Jerusalem’s population is now close to one million people. This data is from the Israel Ministry of Interior.
37.7%, / 350 thousand, are Palestinians with permanent residency status.
Close to 45% of the population in the city until age 17 , are Palestinians. In other words, despite the problems caused to them, East Jerusalem Arabs win the demographic “race”, and these figure of course are of great concern to the government of Israel.
There is a program of the National Security Council to try and force the Palestinians to receive Israeli citizenship in order to undermine the possibility of a future division of the city in negotiations. The theory is the residents would prefer to be citizens because of the dubious privileges offered to them by Israel, compared to what awaits them under the PA. And if they don’t accept, threats to deprive them of their residency would be used.This policy would checkmate Abu Mazen in talks about dividing Jerusalem with the Palestinians. Even the Israeli left would not be able to say much. Dangerous.
Contrary to popular belief, citizenship has never been offered to the Palestinians by Israel. There are about 20 thousand Palestinians who hold Israeli citizenship in the city, and probably get it for “service”, possibly services for the security system (theory of original Israeli writer). Today, it is basically impossible to obtain Israeli citizenship, “dues to a catch 22: an ancient law states that they have got to give up the Jordanian nationality. Jordanian law simply does not allow a waiver of citizenship.”
In 2011 the city invested in East NIS 500 million municipal budget. Without settlements and house demolitions. Sounds like a lot, right? But the city’s total budget was 4.7 billion. Ie 37% of residents receive about 11% of the budget.
77% of Palestinians in East Jerusalem live below the poverty line..
(Jews – 24%)
84% of Palestinians in the city live below the poverty line.
However, Palestinians receive only about 34% of the welfare budget of the city, the rest goes to the much more wealthier Jew. It is much easier to control the population if they are poor.
67% of Palestinians have paid property taxes in 2011 (or were legally exempt). Income rates, construction and improvement levies penalties for illegal construction amounted to approximately NIS 230 million, ie almost half the amount that the municipality has invested in East Jerusalem residents actually come from themselves.
To compare, the quality of infrastructure in those neighborhoods west of the city require about two billion. This is of course assuming there is interest to do so. Money will probably pay for expenses in the western city, and because the Palestinians choose not to use electoral power in the city council elections. Inequity in infrastructure also allows to perpetuate the housing shortage in those neighborhoods, because you can not even apply for permits from around the house if there is no appropriate infrastructure (sewage, electricity, water).
The main problems in obtaining building permits:
* Lack of organized planning schemes
* Lack of infrastructure
* Difficulty provide documents of proof of ownership
* Uncertainty accurate drawing of the boundaries of the plots
* Specific problems: land zoned for tourism or nature reserves are frozen, the Eastern Ring Road, the holy basin adjacent areas around the Old City
* Example: The process for obtaining building permits for 200 sqm on a plot of six acres will cost about 110 thousand shekels (before fees to a lawyer and an architect, not including open sewage).
Despite all this, one can see that the policy to keep demographic superiority of Jews is not achieving its goal. Palestinians prefer to take the risk of demolition and building illegally than to leave the city.
West of the city there are more cases of illegal construction than in the east, But in the West there is less enforcement Demolition orders are not undone, even if an order was made 15 years ago and the tenant changed in the meantime, the house could be destroyed without further notice.
(translated from Hebrew between me and Google)
The Palestine Activists Handbook 