The Palestinian youth of East Jerusalem – between Palestinian and Israeli identity

Abstract

Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem after the 1967 War, created a complicated reality – especially for the residents of East Jerusalem, a population of 70,000 people at the time of the annexation. There are approximately 120,000 Palestinian youth in Jerusalem between the ages of 15–29 who make up approximately 30 per cent of the Arab population living in Jerusalem. Carrying out a trend analysis among Palestinian youth who live in Jerusalem is extremely complex. The purpose of this research is to point out the complex circumstances of the lives of the Palestinian youth who are living relatively satisfactory economic lives under Israeli rule. They are between Palestinian and Israeli identity, which contradict each other. Are the Palestinian youth in Jerusalem a part of the Palestinian minority in Israel, or, perhaps, they are a part of the youth of the West Bank which is partially under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA)? show

Keywords:

• Jerusalem youth
• Jil al-Aqsa
• Jil Oslo
• Palestinian authority
• Hamas

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 26 May 2022: https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/pages/default.aspx.

2 Sunaina Maira, Jil Oslo, Palestinian Hip Hop, Youth Culture and the Youth Movement (Washington D.C.: Tadween Publishing, 2013), pp.158–59, 194–95.

3 No author listed, Darasah: Al-Shabab al-Filastini fi al-Quds, Bayen al-Waq'a wa-al-Tamuh [Research: Palestinian youth in Jerusalem status and task description] (Jerusalem: Subaka al-Munazamat al-Ahaliyyah, 2010), p.8.

4 The Algeminer, 14 Dec. 2021: https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/12/14/report-93-of-polled-arab-residents-of-jerusalem-prefer-israeli-rule-to-palestinian-authority/.

5 Khalil Shikaki, (PSR) A Special East Jerusalem Poll, November 2022. https://pcpsr.org/en/node/931.

6 Ibid., p.2.

7 Sunaina Maira, Jil Oslo, pp.166–68.

8 Hamas – the Islamic Resistance Movement (Harakat al-Muqawamah al-ʾIslamiyyah) – is the biggest movement in Palestinian society. See Shaul Bartal, ‘Hamas the Islamic Resistance Movement’, in Muhammad Afzal Upal and Carole M. Cusack (eds), Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion series (Leiden: Brill, 2021), pp.379–401.

9 In general, fertility of Jewish woman in Jerusalem is higher than that of Muslim women due to the large number of children in Haredi families: /https://www.kolhair.co.il/jerusalem-news/63274.

10 Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 26 May 2022: https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/pages/default.aspx.

11 Michael Milshtein, Not Here, Not There, the Profile of the Youth Generation (Tel Aviv: Dayan Center, 2022), p.100.

12 Nir Hasson, ‘The Five Year Plan of East Jerusalem Investment in Education or Re-education’, Haaretz, 29 Aug. 2018: https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/education/.premium-1.6429395; Eli Pudeh and Shahaf Avital, ‘Bennett: That is Not the Way to Turn Palestinians into Israelis’, Ynet, 13 Feb. 2018: https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-5462772,00.html.

13 Gal Sade, Kan 11, Telegram channel, 25 May 2023: https://t.me/kanarab/23525.

14 Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 26 May 2022: https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/pages/default.aspx.

15 Chloé Benoist, ‘The al-Aqsa Crisis Marks a New Chapter in the Palestinian Struggle against Israeli Occupation’, Equal Times, 16 Aug. 2017: https://www.equaltimes.org/the-al-aqsa-crisis-marks-a-new?lang=en#.Y1JK63ZBy5c.

16 Sunaina Maira, Jil Oslo, Palestinian Hip Hop, Youth Culture and the Youth Movement (Washington D.C.: Tadween Publishing, 2013).

17 Martin Kear, Hamas and Palestine: The Contested Road to Statehood (Abingdon: Routledge, 2019), pp.32, 88–90.

18 Ibid., pp.88–89.

19 Yoni Ben Menachem, ‘PA Ostracizes Palestinians Who Sell Houses to Jews’, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 1 Nov. 2018: https://jcpa.org/pa-ostracizes-palestinians-who-sell-houses-to-jews/.

20 Michael Milshtein, Not Here, Not There, pp.99–100. Martin Kear, Hamas and Palestine, pp.89–90.

21 Khalil Shikaki, Public Opinion Poll 84 (Ramaala: Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, 28 Jun. 2022), pp.2–3.

22 Pinhas Inbari, ‘Will East Jerusalem Residents Participate in Municipal Elections of October 30?’, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 24 Oct. 2018: https://jcpa.org/will-east-jerusalem-residents-participate-in-municipal-elections-on-october-30/.

23 According to Israeli court files.

24 Yoni Ben Menachem, ‘PA Ostracizes Palestinians who Sell Houses to Jews’, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 1 Nov. 2018: https://jcpa.org/pa-ostracizes-palestinians-who-sell-houses-to-jews/.

25 Michael Milshtein, Not Here, Not There, pp.98–99.

26 Anonymous, ‘The Palestinian Authority, Senior Palestinian Religious Leaders and Local Figures in East Jerusalem Waging Campaign to keep the Israeli Curriculum out of East Jerusalem Schools’, The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism information Center, 5 February 2018: https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/palestinian-authority-senior-palestinian-religious-leaders-local-figures-east-jerusalem-waging-campaign-keep-israeli-curriculum-east-jerusalem-schools/.

27 Without an author, Jil al-Shabab Falastini wa-Khassa fi al-Quds [The Palestinian youth generation, with a special focus on Jerusalem] (Jerusalem: Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs – PASSIA, Apr. 2017), p.2: http://www.passia.org/media/filer_public/90/2e/902e7fca-8b1d-42ac-8172-53f66b25acaf/palestinian_youth-_arabic.pdf.

28 Martin Kear, Hamas and Palestine, p.153.

29 Khaled Hroub, Hamas: A Beginner's Guide (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), pp.140–43.

30 Arnon Boxerman, ‘Israel Arrests Wife of Gunman in Deadly Jerusalem Terrorist Attacks’, The Times of Israel, 22 Nov. 2021: https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-arrests-wife-of-gunman-in-jerusalem-terror-attack/.

31 Interview by the author with Sheikh Khaled Abu ‘Arafeh, on 1 Feb. 2012 in Jerusalem. See also Hillel Cohen, The Rise and Fall of Arab Jerusalem, 1967–2007 (Jerusalem: The Jerusalem Institute, 2007), pp.168–71.

32 Shaul Bartal, New Forms of Palestinian Terror against Israel, A Profile of al-Quds Intifada (Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 2017), pp.82–83.

33 Murabitun and Murabitat, (literally those who hold steadfast), a group of people who are active and supportive of the Islamic Movement in Israel or the Muslim Brotherhood who sit as a group on the Temple Mount and scream at Jewish visitors and sometimes attack those Jews who have come to pray on the Temple Mount.

34 ‘Shabab al-Aqsa, This is the Palestinian Faction that Threatens the Capital Israel Today’, The Limited Times, 18 Apr. 2022: https://newsrnd.com/news/2022-04-18-%22shabab-al-aqsa%22–this-is-the-palestinian-faction-that-threatens-the-capital-israel-today.SJwQtgjVq.html.

35 Shaul Bartal, ‘The Conflict Within: The Case of the Northern Islamic Movement in Israel’, State Building and Fragility Monitor Vol. 7, (2022), pp.26–27.

36 The State of Israel vs. Khalil Ghazawi, verdict and decision by Judge Moshe Drori in Jerusalem District Court, 14 Dec. 2014, court archive file no. 34138-1-14.

37 Roi Amsalem, Young Palestinians in the West Bank (2011–2017): Social and Political Issues Reflected out of Digital Media Products (Jerusalem: Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Hebrew University, June 2022), p.182.

38 ‘Hamas: Kafa al-Fasa'al ma Istimrar al-Intifada wa-Tatawr Adwatha’ [Hamas: The organizations’ agreement to continue and develop the Intifada], Muasasat al-Quds al-Dawliyah site, 31 Oct. 2015: http://alquds-online.org/index.php?s=news&cat=7&id=4434&skw=كافةالفصائل.

39 Interviews with Israeli policeman in Jerusalem.

40 ‘Shabab al-Aqsa, This is the Palestinian Faction that Threatens the Capital Israel Today’, The Limited Times, 18 Apr. 2022: https://newsrnd.com/news/2022-04-18-%22shabab-al-aqsa%22–this-is-the-palestinian-faction-that-threatens-the-capital-israel-today.SJwQtgjVq.html.

41 Hillel Cohen, The Rise and Fall of Arab Jerusalem, 1967–2007 (Jerusalem: The Jerusalem Institute, 2007), pp.8–10.

42 Without an author, Jil al-Shabab Falastini wa-Khassa fi al-Quds, pp.2–3.

43 The Muslim Brotherhood in Jerusalem is defined as an illegal organization according to the laws of Israel even though the mother organization is not so defined as it is tied to Hamas and the Islamic Movement–Northern Branch.

44 Nadav Shragai, ‘Sovereignty Games in Jerusalem, Expert Imagine the “Day after”’, Israel Hayom, 7 Feb. 2020: https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/07/02/game-of-sovereignty-experts-imagine-the-day-after/.

45 Hizb al-Tahrir was founded in 1953. For more, see Meerim Aitkulova, ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir: Dreaming of Caliphate’ in Muhammad Afzal Upal and Carole M. Cusack (eds), Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion series (Leiden: Brill, 2021), pp.402–20.

46 ‘I'atiqal al-Hajj Nihad Zghayyir ithna tuwajadu fi Bab al-Amod fajar al-Yom’ [The arrest of al-Hajj Nihad Zghayyir upon arrival at Damascus Gate today at sunrise], Madinat al-Quds website, 5 Mar. 2021: https://alquds-city.com/news/36317.

47 Hillel Cohen, The Market Square is Empty: The Rise and Fall of Arab Jerusalem (Jerusalem: Jerusalem Institute of Israel Research), p.115.

48 Elior Levi, ‘Israel Estimates Temple Mount Riots Organized Plot’, Ynet, 17 Apr. 2022: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sktj1pk4c.

49 Nivine Sandouka, ‘Youth in Jerusalem: An Identity Lost or Lack of Opportunities’, Palestine – Israel Journal Vol. 26 (2021): https://www.pij.org/articles/2108/youth-in-jerusalem-an-identity-lost-or-lack-of-opportunities.

50 Hanady Halawani, ‘For Years, My Life Was al-Aqsa. Israel Took that from Me’, Middle East Eye, 19 Nov. 2019: https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/years-my-life-was-al-aqsa-israel-took-me. ‘Palestinian Women Activist Banned by the Israeli Authorities from Entering the al-Aqsa Mosque for One Week’, WAFA News, 18 Jul. 2022: https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/130087.

51 Emin Poljarevic, ‘Theology of Violence-oriented Takfirism as a Political Theory: The Case of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)’ in Muhammad Afzal Upal and Carole M. Cusack (eds), Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion series (Leiden: Brill, 2021), pp.485–512.

52 Laurel J. Sweet, ‘4 Israeli Soldiers Killed by ISIS-like Truck Attack’, Boston Herald, 9 Jan. 2017: https://www.bostonherald.com/2017/01/09/4-israeli-soldiers-killed-in-isis-like-truck-attack/.

53 See Health Work Committees Website: http://www.hwc-pal.org/.

54 Without an author, Jil al-Shabab Falastini wa-Khassa fi al-Quds (Jerusalem: Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs – PASSIA, Apr. 2017), p.10: http://www.passia.org/media/filer_public/90/2e/902e7fca-8b1d-42ac-8172-53f66b25acaf/palestinian_youth-_arabic.pdf.

55 ‘Al-Ihtilal yetaqal 8 muqdasayeen’ [The occupation arrested 8 Jerusalemites], Dunya al-Watan News, 27 Mar. 2019: https://www.alwatanvoice.com/arabic/news/2019/03/27/1229235.html.

56 Sunaina Maira, Jil Oslo, Palestinian Hip Hop, pp.10–11.

57 Muhammad Naji Abu Jumaʿa song: ‘Inshudu Hamaa al-Quds, kataba al-asir Muhammad Naji abu Jumaʿa’, in altur alquds [The Song of the Defense of Jerusalem was written by the prisoner Muhammad Naji abu Jumaʿa] Instagram and SoundCloud, 4 Sept. 2022: https://soundcloud.com/altur-alquds/7g1p8t8xleay.

58 In 2021, Israel arrested 2879 Palestinians, 750 minors (26 per cent) and 120 women. ‘Palestinian in Jerusalem, Victim of Israel Occupation's Dominance’, Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, 11 Dec. 2022: https://euromedmonitor.org/en/palestinians-in-jerusalem.

59 ‘Quwat al-Ihtilal ti'ataqal tafla Muqdasiyya min balada al-Tur’ [Occupation forces arrest young Jerusalem children in al-Tur village], Madina al-Quds website, 14 Jan. 2015: https://alquds-city.com/news/1196.

60 Al-Mukhdarat fi Falastin’ [Drugs in Palestine], WAFA News, n.d., found on 4 Oct. 2022. The article's data is up to date for 2021: http://info.wafa.ps/ar_page.aspx?id=3206.

61 ‘Al-Mashakel allati Tuwajihu Qitaʽ al-Shabab fi Falastin’ [The Problems Facing the Young Sector in Palestine], WAFA News, n.d., found on 20 Jun. 2019. The article's data is relevant up to the middle of 2014: info.wafa.ps/ar_page.aspx?id = 9477 (accessed on 23 Apr. 2020).

62 Sanjay Asthana and Nishan Havandjian, Palestinian Youth Media and the Pedagogies of Estrangement (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), pp.28–31.

63 Shaul Bartal, New Forms of Palestinian Terror, pp.50–51.

64 Nir Hasson, ‘60 percent from East Jerusalem Residents Support Palestinian Participation in Municipality Election’, Ha’aretz, 14 Feb. 2018: https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/local/.premium-1.5811222.

65 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics – PCBS, (2020). ‘Unemployment Rate of Persons Aged 15 Years and above in Palestine by Governorate and Sex’, Ramallah. Palestine Authority: https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_Rainbow/Documents/unemployment-2020-02e.html.

66 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics – PCBS, (2021). ‘Unemployment Rate Among Labour Force Participants of Persons Aged 15 Years and Above in Palestine by Sex and Governorate, 2015–2020’, Ramallah. Palestine Authority: https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_Rainbow/Documents/unemployment-2015-2020-01e.html.

67 Al-Jihaz al-Markazi lil-Ihsaʼ al-Falastini (PCBS), ‘Al-Ihsaʼ al-Falastini Yasduru Bayanan Suhufiyan Yastaʿaridu fihi Awdʿa al-Shabab fi al-Mujtamʿaʽ al-Falastini bi-Munasbat al-Yawm al-ʿAlami lil-Shabab’ [The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics publishes a survey of the situation of Palestinian youth On the occasion of International Youth Day], PCBC website (12 Aug. 2018): http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/postar.aspx?lang=ar&ItemID=3214.

68 ‘Al-Mashakel allati Tuwajihu Qitaʿa al-Shabab fī Falastin’, WAFA News, n.d., found on 20 Jun. 2019. The article's data is relevant up to the middle of 2014: info.wafa.ps/ar_page.aspx?id = 9477 (accessed on 23 Apr. 2020).

69 Without an author, Jil al-Shabab Falastini wa-Khassa fi al-Quds (Jerusalem: Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs – PASSIA, Apr. 2017), pp.4–5: http://www.passia.org/media/filer_public/90/2e/902e7fca-8b1d-42ac-8172-53f66b25acaf/palestinian_youth-_arabic.pdf.

70 Ibid.

71 Ibid., pp.9–12.

72 Ibid., p.8. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, ‘Approximately 72% of All Palestinian Families in Jerusalem Live Below the Poverty Line. East Jerusalem – Facts and Figures’, May 2019: https://www.english.acri.org.il/east-jerusalem-2019.

73 Nivine Sandouka, ‘Youth in Jerusalem: An Identity Lost or Lack of Opportunities’, Palestine – Israel Journal Vol. 26 (2021): https://www.pij.org/articles/2108/youth-in-jerusalem-an-identity-lost-or-lack-of-opportunities.