing and planning policies to residency revocations.
The policies which will help to decrease hostilities, restore calm, and promote peace are those that will protect Palestinian rights and advance an agreed political future in Jerusalem, while holding Israel accountable to international law.
Below is a compilation of data detailing Israeli punitive actions, violations of freedom of movement and incidents of police violence in East Jerusalem over the past week.
Demolitions
In response to the deadly attack in Neve Yaacov, within 48 hours, Israeli forces sealed the Alqam family home in A-Tur on January 29 as a preliminary step ahead of the planned punitive demolition of the building. Such a move constitutes collective punishment aimed at relatives of the man who perpetrated the attack. The Israeli government likewise declared their intent to seal the family home of Mahmoud Aliwat, the 13-year-old who carried out Saturday’s attack in Silwan. While there has been consistent heavy presence of Israeli forces stationed around the home, as of February 2, the building has yet to be sealed.
Between January 29-February 1, ten demolitions have been carried out throughout East Jerusalem of uninvolved Palestinians under the pretext of lacking building permits: four residential units (1 - al-Walaja, 3 - Jabal Mukkaber) and six non-residential units (1-Sur Baher, 3-Silwan, 1-Beit Hanina, 1-Jabal Mukkaber). This brings the total number of demolitions since the start of 2023 up to 38 structures – 13 residential units and 25 non-residential units.
These demolitions came on the heels of statements made by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir instructing the authorities to carry out demolitions of homes in East Jerusalem built without permits. Although the minister does not have direct authority to order or authorize demolitions, such statements can spur the relevant authorities to swiftly execute pending demolition orders. Given the timing, this seeming demolition spree is a retaliatory and vindictive move directed at the entire Palestinian collective in East Jerusalem.
It should be underscored that this “unpermitted construction” is a direct outcome of the systematic discrimination in Israeli planning and housing policies in Jerusalem. Demolition orders are handed out under the pretext of lacking building permits, yet these permits are impossible to procure due to a myriad of obstacles, including the absence of valid or updated zoning plans. This reality has been directly created by the state’s abdication of responsibility to advance or approve zoning plans for Palestinian neighborhoods, which is a severe infringement on Palestinian rights to housing and shelter.
While the state continues to invest in robust residential development for Israelis on both sides of the Green Line in Jerusalem, it is juxtaposed with the complete neglect of Palestinian areas and severe increase of punitive measures against “building offenses.” In 2022, there was a total of 155 demolitions, 90 of which were residential units. Of the number of housing units advanced in zoning plans across Jerusalem last year, only 14% were designated for Palestinian neighborhoods despite Palestinians constituting nearly 39% of the city’s population.
Such inequitable urban planning policy has long served as a lever of Palestinian displacement as a means to preserve a Jewish demographic majority, while further cementing Israeli control over more territory in Jerusalem to undermine prospects of a political agreement on the city.
Freedom of Movement
Since January 29, the Qalandia and Shuafat refugee camp checkpoints have been intermittently closed along with the entrance to Anata. These checkpoints lead to eight East Jerusalem neighborhoods physically cut off from the rest of the city by the Separation Barrier where approximately 1/3 of the Palestinian population of Jerusalem have been forced to reside. Closure of these checkpoints severely impacts residents’ freedom of movement and access to the rest of Jerusalem where many work, attend school, and seek medical treatment. The average time to pass Qalandia checkpoint on Monday 30 January was two hours.
Over the past few days, flying checkpoints have likewise been set up in East Jerusalem, in the neighborhoods of: Beit Hanina, Silwan, Sur Baher, and Issawiyah, and on Lions Gate Road. In Ras al-Amud, a checkpoint stopped Palestinian vehicles and levelled fines against them for various offenses.
There have been five marches/demonstrations organized by right-wing Israelis and settlers, blocking main thoroughfares in Palestinian neighborhoods, including in Ras al-Amud, Silwan, Beit Hanina, and Shuafat. This severely impeded freedom of movement for Palestinian residents of these areas and further inflamed tensions.
Police Violence
As of January 30, according to Ir Amim’s findings, Israeli forces arrested over 74 Palestinians from across East Jerusalem, including relatives of the individuals who perpetrated the attacks over the weekend. Confrontations between residents and Israeli forces have been recorded in nearly every East Jerusalem neighborhood. A total of three Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces during clashes over the past 1.5 weeks, which in part triggered the deadly attacks on Israelis: 1 in Silwan, 1 in A-Ram, and 1 in the Shuafat Refugee Camp.
Police have prevented young men from sitting at the Damascus Gate Plaza – the social and cultural hub of Palestinian communal life—a move reminiscent of the police’s closure of the space during Ramadan in 2021, which helped fuel the war with Hamas. In continuation of the state’s aggressive police treatment of Palestinians, Israeli forces have used rubber bullets, tear gas, and skunk spray as crowd-dispersal methods and live bullets have been used in Jabal Mukaber, Shuafat refugee camp, and A-Ram. On 30 January, Israeli forces fired stun grenades at the Silwan Boys’ School in Ras al-Amud (no physical injuries were reported). The sniper unit has been deployed in Silwan, Shuafat refugee camp, and Chiyah.
A moratorium on collective punishment is essential
The reality in Jerusalem has underscored time and time again that further use of force, collective punishment, and acts of revenge only lead to escalation and more hostilities.
The imposition of “deterring measures” against East Jerusalem residents is a recurring Israeli policy, yet evidence suggests that these measures rather accomplish the opposite, ultimately serving to breed more resentment, antipathy, and bloodshed.
When police restricted Muslim worshippers from entering the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount for “security reasons” in 2014 and 2015, the situation only grew worse. When home demolitions, punitive fines, and blockades were imposed on East Jerusalem neighborhoods in 2015 during the “Knife Intifada,” violence continued for months, with no regard for these ‘measures of deterrence.’ During Ramadan in 2021 when police decided to unilaterally cordon off Damascus Gate Plaza, the clashes that followed deteriorated into another war with Hamas and riots ensued throughout Israel, claiming the lives of many.
Increased repression and more acts of retaliation will not end these cycles of violence, but rather an end to the daily human rights violations that are the result of ongoing Israeli control over millions of Palestinians who are deprived of basic freedoms, justice, and human dignity.
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Please address all inquiries to:
Amy Cohen
Director of International Relations & Advocacy
Ir Amim (City of Nations/City of Peoples)
Jerusalem
amy@ir-amim.org.il
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