Under cover of demography
Israel's policy of ethnic cleansing terrorises Palestinians into homelessness, writes Annika Hampson from Jerusalem
Mohamed Ostah, his wife and seven young children, live in an empty, half- completed Islamic Waqf building in Sheikh Jarrah in Arab East Jerusalem. They are one of 24 families who have been squatting the building for the past five years. The families who are poor and have no place else to live are at the centre of a protest against Israeli policies aimed at the eviction of Palestinians from East Jerusalem.
Ostah is from the Old City of Jerusalem. When armed Israeli settlers moved next door to him, their harassment made his life unbearable and he was finally terrorised into leaving. The settlers threw garbage infront of their house, verbally abused his wife and children and physically assaulted him. At times they were made prisoners in their home, while on other occasions the family couldn't reach their front door as the settlers' armed security guards blocked the way. "I couldn't raise my family in these circumstances," Ostah said. "We persevered for a while but the situation became intolerable and I feared for my family's safety."
After leaving the Old City, Ostah joined several other homeless families who also were terrorised by settlers and many of whom had their homes demolished under the pretext that they lacked the necessary Israeli building permits. The families initially pitched tents on land owned by the Islamic Waqf on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. The camp became known as the Sumoud (Steadfast) camp.
When the Israeli authorities demolished the Sumoud camp on the grounds that the families did not have permission to be there, it was agreed with the Palestinian Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs that the families could be moved to the empty building owned by the Waqf in Sheikh Jarrah. The building was intended to be a library and cultural centre, but construction stopped during the Gulf War in 1991 due to lack of funds and the building became a hangout for local drug addicts.
When the families moved in, the building was just a bare concrete shell with no running water or electricity. Today, it is home to 24 families that total more than 200 people, including many children and babies.
Ostah's home is a corner of the building on the second floor. Makeshift partition walls made from plywood and plastic sheeting separate the space from the rest of the building. Inside there are two rooms, a toilet and a tiny kitchen. Other than a heap of mattresses that are piled in the corner of the room, the only furniture are three saggy chairs and a cracked television. The concrete floor is covered with scraps of an old carpet. "We have nothing, life is hard," Ostah sighed, waving his hand around the sparsely furnished room.
The families refused to leave Jerusalem so as not to risk losing their Israeli identity cards. "They want to empty Jerusalem of Palestinians," Ostah explained. "But I will resist this until I die."
In December 1995 the Israeli Ministry of Interior changed its policy regarding the residency status of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. It adopted a new policy -- dubbed as the "quiet deportation" policy -- which was widely criticised at the time as having the sole aim of reducing the number of Palestinians with Jerusalem identity cards.
The Interior Ministry used the new regulations to actively begin revoking residency from those who moved outside Jerusalem's municipal borders. Without their Jerusalem identity cards, Palestinians are denied the benefits other citizens of the state of Israel are entitled to, including the right to live in Jerusalem or work in Israel. They also lose their social benefits and even the right to enter Israel freely.
This policy however does not affect Jewish residents of Jerusalem. Should a Jewish Israeli citizen decide to live in a West Bank settlement, they would retain their full Jerusalem residency rights and the Interior Ministry would not revoke their identity cards.
Nasser Al-Refae', director of Jerusalem Affairs in the Palestinian Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs, has been following the plight of the Sumoud camp families. "Their situation is terrible," he acknowledged. "We must solve this long standing problem." Al-Refae' explained that alternative housing has been made available for these families in a village near Bethlehem. But the majority of the families have rejected this solution and insisted on their right to stay in Jerusalem.
As a result, the families have now been living in squalor for five years and no acceptable solution to their dilemma has been found. The families have been frustrated with the lack of moral and material support for their situation. "What is important is that we stay in Jerusalem, where we belong. We will not leave." Ostah stated vehemently. Claiming he is expressing the sentiments of all the squatters, he added, "Insh'Allah, one day my family will go back to our home in the Old City. This is the only acceptable solution for me and it is the dream I won't abandon."
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 24 - 30 July 2003 (Issue No. 648)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/648/re1.htm