East Jerusalem: Key Humanitarian Concerns

Since 1967, Israel has implemented measures and policies which have altered the status of East Jerusalem, contrary to international law. These measures affect the residency status of East Jerusalem Palestinians, their access to education and health services, and their ability to plan and develop their communities, significantly increasing their humanitarian vulnerability. Israeli measures have also increasingly separated East Jerusalem from the remainder of the occupied Palestinian territory.

Fast Facts:

- Around 270,000 Palestinians currently reside in East Jerusalem, in addition to 200,000 Israeli settlers who reside in the settlements which have been constructed since 1967, contrary to the international law.

- 3.7 million Palestinians from the remainder of the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) are prohibited from entering East Jerusalem without Israeli-issued permits, which are difficult to obtain.

- Access to East Jerusalem is controlled by a combination of physical and administrative obstacles. Palestinians who are able to obtain permits can only use four of the 16 checkpoints along the Barrier.

- This system of restrictions obstructs Palestinian access, including patients by ambulance, to the East Jerusalem health facilities which provide specialized and emergency services, unavailable elsewhere in the oPt.

- Approximately 55,000 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem are physically separated from the urban centre by the Barrier.� While 35% of East Jerusalem’s land has been confiscated for the development of Israeli settlements, only 13% of East Jerusalem is zoned for Palestinian construction.

- At least 32% of all Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem lack building permits, which are difficult to obtain, potentially placing at least 86,500 residents at risk of displacement. Since 1967, the Israeli authorities have demolished some 2,000 houses in East Jerusalem.

- Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem lack a secure legal residency status. Around 14,000 Palestinians have had their Jerusalem residency revoked by the Israeli authorities since 1967.

- Because of settlement activity and eviction, several hundred Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem are at risk of forced displacement. Particularly affected are the Old City and Silwan, and 500 people in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

- 1,000 additional classrooms are required to accommodate Palestinian children in schools in East Jerusalem and many existing facilities are substandard or unsuitable.

Click here to download the full report:

East Jerusalem: Key Humanitarian Concerns Fact Sheet  (2 pages, 526 KB )

Source: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs occupied Palestinian territory (ocha opt), December 2011