Housing in Jerusalem

Introduction:

Proper and adequate housing is one of the civilian’s basic rights that the occupying Zionist Entity has taken away from the Jerusalemites. It also works to achieve political goals, through urban planning in the City of Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem have faced a lot of problems regarding providing housing, for the sake of protecting the sacredness of the city and its Arab identity.

Housing and People:

1- Population Development in Jerusalem:

Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in history. A lot of kingdoms and states lived in it since its establishment. Over time, Jerusalem entered a new phase and the struggle for accommodation has become a main problem caused by the government of the Zionist Entity, in the aim of controlling Jerusalem.

2-Natural Regeneration and Population Growth:

Natural regeneration is the main and only reason of the increase in the Arab population in the City of Jerusalem. On the other hand, migration has helped to increase the Jewish population.

3-The Causes of the Population Growth:

The main cause of the increase in the Arab population in Jerusalem is the natural regeneration, unlike Jews there. The number of births among Arabs ranges from 27.3 – 40.5 per 1000, while that number among Jews ranges from 25.8 – 28.7 per 1000. As for the number of deaths, it is less among Arabs than it is among Jews. Therefore, the variances in the births and deaths’ rates, and the natural regeneration among Arabs and Jews, led to the increase in the Jerusalemite population growth rate.

The Residential Situation in Jerusalem:

1-The Number of Flats in Jerusalem:

There are about 32450 authorized apartments, and other 33683 unauthorized ones in Jerusalem.

2-The Apartments’ Average Area:

The average apartment area allowed for the Jerusalemite family is less than the Jewish family’s apartment area. Most of the apartments in Jerusalem are small; less than 100 square meters. Looking to the number of family members, with an average of 5-6 members, we can see that a member’s share is less than 14 square meters, while a Jewish family member can have a share of 23.9 square meters

3-The Number of Apartments:

There are 51758 households in Jerusalem, while there are 48747 apartments. This means that there is a shortage of 3011 authorized housing units.

4-Residential Distress:

The residential distress for the Jerusalemites includes the housing’s high prices and the complication in the process of getting a construction permit. These are the biggest concerns for the Jerusalemites. The standards of defining a “housing distress” are the following:

The area of the available accommodation.
The number of people against the number of rooms: as for Arabs, each room contains 2-3 individuals, while in a Jew house there is room for each one. Most of the Jerusalemite households live in 3-room apartments.
Population density: the density of population is one of the big hardships in the Jerusalemite quarters. That is not the case in the Jewish quarters in Jerusalem. This means that the share of each Arab person is less by 8.1 square meters from the share of a Jew
Services: this point refers to the unavailability of services around Arab people in Jerusalem and their residences. Most of the Jerusalemite quarters suffer from the unavailability of the infrastructure of roads, sewage systems, electricity lines, and general services related to schools, playgrounds, and public parks. The occupation’s authorities place severe restrictions on the Jerusalemites.
Low building percentages: The Jerusalemite quarters suffer from low building percentages. It’s not allowed to build more than 2-4 housing units. This is not the case in the Jewish quarters, in which 4-8 housing units can be built.
The number of construction permits: the occupation’s policy lies in Judaizing the entire city of Jerusalem, and obstructing the process of getting construction permits. The occupation issues more than 200 permits every year, where the growth of the population in Jerusalem requires building more than 1500 house every year. If one of the Jerusalemites build a house without a construction permit, it will end up demolished. There are about 15 thousand unauthorized houses in Jerusalem.
The financial cost of getting a construction permit: the costs of getting a permit is way more than what the Jerusalemites can afford
Limitation of lands: the occupation’s authorities have confiscated more than 35% of the land area to build Jewish settlements. We find overpopulation in the Palestinian quarters, because Jews prevent them from building, in a lot of lands.

Accommodation in Jerusalem:

The housing sector is one of the most important sectors in the City of Jerusalem. It’s the most and worst affected sector by the occupation’s policy. The conflict over accommodation in Jerusalem started with the start of the Zionist project in Palestine.

[The Housing Situation and the Demand on Dwellings]

1- The Population’s Development and the Demand on Dwellings:

In the city of Jerusalem, after the 1967 War, there was 266.3 thousand inhabitants. The Arab percentage was roughly 25.8% of the total population. As for Jews, they accounted for 74.2 of the population in Jerusalem. The population in the city has increased by 2008. Arabs accounted for 35.2% of the population, while Jews accounted for 64.8% of it. Therefore, the population in Jerusalem has grown 187% over the time of almost 41 years. The percentage of people under 25 years old is 60% of the population, as the Jerusalemite society is youthful. This leads to an increase in the population and the need to accommodation. The housing sector in Jerusalem suffers from a shortfall of about 19 thousand housing units.

2- The Status of Houses:

There are 496.40 apartments registered by the occupation’s municipality in Jerusalem. Yet, if we take a look at the Arab population, which is 35.2% of the total population in the city, we find that their apartments are less than 20.8% of the total number of apartments. This is way too few. The share of an Arab individual in a house is less than 4.24 square meters, while a Jew’s share in his house is 9.11 square meters. This means that the dwelling convenience that an Arab gets is low compared with what a Jew gets. Other problems that can be added to that are the deterioration in the infrastructure east of Jerusalem, poor roads, and poor water and sewage systems

3-Construction Costs Compared with the Financial Capacity of the Jerusalemites:

The Jerusalemites suffer from tough financial conditions. More than 65% of them live below the poverty line. More than 15% of them are unemployed. Despite all that, the occupation is the one who pulls the strings of the economic conditions and the costs of the construction and housing permits. Also, it occupation’s laws impose very high costs, which resulted in the increase of the building costs, hence; the increase in the costs of the housing units, despite the poor economic conditions the Jerusalemites suffer from. The cost of building 1 meter in Jerusalem is roughly 500 dollars. Building an apartment with an area of 75 meters is 88 thousand dollars, and the investors have to lower the prices to sell their housing projects.

The Occupation’s Residential Policies in Jerusalem

The occupation attempts to expel the Palestinian population using the following methods:

1- Placing restrictions on housing by:

The Construction Law: this law was established to serve Jews and reduce the Jerusalemite population growth. This law imposes very difficult conditions on the Jerusalemites, like having a certificate of the land ownership in order to be able to build a house. This condition is very hard, since there are hardly very few people who have this certificate
The Structural Plans of the Jerusalemite Quarters: the occupation’s municipality approved all the Jordanian structural plans that were in force when the structural plans of the Jerusalemite quarters were prepared. The plans that aimed at limiting the possibility of building houses in the Jerusalemite quarters were ratified. The occupation’s authorities limited the number of floors that can be built and the height of the building. This plan is a major problem along with the crippling construction law
The Denial of giving construction permits: there are about 15 thousand unauthorized buildings in Jerusalem. The number of permits given by the occupation to the Jerusalemites does not meet the unfilled housing need. The application of construction laws on Jerusalemites is much stricter than when they are applied on Jews. The fees to get a construction permit range from 30-52 thousand dollars, and this adds on another financial distress, and another cause of the economic problems the Jerusalemites suffer from
Demolishing Houses: this procedure comes in line with the occupation’s policy of refusing to give the Jerusalemites construction permits. They put their focus on the unauthorized houses. Almost 654 houses in Jerusalem were demolished by the occupation in the last 9 years.
Confiscating Lands: the occupation’s state confiscated 24.5 thousand dunums from east of Jerusalem. Most of these lands belonged to Jerusalemites. Most of them were designated to building Jewish settlements. The occupation’s authorities allowed to declare the area east of Jerusalem as a closed military area. Also, they allowed the so called Israeli Management Authority of the Absentee Property to confiscate lands that haven’t been registered in the land census done by the occupation’s authorities.

Classifying the Palestinian Lands as Green Areas: the occupation’s authorities confiscated the open lands’ areas in Jerusalem, and 20 thousand dunums of the lands under the pretext that they are unorganized lands that the Jerusalemites are not allowed to build houses on. Also, they categorized 7000 dunums as Green Areas, and service and road lands. Therefore, we are left with only 9 thousand dunums that are available for construction.
The Withdrawal of the Jerusalemite Residence Cards: in 1967, the occupation’s authorities have given the Jerusalemites Permanent Residence Cards that allow them to live and work in Jerusalem and the occupied lands. These are the blue Jerusalemite identity cards that are renewed every 10 years, after the approval of the occupation’s Minister of Interior. The occupation’s authorities have been withdrawing the identity cards from the hands of the Jerusalemites, and expelling them from Jerusalem. The IDs of 13.155 thousand Jerusalemites were withdrawn, and so they were denied their right of residence and domicile.

2-Mass Displacement: it is done through:

Dispersing the populations.
The Separation Wall.
Expanding the Settlements.

Conclusion

Ever since the announcement that the Zionist entity has made declaring the City of Jerusalem as their united capital, in contravention of Geneva Convention and other international conventions, and until today, the Zionists have implemented a series of measures, policies, and laws that aim at changing the geographic and demographic situation in the city. Their goal is to obliterate its Arab and Islamic identity. The occupation works to Judaize the housing sector in Jerusalem, until all the Jerusalemite people are expelled and displaced from their city. Despite all their pathetic attempts, the Jerusalemite has been and will still be holding on Jerusalem. They will not leave it to fall prey to the usurping Zionist Entity.