illegal arab buildings legitimized

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Written by Samuel Sokol

Wednesday, 23 December 2009 19:00

The Jerusalem municipality announced Monday that several hundred illegal Arab dwellings will be granted retroactive permits as part of a plan to rezone the western slopes of the neighborhood of Silwan. Structures up to four stories tall in the residential section of the neighborhood will be included in the move, which doubles the current limit of two floors.

Mayor Nir Barkat personally presented the plan to the Municipal Planning and Construction Committee, where it was passed as official policy. The plan is scheduled to be brought to a vote in the next city council meeting in January, after which it will become the official policy of the relevant planning departments throughout the Municipality of Jerusalem.

According to the municipality, "such a rezoning would allow for legalized housing for about 500 families in Silwan and an addition of 500 new housing units to be issued permits, totaling an addition of 1,000 housing units to the area."

There are 71 structures with valid demolition orders in this area of Silwan but only 10 of those currently exceed four stories in height. According to city officials, the mayor's plan "provides solutions for the lack of affordable housing in the area and allows for about 90 percent of the housing violations to be theoretically legalized."

Silwan is located in the Kidron Valley, across from the Shiloah Pool and the City of David. The name Silwan is derived from the Siloam which itself is a derivation of the word Shiloah.

Between 1886 and the late 1930s, Silwan was the location of a Yemenite Jewish village. During the Arab revolt of 1936-1939, the British Mandatory authorities expelled the Jews following a series of Arab pogroms. Arabs subsequently inhabited the Jewish homes.

Arieh King, the director of the Israel Land Fund, has expressed concern over the mayor's actions and has posited that they will exacerbate the problem of illegal Arab building.

King told the Five Towns Jewish Times that Barkat is "fulfilling the dream of the radical left in Jerusalem" by making it clear to Arab residents that building illegally will be rewarded.

The Israel Land Fund is an organization working to reestablish an Israeli presence in neighborhoods such as Silwan, where Jewish life was interrupted by the Arab-Israeli conflict.

According to the ILF, there are over 700 illegal Arab structures in Silwan.

Dr. Meir Margalit is a founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) and until recently represented the left-wing Meretz party in the Jerusalem city council. In November, Margalit resigned his position to protest the demolition of Arab homes in Jerusalem. ICAHD describes itself as a "group originally established to oppose and resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories."

Margalit contends that Arabs build illegally in Jerusalem because the city is stingy in issuing permits.

According to the municipality, 200 construction permits were requested in East Jerusalem during the past year. Sixty one percent of these projects were granted permission to proceed. During the same period, 63 percent of permit requests were granted in West Jerusalem.

"The Arabs are building on purpose where they are not allowed, and they are keeping for themselves for the future the areas where they have a permit to build," says King.

In 2007, journalist Aaron Klein reported that "270 acres in the northern Jerusalem neighborhoods of Qalandiya and Kfar Akev...and about 50 acres in...Shoafat" belonging to the Jewish National Fund have been appropriated by Arab residents of Jerusalem.

Daniel Luria is the executive director of the Ateret Cohanim Jerusalem ReclamÂation Project, an organization similar to that of Arieh King's which operates primarily in Jerusalem's Old City district.

He told the Five Towns Jewish Times that "the reality over the years has, unfortunately, been to close a blind eye to illegal Arab building. The Arabs have sensed weakness and so have built thousands of units in the eastern sector of Jerusalem with impunity."

Luria was supportive of Barkat's decision to increase municipality involvement in East Jerusalem, but has reservations over the decision to retroactively grant permits.

"When a mayor of Jerusalem is prepared to act in the eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem, it's a most positive sign, as it is vital to show true Jewish sovereignty in all sectors of the city, especially in the Arab neighborhoods," he said.

However, Luria quipped, "Giving into the reality and simply accepting all the illegal Arab building may not be the right method. Will the right message be received by the illegal Arab builders? If the new decision re building rights is also coupled with house demolitions in all Green zoned areas, and if the Municipality adds building inspectors and seriously increases the budget to handle the illegal building in Arab neighborhoods, and if all Arabs will have to show true ownership to the properties on which they have built before receiving any retroactive approvals, then maybe one could see some merit in the new decision.

"However, without these basic conditions, Barkat's new decision is very problematic and questionable to say the least. Sadly, I'm not sure whether these most basic conditions will in fact be met."