After Israel occupied West Jerusalem in 1948, the international community came to a consensus that the eastern part of the city belongs to Palestinians and is to be the capital of their future state. Despite this, and following the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel took over East Jerusalem and annexed its lands, and in 1980, the Israeli Knesset declared it the capital of Israel under the law of Great and Unified Jerusalem.[1]

Since then, Israel has confiscated more than eighteen thousand acres of lands belong to Palestinians. nineteen Israeli Jewish settlements have been constructed in and around East Jerusalem in a space that covers more than thirteen thousand acres.[2]

The Israeli settlements on Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal Jewish civilian concentrations. They include more than 57 thousand housing units where more than 208,000 settlers live[3]. Some sources estimate that the number of settlers in 2017 exceeded 542,000.[4]

This section is dedicated to address settlement activity in Jerusalem–its practices and dangers.

[1] “Israel’s Settlements: Fifty Years of Land Theft Explained,” last modified Noveber 21, 2017, https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2017/50-years-illegal-settlements/index.html

[2] “Jerusalem Settlements: Niteen Settlements to change the face of the city,” last modified November 3, 2004, http://www.aljazeera.net/specialfiles/pages/f66e25b0-6804-4c4a-a83a-3258852d06c3

[3] “Six Month Report on Israeli Settlements in the Occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem,” last modified July 16, 2018, https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/palestine-occupied-palestinian-territory-west-bank-and-gaza-strip/48438/six-month-report-israeli-settlements-occupied-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem_en

[4] “The Number of Settlers in Jerusalem Doubled Twice,” last modified May 14, 2017, https://aawsat.com/home/article/925656/تضاعف-عدد-المستوطنين-في-القدس-مرتين-تقريبا?amp

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