A-Sawahrah a-Sharqiyah and a-Sheikh Sa’ed isolated from rest of East Jerusalem

[Jefferson23]

May 25, 2015


A-Sheikh Sa’ed checkpoint. Photo: 'Amer 'Aruri, B'Tselem, 11 Feb. 2015


The villages of a-Sheikh Sa’ed and a-Sawahrah a-Sharqiyah have been artificially cut off from East Jerusalem by an eight-meter-high wall. Before this partition was built, the two villages formed a contiguous urban bloc with East Jerusalem and, in particular, with the villages of Jabal al-Mukabber and a-Sawahrah al-Gharbiyah to its south with which they shared extensive family, commercial and cultural ties. A-Sheikh Sa’ed is home to some 2,000 residents, and a-Sawahrah a-Sharqiyah, situated some two kilometers to its north, has a population of approximately 6,000.

In 1967, immediately after Israel occupied the West Bank, it annexed extensive areas east of these villages to the municipal area of Jerusalem. Although the two villages were not included in the area annexed, during the first few decades after annexation this distinction had no impact on the residents’ lives. Passage between the annexed area and the remainder of the West Bank was routine and unremarkable. East Jerusalem served as the urban center for the residents of these two villages, with many of them working in the city. It also provided the residents’ health and education services. In addition, people who lived in the annexed area would sometimes move into these villages.

This reality changed in the mid-1990s, when Israel began to separate the villages from the area of East Jerusalem by means of obstructions and checkpoints. In 2003, a route for the Separation Barrier in the area was decided, and on 26 August 2003 work began or erecting a temporary barbed wire fence. The residents of Sheikh Sa’ed appealed the course fixed, and in March 2006 the Appellate Committee for the Separation Barrier accepted their appeal. The committee found that “in historical terms, Sheikh Sa’ed forms a part of Jabal al-Mukabber, which lies within the area of Jerusalem”, and the route of the barrier was disproportionate and violated the rights of Sheik Sa’ed’s residents to life, liberty and dignity. The Appellate Committee instructed the state to reexamine the course of the barrier in the area. However, the state appealed this decision to the High Court of Justice, arguing that the committee had ignored the security-related ramifications inherent in an alternative course that would annex the village to the area of Jerusalem. In 2010 the High Court of Justice accepted the state’s petition, thereby approving the course of the Separation Barrier in the area.

The construction of the Separation Barrier separated the two populations in one fell swoop, leaving Jerusalem residents east of the barrier and the residents of a-Sawahrah a-Sharqiyah and a-Sheikh Sa’ed to its west. Nearly a decade later, the residents of the villages remain isolated and disconnected from their families, places of work and service centers on the other side of the Separation Barrier.

remainder: http://www.btselem.org/jerusalem/20150526_isolation_of_a_sawahrah_a_sharqiyah_and_a_sheikh_saed

[azurnoir]

1. This is used as a means of breaking up families

1,300 residents of a-Sawahrah a-Sharqiyah who hold Israeli identity cards, live adjacent to the a-Sawahrah a-Sharqiyah Checkpoint, or work in international organizations: The names of these residents are on a list maintained at a-Sawahrah a-Sharqiyah Checkpoint. For the past year or so, they have been permitted to cross this checkpoint by car to go into East Jerusalem and return home. This arrangement is valid only from 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Residents of a-Sawahrah a-Sharqiyah and a-Sheikh Sa’ed who hold Israeli identity cards (with a registered address in Jabal al-Mukabber): These residents are permitted to cross a-Sheikh Sa’ed Checkpoint as pedestrians (in both directions) as well as a-Sawahrah a-Sharqiyah Checkpoint (only in one direction – out of East Jerusalem). Alternatively, to travel by car, they must take a long, hour-long detour and cross at a-Za’ayem Checkpoint.
Residents of a-Sawahrah a-Sharqiyah who hold West Bank identity cards and entry permits to Israel can enter the city solely through a-Zaytun or a-Za’ayem Checkpoints. They are prohibited to cross via a-Sawahrah a-Sharqiyah Checkpoint.
Residents of a-Sheikh Sa’ed who hold West Bank identity cards and entry permits to Israel are permitted to cross only at a-Sheikh Sa’ed Checkpoint and only on foot.

Residents of East Jerusalem who live in the city and wish to visit a-Sawahrah a-Sharqiyah or a-Sheikh Sa’ed by car may do so solely via a-Za’ayem Checkpoint. Alternatively, on foot, they can leave Jerusalem via a-Sheikh Sa’ed Checkpoint; however, they cannot re-enter the city through this checkpoint.