The area known as “Greater” Jerusalem usually
refers to an approximately 100 square mile space surrounding
the Old
City of Jerusalem.
This area includes both West and East
Jerusalem, including the
adjacent neighborhoods outside of the municipal boundaries
of the city. Almost all of the residents of West Jerusalem
are Israeli Jews; East Jerusalem is traditionally a
place where the majority of residents are Palestinian,
but currently the numbers of the Jewish and Palestinian
populations within East Jerusalem are numerically similar.
Since 1967, many Israelis have created large Jewish
neighborhoods in East Jerusalem in hopes
that the city would one day not be divided.
Regarding the route of Israel’s
security fence in the Jerusalem area, there have been
a few competing strategies: to reinforce the municipal
boundaries of the city, to alter the demographics in Israel’s favor, and to permanently draw the lines
for “Greater” Jerusalem. In reinforcing
the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, instead of merely
creating a border between Jerusalem and the West
Bank,
it has also separated Palestinians from other Palestinians.
Additionally, certain sections of the fence represent
some political efforts to increase the Jewish population
in areas of the city. This strategy has had some
serious consequences for some Palestinian residents
in East Jerusalem. Palestinians in East Jerusalem have
a much better standard of living than Palestinians
living in the West Bank, as they have a higher annual
income and better health services and employment opportunities.
Due to the route of the fence, some East
Jerusalem Palestinian residents have ended up on the
West Bank side of the fence, impacting their abilities
to live and work in Jerusalem. However, while the security
fence does create some inconvenience to Palestinians,
it also saves lives. The deaths of Israelis caused
by terror are permanent and irreversible whereas the
hardships faced by the Palestinians are temporary and
reversible.
The route of the fence around
Jerusalem has been expanded to include the northern
bloc of Givat
Ze’ev,
the eastern city of Ma’ale Adumim, and the southern Etzion
bloc settlements.
It should be noted that in 2000 at Camp David, Ehud
Barak offered dramatic concessions
of Jerusalem and the West Bank to the Palestinians,
including allowing Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem
to become the capital of a future
Palestinian state.
This proposed offer was unique because an Israeli prime
minister agreed to divide Jerusalem for the first time
in history, but Palestinian
Authority leader Yasser
Arafat rejected the deal, opting instead to launch
a new wave
of terror against Israel.
