Ray Dolphin, Barrier Specialist at the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for the occupied Palestinian territory and author of a new report called East Jerusalem: Key Humanitarian Concerns, held a press conference Monday, May 9, highlighting findings of the report that there are many humanitarian factors pushing Palestinians out of Jerusalem.
Click here to see press conference.
Key factors threatening the Palestinian presence include:
- the revocation of residency rights
- home demolitions
- the increase in settlement building
- zoning and planning practices
- the separation barrier
- restrictions on access to education and health care
For each issue raised, there are recommendations, such as: stop settlement building in East Jerusalem; stop home demolitions; stop the revocation of residency rights; increase the number, quality of and access to classrooms. The 116-page report details the background and current status of each issue as well as provides case studies and stories.
Among these stories:
- Dr. Tawfik Nasser and Augusta Victoria Hospital;
- Rimaz and Ghassan Kasabreh (Ghassan is the organist at Redeemer Lutheran Church) and their struggle to live in Jerusalem when she has been illegal in her own home. View the video Forbidden Family about the Kasabrehs.
- Infringements on access to religious sites.
For more information on the background and issues about Jerusalem, see the Peace not Walls Jerusalem page.
