Jerusalem official: Areas east of fence not part of city
Yakir Segev, who holds the East Jerusalem portfolio in the Jerusalem municipality, says only delusional right wants to hold on to this area.
By Nir Hasson Tags: separation wall Jerusalem East Jerusalem Israel newsYakir Segev, who holds the East Jerusalem portfolio in the Jerusalem municipality, made an uncharacteristic remark on Friday, declaring that the Palestinian neighborhood east of the separation fence were "no longer part of the city."
Some 50,000 Palestinians, identification card holding residents of Jerusalem, live outside the separation fence. Most of them reside in the northern Jerusalem neighborhoods which are currently under near anarchy due to the fact that Israeli authorities ? municipality, police, service authorities ? almost never enter this area and the Palestinian authorities also refrain from entering under Oslo guidelines forbidding them to operate within Jerusalem.
Speaking at Hebrew University, Segev, seen as a right-winger, said Thursday that the reality that has formed in the region is irreversible, and that the separation fence, which many Israelis credit with the dramatic drop in terror attacks perpetrated by Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, was built for political and demographic reasons - not just security concerns. "The Jerusalem municipality has no hand in managing these neighborhoods, and doesn't have the power to address the difficult situation facing the 55,000 people who live there," he said.
"The State of Israel has given up," he went on to say. "[The neighborhoods] are outside the jurisdiction of the state, and certainly the municipality. For all practical purposes, they are Ramallah."
"Outside the half delusional right wing camp, I don't know anyone who wants to enforce Israeli sovereignty over this area," Segev continued.
"In order to address the problems of East Jerusalem, we must decide on the city's political future," he added. "It is difficult to convince decision makers and the treasury to enlist in helping East Jerusalem when its political future is uncertain."
Segev also remarked on the phenomenon of Jewish settlements in the heart of Arab neighborhoods, saying that it was not something that the municipality could control. "The local committee makes a simple decision: Is this a residential area? Did the owner of the property submit proper permits? If there are no reasons not to approve the construction in terms of planning, why shouldn't we approve? Because he's Jewish? I think it is a terrible idea to build a Jewish neighborhood in the middle of Shuafat, in the middle of an Arab area. But at the end of the day, if a Silwan resident sells his home to a Jewish organization, willingly, who are you to butt in and tell him no? The Jerusalem municipality will not decide who lives where."
"We will protect the Jews' right to live there just as we would protect Arabs' right to live elsewhere," he concluded.
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ON the fences can we hang long troughs filled with soil to grow eat capability plants. Not just for pretty but for harvest. What can you grow in them.Can we create mist water hose from gray water after water treatment for grow. I don't think you want to use black rain created from human waste due to the factor that it passes disease but we need to be dumping large amounts of baby fish into our seas as well. Huge numbers for recoil around the world. We need to unblock the natural springs from mining so we again have fresh water flow. What can you do with old road matter? Can we weave cloth and sell it overseas even the elders.Can we grow cotton in those troughs? The cotton industry crashed due to disasters and flooding. Rankoo-Karoon
The annexation of East Jerusalem was declared illegal by UNSC Resolution 252 (1968)of 21 May 1968 UNSC Resolution 267 (1969) of 3 July 1969 UNSC Resolution 271 (1969) of 15 September 1969, UNSC Resolution 298 (1971) of 25 September 1971, UNSC Resolution 465 (1980) of 1 March 1980, UNSC Resolution 476 (1980) of 30 June 1980
imagine that! how thoughtful of him...
And what about the delusional left that believes Israel can buy peace with land? Kinda like a bad acid trip and not just delusion. Israel has every right to exist and if the arabs don't dig this it's too bad for them and if they insist on killing then they get killed, and re: J'salem and other land areas-just start from premise that Israel's safety is paramount and that means secure borders. All else is politically correct BS!
What he means is push the Arab northern part of the city into the West Bank and extend the border again and again towards the south so that more settlement building can take place there. At the same time cram in as many Jews into Arab neighbourhoods as possible.
And all that winding around to include huge swathes of Palestinian land inside the Israeli side had a point to it after all! How surprising!
Sounds like a "right winger" i could get on with. He talks sense.
It is great that the Jerusalem municipality protects the planning and construction rights of an Israeli citizen in East Jerusalem, if only they allowed Arab East Jerusalemites the same rights. Instead, apartheid continues where Arab families are not granted permission to even add extensions to their own home (a right granted to all settlers despite a settlement construction freeze) let alone purchase land or build just because they are not Jewish.
How different the discussion would be if someone said, 'I think its a terrible idea to build a black neighborhood in the middle of a white area'. Then it would be recognized as the racism that it is. Real peace will only happen when both Jew and Arab can live in the same neighborhood safely, as it was in the past, despite the occasional exception which has now changed into the 24/7 rule. If an Arab is able to buy in a Jewish area he should also be able to get permits, as the official implied. That doesn't take away from Israel being a Jewish state. The problems arise when Arabs want to live in a Jewish area but not a Jewish state.
Most Israelis don't want to occupy the WB, Gaza or East Jerusalem. Unfortunately, Israel's current govt doesn't represent what most of Israel's people want. Unfortunately, Israel's righ wing and its US supporters receive the majority of press coverage.
"We will protect the Jews' right to live there just as we would protect Arabs' right to live elsewhere," he concluded." You would do better to protect the Arabs right to live in East Jerusalem, and the Israeli's right to live elsewhere. The Arab doesn't require an army to defend his right to live there; the Israeli does. Oh well; at least you admit that "East Jerusalem and the West Bank, was built for political and demographic reasons - not just security concerns."
Access to Israel's most important airbase ,placed in Negev is closed at night ,also for pilots since travelling at night is too dangerous because of arab gangs. Only TA has full Israeli rule ,for the time being that is.