(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency) Ramallah, Oct.28 (Petra) -- Jerusalem Affairs Minister Zeev Elkin has unveiled his proposal for the municipal division of Jerusalem, which would see several Arab neighborhoods beyond the West Bank separation barrier split off from the Jerusalem municipality and be placed under the jurisdiction of one or more new council administrations, Haaretz daily revealed Sunday .
The newspaper explained that all these neighborhoods are inhabited by Palestinian citizens and located beyond the separation barrier and include the Shoafat refugee camp and a neighborhood adjacent to it in northeast Jerusalem, Kafr Aqab, as well as Walajah, in the southern part of the city, and a small part of the neighborhood of Sawahra.
No one knows precisely how many people live in these areas that were neglected by the Israeli authorities, Haaretz said. The figure is estimated at between 100,000 and 150,000, one-third to one-half of whom have Israeli identity cards and residency status.
The move will require the approval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the completion of various legislative amendments, whose first reading was already passed by the Knesset in July, it explained.
Elkin said he believed his plan, which he intends to promote in the coming weeks, will not face serious resistance from either the right or left, as his main concern is with the rapid demographic growth in these areas, and its impact on the balance between Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem.
Since the construction of the separation barrier some 13 years ago (the barrier at Walajah is currently being completed), these areas have been cut off from Jerusalem, though they still come under the capital's jurisdiction.
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29/10/2017 - 11:25:10 AM
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