Shuafat
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Shuafat (Arabic Shu'fat) is an Arab town annexed by Israel to form part of northeastern Jerusalem.[1] Located on the old Jerusalem-Ramallah road about three miles north of the Old City, Shuafat has a population of 35,000 residents. The Shuafat refugee camp, established in 1966, is located on the traditional lands of the town of Shuafat.[2]
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[edit] History
Known to the Canaanites and Crusaders as Dersophath;[3][4] the present-day town of Shuafat is also thought to be the site of ancient Gebim, a village in north Jerusalem whose inhabitants fled the approaching Assyrian army, according to the Book of Isaiah.[5] Shuafat has been the site intermittent habitation since at least 2000 BCE,[3] and a number of ancient artifacts have been discovered there, including the remains of a Crusader structure in the center of the village that was possibly a church.[4]
During an archaeological salvage dig conducted near the Shuafat refugee camp in preparation for the laying of the tracks for the Jerusalem Light Rail system, the remains of an ancient Roman-Jewish settlement were discovered. The settlement was described as a "sophisticated community impeccably planned by the Roman authorities, with orderly rows of houses and two fine public bathhouses to the north."[1][6]
The town of Shuafat was to be the most northernmost point of the corpus separatum proposed in 1947 for Jerusalem and its surrounding villages, which "in view of its association with three world religions" was to be "accorded special and separate treatment from the rest of Palestine and should be placed under effective United Nations control".[7]
After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Shuafat was occupied by Jordan, which annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem until the 1967 Six-Day War. The Shuafat refugee camp was established in 1966 by King Hussein.[8]. In the aftermath of the Six Day war, the West Bank and East Jerusalem were occupied by Israel. The town of Shuafat and the refugee camp were subsequently annexed by Israel into the municipal area of Jerusalem.[1][9] Residents of Shuafat were offered Israeli citizenship, but most refused it, considering themselves to be illegally occupied, though many accepted permanent residency status instead.[1]
[edit] Today
Shuafat borders Pisgat Ze'ev and Beit Hanina on the north, Shuafat refugee camp from the east, French Hill on the south, and Ramot on the west. According to Isabel Kershner of the New York Times, Shuafat, like most of the other Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem, suffers from an absence of municipal planning, overcrowding, and potholed roads. [1]
While the Shuafat refugee camp is located inside Jerusalem and its residents carry Jerusalem identity cards, the camp itself is largely serviced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, even though 40 - 50% of the camp's population are not registered refugees. Some health services are provided by Israeli clinics in the camp, but in general the Israeli presence in the refugee camp is limited to checkpoints controlling entry and exit and Border Police incursions. In addition, unlike other UN-run refugee camps, residents of Shuafat refugee camp pay taxes to the Israeli authorities.[2]
In a survey conducted as part of the research for the book Negotiating Jerusalem (2000), it was reported that 59% of Israeli Jews supported redefining the borders of the city of Jerusalem so as to exclude Arab settlements such as Shuafat, in order to ensure a "Jewish majority" in Jerusalem.[10]
In April of 2007, Israeli forces entered the Shuafat refugee camp at three in the morning to deliver 150 evacuation orders to Palestinian families, which if executed would render 2,000 Palestinian refugees from the camp homeless once again.[11]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Isabel Kerhsner (June 5, 2007). Under a Divided City, Evidence of a Once United One. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
- ^ a b Jerusalem Neighborhood Profile: Shuafat Refugee Camp. Ir Amin (August 2006). Retrieved on 2008-02-01.
- ^ a b Mariam Shahin (2005). Palestine: A Guide. Interlink Books, 334. ISBN 156656557X.
- ^ a b Denys Pringle (1997). Secular Buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: An Archaeological. Cambridge University Press, 94. ISBN 0521460107.
- ^ (2000) Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 487. ISBN 0802824005.
- ^ Amiram Barkat (2 January 2006). Shuafat dig reveals first sign of Jewish life after destruction of Second Temple. Retrieved on 2008-02-01.
- ^ Paul Jacob Ignatius Maria de Waart (1994). Dynamics of Self-Determination in Palestine: Protection of Peoples As a. BRILL, 216. ISBN 9004082867.
- ^ Israel Resource Review - 13th October, 1998
- ^ Olmert hints at possible concessions in Jerusalem. Ynet (October 15, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-01.
- ^ Jerome M. Segal (2000). Negotiating Jerusalem. SUNY Press, 127. ISBN 0791445372.
- ^ Mohammed Mar'i (4 April 2007). Israeli Forces Terrorize Palestinian Refugees. Arab News. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
[edit] External links
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