- 19 شباط 2018
- أقلام مقدسية
By: Walid Salem
The last elections for the Palestinian Municipality of Jerusalem( Amanat Al Quds) was held in the Pre 1967. Directly after the occupation the municipality council was dissolved by the Israeli Authorities. This step represented an attack to the East Jerusalemites right of self representation. Ever since the objective became about regaining the Palestinian right to decide freely about their representation, an objective that falls within the broader objective of emancipation from the occupation.
Few people only know that the illegally dissoloved Municipal Council by Israel, continued nevertheless acting to represent the city in the Arab, Islamic, and international federations of capitals and municipalities. Till today two members of the dissolved council are still alive living in Amman and struggling with the international municipalities for the freedom of East Jerusalem from occupation.
Besides that President Yasser Arafat appointed a municipal council for Jerusalem in 1998, followed by the law of “Jerusalem the capital of Palestine” issued by the Palestinian Legislative Council. In 2012 President Mahmoud Abbas recomposed the Jerusalem municipality once again. Followed by a comprehensive campaign in 2016 and 2017( Details available) to restructure it in order to become a body that is in charge of the development of the East Jerusalem communities. The rich proposals developed on how to do this are also available.
On the basis of these proposals, the Central Council of PLO decided in its last Month meeting to “ revive Amanat Al Quds” according to the best Democratic and Representative way possible” . The different scenarios for such a “ democratic and representative way are already will studied and available. They are only waiting implementation.
These points are important to be reminding about in the year of the elections for the Israeli municipality in the city, not recognized by the city Palestinians of whom only one percent are participating in its elections.
Every time when the year of the elections of the Israeli municipality comes, voices calling Palestinians to join those elections come out mainly from Meretz Party, and from some international observers. These calls need to face bravely, sincerely and honestly the following questions in order to avoid objectively making harm while they think that they are trying to help. The questions are:
- What will happen to the Palestinian right to struggle to regain back the right of their dissolved municipality to work in the ground if they join the Israeli municipal elections?.
- what will be the fate of the active Palestinian municipality in representing East Jerusalem in the Arab, Islamic, and international cities and capital federations?.
- More importantly: How the involvement of East Jerusalem Palestinians in the Israeli municipality elections will assist as a step towards the emancipation from occupation? Or it will instead be a step towards the incorporation of East Jerusalem in Israel?.
- Are these ideas still have a space after the clear cut decision of the PLO Central Council last month mentioned above.
What is needed is a strategy that includes gradual steps that each is built on the previous one in the direction of emancipation. Ideas that help in the development of Such a strategy will be the kind of “advice” that we badly need to see sent to us instead by those who advice us to join the Israeli municipality elections. This will be an alternative to those kind of non-good advices that come to tell us:” Look, there is growing number among your society who are calling for the participation in the Israeli municipality elections, and you should respect those voices and allow them to talk and express themselves freely”. Such advices are( to use polite words) at least not helpful, and also they have the agenda towards incorporating East Jerusalem in Israel in the long run due to the prevailing balance of power, and that is regardless to the good intentions of those who make these advices.
This year these advices came out also through a research done on the basis of a public opinion poll that was published in Haaretz two days ago. The results of the research telling that 59 Percent East Jerusalem Palestinians are in favor of joining the Israeli municipality elections are highly doubtful due to the fact that only one percent East Jerusalemites participate in the Israeli Municipality elections. The claim that the people do not present their positions freely due to their fear from the Palestinian factions is insulting to both the people( As if they are fully controlled by the factions, and have no free will, and no minds to think), and also insulting to the factions who are a “ little bit” better than just frightening their people. Besides that the sample of the research is not representative to the 22 communities of East Jerusalem, but conducted more through interviews with like minded people, therefore it cannot be seriously representative, and cannot be seriously adopted. A final question which expresses the presence of an agenda behind such a research is that the results were published wihout a prior good discussion with the civil society in Jerusalem.Why?.
To all those who have good intentions towards the Palestinians in East Jerusalem: After the resolution of the PLO Central Council last month, please stop playing with us the play of pressuring us to run in the Israeli municipal elections, and to advice us about the growing number of people who support this in our society, and instead lend us a hand ( and advices) on how to make the emancipation of this occupation shorter. At the meantime I hope that the PLO Central Council will implement soon its decision about the revival of the Palestinian new municipality according to a new basis, and then help us to get free from this pressure to join the Israeli municipality which will become by then irreverent and part of the past.
