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Settlers at the Heart of the Conflict: Settlement in Jerusalem's Old City |
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Written by Sergio Yahni and narrated by Connie Hackbarth, Alternative Information Center (AIC)
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Sunday, 23 March 2008 |
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Like the rest
of the Occupied Palestinian
Territories, Jerusalem's
Old City has been the object of aggressive
Israeli colonization.
Jerusalem’s Old City
was traditionally divided into four quarters, the Muslim, the Christian, the
Armenian and the Jewish. However, historically, none of the quarters ever
comprised only one ethnic group.
The exception
today is the Jewish Quarter. After the Israeli occupation in 1967, it was
renovated and Israeli law allows only Jews to live there.
Outside the
boundaries of the Jewish quarter, the construction of new Israeli settlements
is limited by lack of open space. As a result, building settlements
requires the expulsion of the Palestinian inhabitants. This is achieved primarily through bureaucratic
measures, such as the revocation of residency rights.
Currently
there are 600 settlers living in the Old
City, outside the Jewish
Quarter.
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