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Palestinian census turns into tug-of-war over Jerusalem
December 11, 1997
Web posted at: 4:52 a.m. EST (0952 GMT)JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Palestinian census takers stand in the rain, knocking on people's doors in traditionally-Arab east Jerusalem. But many residents literally hide behind their closed doors, fearing a census which anywhere else would be an exercise in basic civics.
Even answering questions as simple as "Do you have central heating?" can be risky. East Jerusalem's Palestinians do not allow themselves to be photographed, for fear that Israeli authorities will revoke their residency cards and evict them from the city where their families have lived for centuries.
The first-ever Palestinian census turned into a tug-of-war over Jerusalem on Wednesday, when Israel's government pushed a bill through Parliament blocking Yasser Arafat's census-takers from operating in the disputed city.
"I call on all the nation's representatives to vote for Jerusalem today to ensure the unity of the capital," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of the Parliament debate. "It will not be the capital of another country."
For days, Palestinians have been beating the drums about their census. Israel has no problems with the count on the West Bank or Gaza, but east Jerusalem is a special issue.
Jerusalem's Mayor Ehud Olmert denounced the new law as "intolerable" and "unacceptable," and urged Israelis to stop it from going into effect.
Palestinian count could be a bargaining chip
A reliable count of Palestinians in Jerusalem could be a bargaining chip in future negotiations on the status of the city. An estimated 180,000 Palestinians live in east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967 and claimed by the Palestinians as their future capital.
"There has been no census -- and there will be no census -- in Jerusalem," Public Security Minister Avigdor Kahalani told lawmakers. Israel, he said, would block the census-takers "with all force necessary."
Two years ago, Israel did allow east Jerusalem Arabs the right to vote in Palestinian elections, a quasi-legal acknowledgement of sorts.
Israel claims total sovereignty over east Jerusalem, which it annexed from the Arabs in 1967 and has no intention of sharing with the Palestinians.
"It is not their place -- they don't have authority to do anything in Jerusalem and they better stop before we move in," warns cabinet minister Tzahi Hanegbi.
Israel counts Arabs in Jerusalem in its census, but counts them only as residents and not citizens since most of them have not accepted the offer of Israeli citizenship. Several thousand who have accepted Israeli citizenship are counted as citizens.
According to Israeli figures, some 2.3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinians estimate the population at 2.5 million -- including 1.57 million in the West Bank.
Jerusalem Bureau chief Walter Rodgers and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Related sites:
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- Office of The Israeli Prime Minister - information in both Hebrew and English
- Palestinian National Authority - official site of the PNA
- The Palestine Ministry Of Information - press releases, daily news and other information
- Arabic Media Internet Network - a project of Internews Middle East that provides access to Arabic media and other resources on the Internet
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