JERUSALEM, (PIC)– Ziyad Hammouri, director and a founder of the Jerusalem Center for Social & Economic Rights, warned of the repercussions of the Israeli resolution of withdrawing residency from Jerusalemites and described the decision as “ethnic cleansing”.
Israeli media said Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is deliberating on whether to withdraw residencies from more than 80,000 Jerusalemites residing behind the Israeli Separation Wall.
However, Palestinian statistics show that more than 120,000 Palestinians reside in the neighborhoods behind the Wall. These neighborhoods are now geographically connected to the West Bank, with Israeli military checkpoints separating them
from Jerusalem, and the Palestinian residents of that region continuously pay taxes to the Israeli occupation government.
Israeli racist concerns
Hammouri clarified in an interview with the PIC that Israel is concerned about the demographic situation in Occupied Jerusalem, and is exerting all efforts to achieve a complete Judaization of Jerusalem through exiling Palestinians and bringing 300,000 Israeli settlers to live in their place. He warned of Israel’s next escalations that would include demolishing Palestinian houses and putting economic pressures on Jerusalemites, making their lives miserably unlivable.
Hammouri warned of the negative impacts of the Israeli measures that would completely seclude these Palestinians from Jerusalem, and affect the Palestinian education, too.
Economic losses
According to Hammouri, the Palestinian economy would suffer formidable losses, especially in the commercial sector of the Old City, due to the Israeli high taxes imposed on Palestinian shops owners, which may oblige them to work in Israeli facilities to make livelihood.
He pointed out that all the Israeli ministries have special budgets for Jerusalem, especially for funding the settlement projects. On the other hand, the PLO’s budget for Jerusalem is only $5-8 million.
According to Hammouri, 80% of Jerusalemites are under the poverty line, with deterioration in the economic and social conditions in the Old City due to the population density.
Absence of strategies
Hammouri lamented the absence of a Palestinian strategy to face the Israeli schemes. He insisted that the PLO has to cut some budgets from some ministries to provide financial support for the Jerusalemites. He mentioned that 20% of the Palestinian shops in the Old City are closed due to the bad economic conditions, threatening the livelihood of tens of thousands of Palestinian.
The Israeli-imposed siege on Jerusalem, according to Hammouri, fosters the social epidemics among Palestinians, which is something immensely preferred by the Israeli occupation.
Civil administration
Hammouri said the Israeli plans aim at turning the regions behind the Separation Wall into ” civil administration”, i.e. putting them under military rule. Therefore, the PLO, rather than the Israel municipality, would be responsible for providing services to these areas.
He stated that Jerusalem is a crucial issue for Israel, insisting that less than 12,000 Jerusalemites have Israeli nationalities.
Since 1967, the Israeli authorities have withdrawn the residency from 14,900 Jerusalemites.
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