Shuafat

The Jerusalem Light Rail in Shuafat

Shu'fat (Arabic: شعفاط‎ Šuʿafāṭ), also Shuafat and Sha'fat, is a Palestinian Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem, forming part of north-eastern Jerusalem.^[1] Located on the old Jerusalem-Ramallah road about three miles north of the Old City, Shu'fat has a population of 35,000 residents. Shu'fat refugee camp was established by King Hussein in 1965 to house Palestinian refugees from the Jerusalem, Lydd, Jaffa and Ramleh areas, after the Mascar camp in the Jewish quarter of the Old City had been closed.^[2]

Shu'fat borders Pisgat Ze'ev and Beit Hanina on the north, Shu'fat refugee camp on the east, French Hill on the south, and Ramat Shlomo on the west.^[3][4] Shu'fat is located in the part of the West Bank which was included in the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem after its occupation in 1967.

History

Shuafat Road

Antiquity

The place was known to the Canaanites and Crusaders as Dersophath;.^[5][6] Biblical identifications include Gebim, a village in north Jerusalem whose inhabitants fled the approaching Assyrian army, according to the Book of Isaiah,^[7] Mizpah in Benjamin,^[8] and Nob.^[9] Tell el-Ful, on the neighborhood's outskirts, is believed to have been King Saul's capital of ancient Israel at Gibeah.^[10] Jordan's King Hussein also built a palace here. Shuafat has been the site of intermittent habitation since at least 2000 BC,^[5] and a number of ancient artifacts have been discovered there.

The remains of a Crusader structure in the center of the village that was possibly a church.^[6]

Following a 1991 archaeological dig in Shuafat by Alexander Onn and Tzvi Greenhut, a room dating to the 2nd century BC was identified as a prayer room or synagogue, making one of the oldest ever found. However the site was can no longer be identified and has been questioned.^{[11][12][13][14]}

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 settlement, dating back to the Roman Empire 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.' The findings are said be the first indication of an active Jewish settlement in the area of Jerusalem after the city fell in 70 A.D.. The main indication that the settlement was a Jewish one is the assemblage of stone vessels found there. Such vessels, for food storage and serving, were only used by Jews because they were believed not to transmit impurity. Archaeologists believe stone basins discovered at the site were used to hold ashes from the destroyed Temple.^[1][15]

Ottoman era

Local legend holds that the modern settlement was established several hundred years ago by immigrants from the Hejaz.^[16][17]

In 1596, the village was inhabited by eight Muslim families who paid taxes on wheat, barley, vineyards and other agricultural produce.^[18] In 1883 it was described as follows: "A small village, standing on a flat spur immediately west of the watershed, surrounded with olive-trees. It has wells to the north. There is a sacred chapel of Sultan Ibrahim in the village."^[8] The census of 1931 recorded 539 Muslims living there.^[19]

British Mandate era

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".^[20]

Jordanian era

In mid-February, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, leader of Palestinian irregulars in the area, tried to persuade the residents of Shuafat to attack the neighbouring Jewish village of Neve Yaakov but the invitation was declined.^[21][22] On 13 May the villagers were evacuated on orders from the Arab Legion. Shortly afterwards the Palmach captured Shuafat, destroying many of the buildings.^[23] Shuafat was occupied by Jordan, which unilaterally annexed the West Bank in April 1950.

Shuafat refugee camp

In the wake of the 1948 war, the Red Cross accommodated Palestinian refugees in the depopulated and partly destroyed Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem.^[24] This grew into the Muaska refugee camp managed by UNRWA, which housed refugees from 48 locations now in Israel.^[25] Over time many poor non-refugees also settled in the camp.^[25] Conditions became unsafe for habitation due to lack of maintenance and sanitation, but neither UNRWA nor the Jordanian government wanted the negative international response that would result if they demolished the old Jewish houses.^[25]

In 1964 a decision was made to move the refugees to a new camp constructed on mostly Jewish land near Shuafat.^[25] Most of the refugees refused to move, since it would mean losing their livelihood, the market and the tourists, as well as reducing their access to the holy sites.^[25] In the end, many of the refugees were moved to Shuafat by force during 1965 and 1966.^[24][25]

State of Israel

After the Six-Day War, the town and refugee camp were occupied and later, in a move internationally condemned, annexed by Israel and became part of the Jerusalem municipal district.^[1] The residents were offered Israeli citizenship, but most refused it as they considered the area to be illegally occupied. Many accepted permanent residency status instead.^[1]

Shuafat seen from the south

The Shuafat refugee camp is the only Palestinian refugee camp located inside Jerusalem or any other Israeli-administered area. While its residents carry Jerusalem identity cards, which grants them the same privileges and rights as regular Israelis, 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. The Israeli West Bank barrier was partially constructed between the camp and the rest of Shuafat and Jerusalem. Some health services are provided by Israeli clinics in the camp. The Israeli presence is limited to checkpoints controlling entry and exit. According to Ir Amim, the camp suffers from high crime because Israeli Police rarely enter due to security concerns, while the Palestinian Civil Police Force does not operate in Israeli-administered municipalities. Unlike other UN-run refugee camps, residents of Shuafat camp pay taxes to the Israeli authorities.^[3][26]

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.^[27]

In July 2001, the Israeli authorities destroyed 14 homes under construction in Shuafat on the orders of then mayor Ehud Olmert, who said the structures were built without permits. No one was yet living in them.^[28] The families acknowledged they do not own the land they built on, but believed they had permission to build there from Islamic Trust religious authorities and argue that obtaining permits to build legally is nearly impossible. Olmert said the houses were being constructed on public land in a "green area" and posed a security threat to the Jews of Pisgat Zeev.^[29] According to Isabel Kershner of the New York Times, Shuafat suffered from an absence of municipal planning, overcrowding, and potholed roads in 2007.^[1]

As prime minister, Ehud Olmert questioned whether the annexation of areas like Shuafat into the Jerusalem area was necessary.^[30] The Israeli initiative to transfer control of the area to the Palestinian National Authority led to a split in the community: A camp official favored being under Palestinian sovereignty, while the neighborhood's mukhtar rejected the plan, citing his residents' participation in Israeli elections as well as the danger of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel^[31]

Urban development

In 2012, Sorbonne scholar Prof. Sylvaine Bulle cited the Shuafat refugee camp for its urban renewal dynamic, seeing it as an example of a creative adaptation to the fragmented space of the camps towards creating a bricolage city, with businesses relocating from east Jerusalem there and new investment in commercial projects.^[32]

Transportation

Jerusalem Light Rail Red Line
Legend 'Heil Ha-Avir (Air Force Street) Sayeret Duchifat Pisgat Ze'ev Center Yekuti'el Adam Beit Hanina Shuafat Es-Sahl To depot Giv'at HaMivtar Ammunition Hill Shimon HaTzadik Shivtei Israel Damascus Gate Safra Square (City Hall) Jaffa – Center Ha-Davidka Mahane Yehuda Ha-Turim Central Station Kiryat Moshe He-'Haluts Denia Square Yefeh Nof Mount Herzl

Three stations of the First 'Red' Line of the Jerusalem Light Rail are situated in Shuafat: Shuafat North, Shuafat Central and Shuafat South.^[33][34]

The neighbourhood’s Main Street, Shuafat Road, was previously part of route 60. In the 1990s a new route was built to the east of the neighbourhood, a dual carriageway with 3 lines in each direction, relieving traffic congestion along the road.

See also

• East Jerusalem
• List of places in Jerusalem

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shuafat.

• Why is the Shuafat Refugee Camp Seething?
• Shu'fat, articles from UNWRA

v t e Neighborhoods of Jerusalem Jerusalem neighborhoods east of the 1949 armistice line are depicted in green, those west of the line in blue (see Green Line). Old City Armenian Quarter Christian Quarter Muristan Jewish Quarter Muslim Quarter Bab Al Huta Central Neighborhoods Arzei HaBira Batei Ungarin Beit David Beit Ya'akov Beit Yisrael Bukharim Downtown Triangle Geula Givat HaVradim Givat Ram Katamon Kerem Avraham Kiryat HaLeom Kiryat HaMemshala Kiryat Shmuel Kiryat Wolfson Ma'alot Dafna Mahane Israel Mahane Yehuda Mazkeret Moshe Mea Shearim Mekor Baruch Mishkenot Sha'ananim Mount Zion Musrara Nahalat Shiv'a Nachlaot Nayot Neve Granot Neve Sha'anan Rehavia Romema Rova Mevo Ha'ir Russian Compound Sha'arei Hesed Shmuel HaNavi Talbiya Yemin Moshe Zikhron Moshe Zikhron Yosef Northern Neighborhoods Al-Ram Beit Hanina Ezrat Torah French Hill Givat HaMivtar Har Hotzvim Kafr 'Aqab Kiryat Belz Kiryat Mattersdorf Kiryat Sanz Mount Scopus Neve Yaakov Pisgat Ze'ev Ramat Eshkol Ramat Shlomo Ramot Ramot Polin Sanhedria Sanhedria Murhevet Shuafat Tel Arza Unsdorf Eastern Neighborhoods American Colony Al Bustan Al-Issawiya At-Tur Bab a-Zahara Ir David Jabel Mukaber Kiryat Menachem Begin Ma'ale ha-Zeitim Nachalat Shimon Nof Zion Ras al-Amud Sheikh Jarrah Shimon HaTzadik Silwan Wadi al-Joz Southern Neighborhoods Abu Tor Arnona Baka Beit Safafa East Talpiot German Colony Gilo Givat HaMatos Givat Oranim Givat Massuah Greek colony Har Homa Katamonim Malha Mekor Chaim Pat Ramat Rachel San Simon Sharafat Sur Baher Talpiot Umm Tuba Western Neighborhoods Bayit VeGan Beit HaKerem Ein Karem Givat Beit HaKerem Givat Shaul Givat Mordechai Har Nof Ir Ganim Kiryat HaYovel Kiryat Menachem Kiryat Moshe Motza Ramat Beit HaKerem Ramat Denya Ramat Sharett Yefeh Nof Historical Neighborhoods Atarot Batei Munkacs Batei Saidoff Ezrat Yisrael Lifta Moroccan Quarter Mamilla Sheikh Badr Ohel Shlomo Sha'arei Yerushalayim See also: Ring Neighborhoods

v t e Palestinian refugee camps locations and populations as of 2013  Gaza Strip 1,221,110  West Bank 741,409 refugees  Syria 499,189 refugees  Lebanon 448,599 refugees  Jordan 2,034,641 refugees Al-Shati (Beach camp) 87,000 Bureij 34,000 Deir al-Balah 21,000 Jabalia 110,000 Khan Yunis 72,000 Maghazi 24,000 Nuseirat 66,000 Rafah 104,000 Aqabat Jaber 6,400 Ein as-Sultan 8,083 Far'a 7,600 Fawwar 8,000 Jalazone 11,000 Kalandia 11,000 Am'ari 10,500 Deir 'Ammar 2,400 Dheisheh 2,189 Dheisheh 13,000 Aida 4,700 Al-Arroub 10,400 Askar 15,900 Balata 23,600 'Azza (Beit Jibrin) 1,000 Ein Beit al-Ma' (Camp No. 1) 6,750 Tulkarm camp 18,000 Nur Shams 9,000 Jenin camp 16,000 Shuafat camp 11,000 Sbeineh 22,600 Khan Eshieh 20,000 Neirab 20,500 Homs 22,000 Jaramana camp 18,658 Daraa camp 10,000 Hama camp 8,000 Khan Dannun 10,000 Qabr Essit 23,700 Latakia Camp 10,000 Yarmouk 148,500 Ein el-Tal 6,000 Bourj el-Barajneh 17,945 Ain al-Hilweh 54,116 El Buss 11,254 Nahr al-Bared 300 families Shatila 9,842 Wavel 8,806 Mar Elias 662 Mieh Mieh 5,250 Mieh Mieh 5,078 Beddawi 16,500 Burj el-Shemali 22,789 Rashidieh 31,478 Zarqa camp 20,000 Jabal el-Hussein 29,000 Amman New Camp (Wihdat) 51,500 Baqa'a 104,000 Husn (Martyr Azmi el-Mufti camp) 22,000 Irbid camp 25,000 Jerash camp 24,000 Marka 53,000 Talbieh 7,000

Coordinates: 31°48′55.00″N 35°13′48.00″E / 31.8152778°N 35.2300000°E / 31.8152778; 35.2300000