Ir Amim and Bimkom are pleased to announce the launch of our joint report:

“Deliberately Planned: A Policy to Thwart Planning in the Palestinian Neighborhoods of Jerusalem.”

Our new report demonstrates how the Israeli authorities deliberately delay and ultimately undermine the approval of plans that would actually allow for construction in the Palestinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Since 1967, Israel has expropriated more than 38% of East Jerusalem to build Israeli neighborhoods / settlements.  While 37% of Jerusalem's residents are Palestinians, only 15% of East Jerusalem – and 8.5% of Jerusalem as a whole – has been allocated for Palestinian development.

The three case studies at the center of the report represent a spectrum of plan types and promoters, in different stages of the planning system.  These plans, and countless like them, have been derailed by the planning authorities. Collectively, the trajectories of these plans evidence how urban planning is used to deliberately suppress the growth and development of the Palestinian community in service to demographic objectives. 

In the absence of appropriate municipal planning, and given the lack of residential options and persistent threat of house demolitions, many residents of East Jerusalem have been left with no recourse but to initiate their own detailed plans (the only plan designation with the statutory status to enable granting of building permits). Those with the stamina to navigate the planning process independently encounter continuous bureaucratic, planning and political obstacles. 

The obligatory transition from an enduring policy of impeding Palestinian planning to a one of enabling sustainable planning must be systemic, encompassing all levels of planning and decision making. Such a change will succeed only if implemented with the full cooperation of a representative group of Palestinian residents of the city, reflecting the diversity of the many neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and with a commitment to their divergent needs.  In line with these prerequisites, Ir Amim and Bimkom offer practical suggestions for reforming the system to enable Palestinians’ collective right to plan and develop their communities, without the fear of displacement, and toward a more sustainable future.

Additional links to report and executive summary here.

Please address all inquiries to:

Betty Herschman

Director of International Relations & Advocacy

Ir Amim (City of Nations/City of Peoples)

Jerusalem

betty@ir-amim.org.il

054-308-5096

www.ir-amim.org.il

Facebook: www.facebook.com/IrAmimEng

Twitter: @IrAmimAlerts