Background

Upon occupying East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel sought to validate its existence in the city and cover the legal gap therein through the passage of a number of laws and decrees. The Israeli government then convened under the chairmanship of Levi Eshkol, who was the third Israeli Prime Minister, in June 11, 1967 to decide on the future of the city. The session resulted in the decision to annex East Jerusalem into Israel. The Israeli government then entrusted a ministerial committee with the task of drafting a solution to the administrative and judicial vacuum that had been created because of the decision. The governmental agencies were also tasked with dealing with the complexity that arose from the annexation, as the move spurred rejection and condemnation from the international community
.^[1] On June 21, 1967 the committee introduced three draft laws to be discussed and endorsed by the Knesset four days later. The Knesset subsequently discussed and voted on the three drafts within three and a half hours. One of the aforementioned drafts was the Law and Administration Ordinance Amendment No. 11 of 1967. This article addresses this law and its effect on the City of Jerusalem. ^[2]

Contents

The Law and Administration Ordinance Amendment No. 11 of 1967 is comprised of two articles. The first established the application of the Israeli administrative and judicial decisions to all areas of “Israeli land,” which were to be officially declared via a decree. The second article announced the date of the Knesset vote, June 25, 1967, as the official date in which the law was to be applied.^[3]

Although the ordinance itself did not mention the terms “Jerusalem” and “annexation,” the focus on Jerusalem was evident through the issue of legislative decree No. 1 by the Israeli government. Issued on June 28, 1967, the decree listed the areas where Israeli law would be applied, which included the boundaries of East Jerusalem and its surroundings, including the areas Sur Baher, Um Toba, Western Sawahrah, the Old City, Al-Jouz Valley, Sheikh Jarrah, Mesrarah, Issaweiah, Shuafat and Beit Hanina, which all were Palestinian Territories.^[4]

Aim and Application

The ordinance had many goals to achieve. As mentioned prior, Israel sought to legitimize the annexation and to appease the international community by attempting to legalize the action through legislation . The ordinance, however, also aimed at changing Jerusalem’s legal status in addition to changing its geography, administration, demography and economy. ^[5]

The goals of the ordinance started to emerge to the public after the Israeli Defense Force issued an order to dissolve the Arab Secretariat Council, which was elected by Jerusalemites and was responsible for East Jerusalem’s administration under the Jordanian rule from 1948-1967. The army also fired Jerusalem’s Mayor Rohi Al-Khatib from his work. The Israeli forces also took over Jordanian offices, departments, records, courts, and municipality headquarters in the city, in addition to canceling their laws and regulations and replacing them with Israeli ones. .^[6]

Current Boundaries

The law set the boundaries of the Jerusalem Municipality which extended from Qalandia Airport in the north, Beit Hanina in the west, Sur Baher and Beit Safafa in the south and Al-Tour, Ezareiah, and Anata in the east.^[7]

As a result of the changes, 100,000 Palestinians in 72,000 Acres were under direct control of Israel within one expanded Jerusalem.^[8] These individuals were termed residents of Jerusalem, yet they are not citizens of Israel, which essentially means Palestinians in the annexed areas have residency duties without citizenship rights.
^[9]

^{Effects of the Ordinance:}

^{The ordinance affected the reality of the city of Jerusalem in four main ways:[10]}

1. Jerusalem’s area was expanded from 1326.956 acres to 26687.381 acres through the annexation of villages and towns around the city;
2. Created an Arab minority in the city by annexing low populated areas while keeping most of the Palestinians out of the boundaries of the city;
3. Increased the safety of Jerusalem for Israelis from any tension with Palestinians by including surrounding mountains as natural safeguard;
4. Separated Jerusalem from the West Bank and Gaza Strip economically, administratively and geographically in order to easily control the city.

United Nations Reaction

Upon the annexation of East Jerusalem, the United Nations issued many resolutions declaring Israeli measures in Jerusalem void and null and calling upon Israel to rescind all measures that would change Jerusalem’s legal status. Resolution 252 of May 21, 1967 considered Israel’s annexation of the city illegal, while the General Assembly and the Security Council added many other resolutions in July 1967 just after the adoption of the ordinance. These resolutions were applied to the situation in Jerusalem. Resolution 2253 of the General Assembly and Resolutions A6753 and S8052 of 1967 addressed the Israeli measures to change the status of the city of Jerusalem declaring the illegality and nullity of such measures..^[11]

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Facts on the Ground

On May 15th, 1948, Israel was declared a state and the British Mandate on Palestine was terminated. Battles broke out all over the area between the Israeli army and different arab armies. . Until 1949.^[1]

On July 22nd, 1948, a line was drawn between the Jordanian army in the eastern part of the city– namey the Old City of Jerusalem, and the Israeli army in the western part of the city and what is known as Modern Jerusalem..^[2] In the end of November of the same year, a ceasefire agreement was signed, and the final armistice agreement was reached on April 3rd, 1949. With the signature of the armistice agreement between the two parties, the division of the city into east and west became official. Israel now had control of Western Jerusalem and Jordan was commissioned to maintain Eastern Jerusalem..^[3]The eastern part of the city that included the Old City of Jerusalem, however, was also annexed by Israel after the Six-Day War in 1967.^[4]

ince the occupation in 1948 and with the full annexation of the city in 1967, Israel has a strict policy of Judaization in the city–systematically seeking to alter the demographic and geographic character of the city to an exclusively Jewish and Israeli one.The accomplish this by threatening the existence of Palestinians in the city through violence, excessive taxation and the expansion of settlements. .^[5] In 1980, the Israeli Knesset that declared Jerusalem the united and eternal capital of Israel.^[6]

The Legal Status of Jerusalem

Resolution 181 of the UN General Assembly, which was issued in November 1947 declares the termination of the British Mandate over Palestine and its replacement with a partition of the territory based on the principle of self-determination for two peoples.^[7] . The city was declared, according to the resolution, a “Corpus Separatum” or a special independent city with international legal status.^[8] The resolution stated that existing local autonomous units in the city territory, including the municipality, towns, and villages would enjoy wide powers of government and administration. It also called for the demilitarization of the city and the preservation of its neutrality. The UN further recommended that a legislative council organize all the city’s internal and external administrative affairs.^[9]

The resolution provided the geographic boundaries of the corpus separatum and included in it the city of Jerusalem, its surrounding villages and towns whose boundaries extended from the municipality from Abu Dis in the east, Bethlehem in the south, Ein Karem in the west, to Shufat in the north.^[10]

This resolution was meant to offer a temporary, ten year solution after which the people of Jerusalem would determine its future under the supervision of the UN Trusteeship Council.^[11]

Lack of Applicability but Not of Legal Effect

The resolution was not practically applied due to many factors including the Israeli occupation of the city and its expansion beyond what was determined in the resolution, the rejection of the resolution by Palestinians represented by Arab Higher Committee (National Higher Committee), the signature of armistice agreements by the Arab Governments participating in the fight and Israeli Government, and the agreement to unify the West bank and Jordan in the conference of Jericho on April 11, 1950 which extended Jordanian rule to the West Bank, which included East Jerusalem. The agreement however, meant that both Jordanian and Israeli rule over the city violated its legal status as presented in Resolution 181. .^[12]

The provisions of the resolution that laid down the principle of internalization remained unimpaired while the provisions that dealt with the administration were frustrated by the occupation of the city.^[13] Because neither the violation nor the lack of implementation of a UN resolution entails its abrogation– resolution 181 continues to be valid and binding.^[14]

Reaffirmation of the resolution

he UN reaffirmed Resolution 181 in a number of subsequent resolutions.^[15] For example, the General Assembly’s Resolution 194, signed on December 11, 1948 and Resolution 303, which was signed on December 9, 1949 both affirm the validity of Resolution 181 although both were passed after the division of Jerusalem between Israel and Jordan .^[16]

Moreover, both the General Assembly and the Security Council issued resolutions that condemn the Israeli occupation and the annexation of Jerusalem and declare all Israeli measures that violate Jerusalem’s legal status null and void.^[17] Some examples of such resolutions are General Assembly resolutions 532 of 1977 and 2253 of 1967, as well as the Security Council resolutions 252 of 1968, 452 of 1979, 465 of 1980, 476 of 1980,^[18] 267 of 1969, 271 of 1969, and 298 of 1971.^[19]

Israel’s occupation of Jerusalem and annexation of its lands both in 1948 and in 1967, in addition to all of its policies and measures whether legislative, administrative, demographic, or geographic taken to change the legal status of the city are null and void according to the decisions of the international legitimacy represented by the United Nations’ different organs.^[20] Such condemnation and rejection of such Israeli measures in the city are important because they reinforce the legal effects of resolution 181 and declare the international status of the city effective even though 181 was never actually applied.^[21]

Israel and Resolution 181

The State of Israel was declared legal only after the adoption of Resolution 181, so its refusal to comply with it is ironic, to say the least..^[22] Not only did Israel accept the resolution initially, but also acknowledged that Jerusalem has a different legal status than other Palestinian cities and towns.^[23]

Sovereignty over Jerusalem

It is important to note that according to international law, Palestinians alone have sovereignty over Palestine and that Resolution 181 does not negate that sovereignty in Jerusalem nor does it strip from them their legislative, judicial, or taxation powers.^[24]Not only that, but Palestinians are not bound by the provisions of the resolution upon their absence of acceptance.^[25]

On the other hand, any Israeli claim or presence in the city is in direct violation of international law.

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