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Yale Accords Research
Never before in history has one city been the topic of such bitter strife as has Jerusalem been for Israelis and Palestinians. The signers of the Oslo Accords of 1993 designated discussion of Jerusalem's status as a "final-status issue," one that would have to wait until other, less controversial issues could be resolved. As yet, Israeli, Palestinian, and American negotiators have adroitly avoided a concrete discussion of Jerusalem's status, leaving Yale Accords delegates the onerous responsibility of taking up such a discussion. Both Israelis and Palestinians believe Jerusalem to be their own true capital from the beginning of time. Called the "holiest city in the world" by many, Jerusalem is home to sites such as the Dome of the Rock (holy to Muslims), the Western Wall of the Temple Mount (holy to Jews) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (holy to Christians). Much of the bloodiest strife in Israeli-Arab history has occurred inside Jerusalem's boundaries, including a host of violent confrontations in the Old City in and around the Temple Mount. A U.N. proposal of November, 1947 called for leaving Jerusalem an international city. This proposal was rejected by Palestinians and several Arab states. At the end of the 1948 War of Israeli Independence, Jerusalem remained divided. The Israelis gained control of all of Jerusalem during the 1967 war in which they also captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights, all points of contention between the peace negotiators. Despite a United Nastions resolution disapproving of Jerusalem's unification, the Israeli Knesset declared unified Jerusalem its capital in 1980. The Palestine Liberation Organization declared Jerusalem its capital in 1988. In an editorial written by members of Yasser Arafat's Fateh party, Jerusalem is said to be "legally an integral part of the Palestinian land occupied in 1967 and from which Israel must withdraw," citing UN Security Council resolutions 242, 338, and 252. The editorial calls on Palestinians to make control of Jerusalem a central aim of the Palestinian independence effort. As part of the Palestinian's planned declaration of independence on May 4, 1999, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has sought at least partial, if not full, control of Jerusalem as the capital of the new Palestinian state. The Israelis, of course, vehemently oppose such a plan, arguing that the capital is, and will always be, the undisputed capital of Israel. In the government's official policy guidelines, the platform establishes the following guidelines:
The recently signed Wye Memorandum makes no direct mention of negotiations on Jerusalem, saying only that the two sides will immediately resume permanent status negotations, of which Jerusalem is a part. Palestinians also protest the control of Jewish holy sites outside of Israel in areas under the Palestinian Authority's jurisidiction. The Oslo Agreement identifies "Joseph's Tomb" in Nablus and the "Shalom Al Israel" synagogue in Jericho as such sites and says that Palestinians will protect them externally, while Israeli guards will guard them from the inside. Rachel's Tomb in Hebron is defined as a "special case," under the security responsibility of Israel with free movement of Palestinians on the main road leading to Jerusalem. On the flip side, Arab population growth and development have skyrocketed since the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967. The number of Arabs in Jerusalem has risen faster than the number of Jews in the city. The number of Arab-owned apartments has also increased at a rate faster than the rise in Israeli-owned apartments since 1967. While some Arab construction is done without permit, over 3,000 new Arab housing units were recently approved by the Netanyahu government. Simultaneously, the Israeli government undertook the Har Homa construction project, intended to ease Jerusalem's housing shortage, and resulting in significant amounts of expropriation of both Jewish-owned and Arab-owned property in Jerusalem. The municipal government planned to construct 20,000 new housing units for Jews and 8,500 for Arabs, consistent with the existing ratio of Jews to Arabs in the city. Because Jerusalem was deemed a final-status issue in previous agreements, the Israeli government feels no need to coordinate construction in Jerusalem with the Palestinians. Labor and Likud party platforms seem to coincide on the issue of Jerusalem. Labor says "Jerusalem is the indivisible, capital of Israel, under Israeli sovereignty, including eastern (I.e., Arab/Palestinian) neighborhoods, with special status accorded places holy to Islam and Christianity." But it also recognizes the necessity to compromise in the domestic arena to promote political stability. Likud says "Jerusalem is the eternal, individsible capital of Israel; members of all faiths will always have free access to its holy places." The National Religious Party campaigned actively against the Oslo Accords, and it thus seems to believe in Jerusalem as Israel's indisputable capital. Clearly, control of Jerusalem and religious sites directly affects larger discussions of whether, where, and how a Palestine state might be established west of the Jordan River. Control of Jerusalem has been contested for centuries, and access to it as a seat of government would obviously affect the economies of both Israel and a Palestinian state, as well as each state's capacity to eliminate (or control) terrorist activities within their borders. One possible solution, proposed by former Palestinian legislator Edward Said in an essay in the New York Times Magazine, would be to form a binational Israeli and Palestinian state, with a joint capital in Jerusalem. Repartition has been mentioned numerous times, but even left-wing Israelis (I.e., those willing to allow for an independent Palestinian state) have pressed for a capital outside of Jerusalem, perhaps in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. Said's solution, though of course potentially explosive and dangerous, could perhaps alleviate existing tensions between neighbors and create a more practical means of co-existence for Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem and beyond.
Because of sensitive religious and historical issues surrounding Hebron, it was divided specially to give Palestinian police authority over Palestinian residents and Israeli police authority over the security of Israeli residents, including tourists of holy sites. The following are part of H2 and remain under full Israeli control: the Old City of Hebron, the Jewish Quarter, and everything linked from those areas to Kiryat Arba and the Tomb of Patriarchs. Both sides agree to an understanding that although the security in Hebron is divided, it remains a unified city and transportation within and in and out of the city are to be smooth and normal.
Should Israel continue to control all of Jerusalem? Can a Palestinian State claim Jerusalem as its capital? What part of Jerusalem? Will they control this part of Jerusalem? Should part or all of Jerusalem be an international city? What systems can protect access of various people to holy sites in Jerusalem? How can access to Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites outside of Jerusalem be protected? How will Muslims be guaranteed access to sites in Israel? Jews and Christians to those in Palestinian controlled areas?
Fateh website: http://www.fateh.org Prime Minister Of Israel's website: http://www.pmo.gov.il New York Times: http://www.nyt.com Edward Said, "The One-State Solution." New York Times Magazine, 10 January 1999. CNN: http://www.cnn.com Rosovsky, Nitza, ed. City of the Great King: Jerusalem from David To the Present. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996. Martin Gilbert's works on Jerusalem (Jerusalem History Atlas, Jerusalem: Rebirth of a City, etc.) Website of The Education Department of the Jewish Agency for Israel: http://www.jajz-ed.org.il Labor Party website: http://www.inter.net.il/~avoda |
