JERUSALEM: The U.N. says Israeli neglect is hindering development in East Jerusalem, which is isolated from neighbouring Palestinian communities and not integrated into the broader Israeli economy

Record ID: 837786

  • Title: JERUSALEM: The U.N. says Israeli neglect is hindering development in East Jerusalem, which is isolated from neighbouring Palestinian communities and not integrated into the broader Israeli economy
  • Date: 10th May 2013
  • Summary: JERUSALEM (MAY 9, 2013) (REUTERS) UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE FOR TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD) REPRESENTATIVES SITTING AT NEWS CONFERENCE PEOPLE LISTENING PANEL TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAIN RESEARCHER FOR THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE FOR TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD), RAJA KHALIDI SAYING: "The overall picture, and macroeconomic decline over time, isolation and effectively dysfunction. So we have a dysfunctional Palestinian macro economy in this part of Palestinian territories. On the other hand, you have the situation of micro economic survival while disintegration of that micro economy continues over time. Leading of course to severe poverty and a fragmented labour market, with consequences such as social fabric, which we know, all of you better than I, living in Jerusalem, the substandard conditions and services." JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PALESTINIAN GOVERNOR OF JERUSALEM, ADNAN HUSSEINI, SAYING: "The issue in Jerusalem is a political issue. It's 80 percent political and 20 percent economic. So I think if we don't make some kind of relaxation on the political issue - I am not asking to solve it all, it's not easy to solve it all you know - but at least let's make a kind of relaxation on this level. We can make investment, we can work, we can do many things really." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS
  • Embargoed: 25th May 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Jerusalem
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABRI96WHAYWH5LM26OYEZTU9MQ
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: The Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem is driving Palestinian residents into deeper economic isolation and they face far greater poverty than their Jewish neighbours, said a United Nations (UN) report published on Thursday (May 9).
    The report by the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is the U.N.'s first comprehensive investigation into the East Jerusalem economy.
    It comes as U.S. President Barack Obama tries to revive peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis, stalled since 2010. The U.S. leader has pledged an investment initiative to spur flagging Palestinian growth.
    The report found that today, 77 percent of Jerusalem's non-Jewish households live below the poverty line, against 25 percent of Jewish families. Moreover, 84 percent of Palestinian children there live in poverty, compared to 45 percent of Jewish children.
    The report points the finger at the Israeli government saying: "Needless to say, if it were so inclined, the Israeli government could go much further in meeting its obligations as an occupying power by acting with vigour to improve the economic conditions in East Jerusalem and the well-being of its Palestinian residents."
    The main UNCTAD researcher for the report, Raja Khalidi, told a news conference in Jerusalem that Palestinians were suffering from "severe poverty" and limited employment options.

    "The overall picture, and macroeconomic decline over time, isolation and effectively dysfunction. So we have a dysfunctional Palestinian macro economy in this part of Palestinian territories. On the other hand, you have the situation of micro economic survival while disintegration of that micro economy continues over time. Leading of course to severe poverty and a fragmented labour market, with consequences such as social fabric, which we know, all of you better than I, living in Jerusalem, the substandard conditions and services," he said.
    Israeli authorities did not immediately comment on the report.
    Israel captured Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War. For Israelis, Jerusalem is their "eternal and indivisible" capital, lying at the centre of Israel's national project to build a Jewish state.
    For Palestinians, there can be no peace deal until Israel cedes control over to them of at least part of the city, a symbol of their national struggle and home to Islam's third holiest site.
    The U.N. report said Israeli curbs on the movement of people and goods from the neighbouring occupied West Bank has strangled East Jerusalem's development.
    Israel says the restrictions, many of which were introduced during the last Palestinian uprising, or intifada, are needed for security reasons. But the U.N. report says they are directly responsible for the shrinking of East Jerusalem's economy which has been cut by half in two decades relative to the economies of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
    While the 1993 Oslo Peace accords gave Palestinians limited self-rule in the adjoining West Bank, Palestinians in Jerusalem are considered "permanent residents" of Israel. But while they make up roughly one third of the city's total population, just seven percent of municipal spending is reserved for mainly Arab East Jerusalem, the U.N. said.
    The Palestinian governor of Jerusalem, Adnan Husseini, urged Israel to ease up on security concerns and for all parties to find a political solution for the city.

    "The issue in Jerusalem is a political issue. It's 80 percent political and 20 percent economic. So I think if we don't make some kind of relaxation on the political issue - I am not asking to solve it all, it's not easy to solve it all you know - but at least let's make a kind of relaxation on this level. We can make investment, we can work, we can do many things really," he said.
    The report concluded that while a resolution to the conflict remains elusive, Palestinian investors and business leaders must take the lead in forming a development strategy.
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