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The Temple Mount in jerusalem (Flash90)
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| By Israel Insider staff October 22, 2007 |
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The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies (JIIS), a liberal think tank, published a report warning of the potential complications in dividing Jeruaslem, in particular Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's plan to cede six Arab neighborhoods on the fringes of the capital to the Palestinian Authority.
"Jerusalem functions as a united city for 40 years, twice as long as the period when it was divided between Israel and Jordan. Separating from the Arab neighborhoods, even with an agreement, will not be easy. It involves complex issues of international and Israeli law, questions of rights and practical problems with regard to both the separated areas and the city from which they will separate. Our role vis-a-vis the decision makers is to illuminate the difficulties and to put all the information on the table so that all the implications are clear," Haaretz quoted the director general of the organization, Ora Ahimeir, as saying.
Among the potential problems is that a unilateral separation could be interpreted not as a withdrawal to the pre-1967 situation but rather as a violation of the principle of equality, because it distinguishes between Arab and Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. "This argument is particularly serious in light of the violation of minority rights," the authors write.
Another situation that could arise is that the Arab residents of east Jerusalem would have the legal right to choose to live in Israel in order to maintain their status as residents.
"[Arab] residents of east Jerusalem will in practice have the option of moving to another place in Jerusalem and to maintain their status as residents of Israel, or of remaining in their place of residence and thereby lose their rights as residents of Israel," former Foreign Ministry legal adviser Dr. Robbie Sabel wrote, according to the Jerusalem Post.
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