The Israeli Colonialist Policy in Al-Quds City and its Impact on the Judaization and Political Segregation of the City

Abstract

Al Quds City is one of the most significant aspects of the Arab-Palestinian-Israeli conflict owing to its political, religious, economic and social importance. The city has been present in almost all of the Israeli plans of judaization (infiltration of Palestinian neighbourhoods and encirclement with Jewish population) since the British mandate. However, after the six-day war in 1967—the June War—such plans took a more violent and terrorist course towards the Palestinians and the citizens of Al Quds City with the aim of replacing them with Jews. The most recent plan is the establishment of the Israeli West Bank barrier inside and around the city to pressure the original citizens into leaving while confiscating their identity cards and replacing them with Jewish settlers. Older judaization projects continue, including the judaization of Islamic sites, urban judaization through archaeological excavations, land confiscation and building demolition to separate the city from Arab and Islamic territories, resulting in the eradication of the Arab presence in certain areas. As Jews strove to enact these aims without taking into account the spiritual and historical significance of the city to both Arabs and Muslims, they mixed the Zionist thought and philosophy with Judaism to push Jews towards settling in the city. One of these methods was the establishment of the Jewish style of living throughout the city. After drafting laws to serve these ends, the city was annexed to Israel, and the institutions and central ministries were transferred to it to enforce the principle of Al Quds as the capital of unified Israel.

Keywords: Al Quds, judaization, Zionist thought, the wall, Israeli settlements