Charged with new energy as the Arab world undergoes political transformation, Palestinian civil society fearlessly will challenge the Israeli military occupation of Jerusalem and the systematic ethnic cleansing of that city of its Palestinian natives on August 26, the last Friday of Ramadan, al-Quds Day. Dubbed the Olive Revolution, the Palestinian popular movement is calling on Palestinians individuals, legislators, ministers, and unions from all factions and parties to join in a peaceful demonstration to enter Jerusalem from four directions. The action seeks to highlight Israel's denial of access for Palestinians to the city. All entrances into Jerusalem from the West Bank are blocked by huge Israeli military checkpoints and many Palestinians from Jerusalem have been forced out of the city by military laws and house demolitions.
How will Israel react to this nonviolent protest?
Background on East Jerusalem
B'tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, provides this history of the contested city since its occupation in 1967:
Since East Jerusalem was annexed in 1967, the government of Israel's primary goal in Jerusalem has been to create a demographic and geographic situation that will thwart any future attempt to challenge Israeli sovereignty over the city. To achieve this goal, the government has been taking actions to increase the number of Jews, and reduce the number of Palestinians, living in the city.
At the end of 2008, the population of Jerusalem stood at 763,600: 495,000 Jews and others (64.8 percent) and 268,600 Palestinians (35.2 percent). About 59.6% percent of the residents live on land that was annexed in 1967 (41 percent of whom are Jews, and 59 percent Palestinians). With the Palestinians having a higher growth rate than the Jews, Israel has used various methods to achieve its goal :
Physically isolating East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank, in part by building the separation barrier;
Discriminating in land expropriation, planning, and building, and demolition of houses;
Revoking residency and social benefits of Palestinians who stay abroad for at least seven years, or who are unable to prove that their center of life is in Jerusalem;
Unfairly dividing the budget between the two parts of the city, with harmful effects on infrastructure and services in East Jerusalem.
Israel's policy gravely infringes the rights of residents of East Jerusalem and flagrantly breaches international law.
East Jerusalem is occupied territory. Therefore, it is subject, as is the rest of the West Bank, to the provisions of international humanitarian law that relate to occupied territory. The annexation of East Jerusalem breaches international law, which prohibits unilateral annexation. For this reason, the international community, including the United States, does not recognize the annexation of East Jerusalem.
Many Adalah diaries have focused on the ethnic cleansing of East Jerusalem. A post by unspeakable in May 2011 outlined an Israeli plan called "Quiet Deportation",
whereby the status of thousands of East Jerusalemites was revoked. The residents received a short standard letter, informing them that their permanent-resident visa had expired, on the grounds – as alleged by the Interior Ministry - that they had settled outside Israel. In 2008 alone, for example, 4,577 East Jerusalem residents were revoked of their status by Israel...
Several Israeli laws govern the status of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. One example is the Jerusalem child registration law for Palestinian children born to Jerusalemite Palestinian parents. In 1988, the Israeli Ministry of Interior stopped automatically registering children of Palestinian women from Jerusalem as permanent residents. Now a family must petition the Ministry for permanent residency for Palestinian children born in the city. A petitioner must prove that Jerusalem is the "center of life" for the child in order to obtain the permanent residency status. This means that if the child attends school outside the city (very common since good, affordable schools in East Jerusalem are hard to come since it receives limited funding from the Israeli government) he or she will be denied residency and social services in Jerusalem, forcing the entire family to relocate. This is one way in which Israel is quietly changing the demographics of Jerusalem and creating facts on the ground.
B'Tselem has teamed with the Guardian to create several video diaries about life in East Jerusalem. The diary below is the story of Abd al-Fatah that gives a glimpse of why this protest is happening:
What’s the story?
Abd al-Fatah, a 51-year-old Palestinian, was born and raised in Dheishe refugee camp, but his family hails from al-Walajah – a West Bank village that was annexed, in part, to Jerusalem's municipal boundary after the 1967 war. The family still owns some land there. Seventeen years ago, after Israeli contractors began to show interest in the land, ‘Abd al-Fatah decided to go live on it, to physically assert his ownership. He now lives on the land in an ancient Cana'anite cave, raising crops and hosting Palestinian, Israeli and international friends, not only but also through his activity in the peace initiative All Nations' Café.
Recently, a plan has been published to build a new settlement in the area that encompasses his land. During the same period, ‘Abd al-Fatah was charged with illegally building a shed, a chicken coop and an outdoor toilet by the cave, and the case is now in court.
Why does 'Abd al-Fatah walk all this way?
In the movie, 'Abd al-Fatah is seen travelling to Jerusalem for a court discussion in his case. He is barred from simply taking the straight, short road to Jerusalem that runs close to his home, which would take him about half an hour. First, he must go in advance to the Liaison Office and get a permit. Then, on the day itself, he has to walk along a dirt path to the town of Beit Jala, take a taxi to Bethlehem checkpoint, which is the only southern entrance for Palestinians into Jerusalem, and take another taxi to the court. The journey takes some three hours in each direction.
What's the problem with the Separation Barrier?
In 2010, Israel began construction of the Separation Barrier around al-Walajah. The planned route will encircle the built-up area of the village, severing it from most of the villagers’ farmland, grazing land, and the road leading to Jerusalem, and leave them with only one egress road, in the direction of Beit Jala.
I will be watching as Palestinians walk tall to demand their freedom. Will you stand with them?
Here's the amazing Marcel Khalife singing "Walking Tall."