2 May
New York State Governor George Pataki calls on U.S. President George W. Bush to honor his campaign promise to relocate the United States Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. A 1995 U.S. law stipulates that the embassy should have been moved to Jerusalem by May 1999. (JP)
3 May
At a press briefing in Washington D.C., the PNA Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Faisal al-Husseini warns that the situation in Jerusalem is "precarious." He adds that the city may be prone to more conflagrations, similar to those that followed the 1996 tunnel incident and Sharon's recent visit to al-Haram al-Sharif. (ACJ)
5 May
The General Union of Palestinian Teachers calls on Palestinian teachers in Jerusalem to boycott Israel's Teachers' Union elections. (AQ)
6 May
The Israeli army seizes control of parts of Beit Jala, a Palestinian village south of Jerusalem, following Palestinian shooting attacks on the Tunnel Road. The road, linking Jerusalem to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, lies between Beit Jala and the Gilo settlement. One Palestinian is killed and twenty other civilians are injured. (HA)
7 May
Newspaper reports indicate that Israeli authorities are planning a new settlement on Palestinian-confiscated land in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The new block will include 12 units (on plots 25 and 26 located on parcel 30305). (AY)
Two Palestinians, accused by the Israeli authorities of being agents of the Palestinian General Intelligence organization, are arrested in Beit Hanina. Israeli sources say this indicates that Palestinian security forces may be operating in East Jerusalem. (JP)
Al-Quds newspaper reports on Faisal al-Husseini's meeting in Boston with Ami Ayalon, former chief of the Shin Bet, and Oded Eiran, chief Israeli negotiator. According to Palestinian sources, the three discussed the continued violence, current attempts to resume political negotiations, and the issue of Jerusalem. (JMCC)
8 May
Press reports indicate that Israeli Prime Minister Sharon will pressure the Islamic Waqf into allowing Jews to enter al-Haram al-Sharif. Sharon also decides to issue orders to the Israeli police banning the entry of construction material and trucks into al-Haram in order to reduce what Israel calls "illegal constructions works and diggings." Later, the Prime Minister's Office denies that it is interested in initiating a discussion with the Waqf on allowing Jews to visit the compound. Director of the Waqf Adnan Husseini says he does not want Israeli involvement in al-Haram, claiming such actions would be "foolish" and could further increase tensions in the area. (AQ, JP)
9 May
Accepting the Jerusalem Prize from Israeli Mayor of Jerusalem Ehud Olmert, the celebrated American essayist and novelist Susan Sontag criticizes Israel's "disproportionate use of fire power" against the Palestinians. She also calls on Israel to stop building settlements and to demolish them. (HA)
Al-Quds reports that the Israeli authorities have prepared a list of eleven offices soon to be closed that Israel considers as belonging to the PNA in East Jerusalem. Aryeh Ramot, general director at the Israeli Internal Security Ministry, says the intention is to close offices connected with the PNA, whose aim is to impact Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem. These include the Prisoner's Club, Orient House, Al-Quds University, the Chamber of Commerce, and other institutions. (AQ)
13 May
Israeli authorities reaffirm a former decision taken during Barak's tenure to build an eastern ring road for Jerusalem, stretching from north to south, along the eastern city limits. In strong opposition to the plan, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres says that the road's construction requires confiscation of Palestinian land and the demolition of homes and would again focus international anger on Israel. (HA)
14 May
Israeli President Moshe Katsav says he will put his life on the line in order to protect the al-Aqsa Mosque. Israel will never allow anyone to harm the al-Aqsa Mosque or allow any infringement on the freedom of worship for Israeli Muslims, he adds. Katsav makes no references to the freedom of worship for Palestinians with Jerusalem or West Bank/Gaza IDs. (JP)
15 May
Tens of thousands of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip observe the 53rd anniversary of the nakba (or catastrophe). The anniversary commemorates, in part, the plight of 800,000 Palestinians who were expelled from their homes and became refugees in the 1948 war and the creation of Israel. In Jerusalem, Israeli police prevent Palestinians from standing in the street to observe a moment of silence. (JMCC)
21 May
Israelis celebrate Jerusalem Day - the anniversary of Jerusalem's unification following Israel's occupation of the city in 1967. Israeli police impose strong security measures, patrolling the parade route in the Old City. Several dozen members of the Israeli ultra-nationalist Temple Mount Faithful group lead a parade through the streets of East Jerusalem, before police block their entrance to al-Haram al-Sharif. (JP)
22 May
Jerusalem Municipality bulldozers demolish two Palestinian homes in the city's Tur and Jabal Mukaber neighborhoods. Jerusalem City Councilor Meir Margalit of the Meretz Party, a long-time campaigner against house demolitions, says this is the prelude for a massive wave of house demolitions planned for next week by Mayor Ehud Olmert. (AQ, AY, GS)
23 May
Al-Quds reports that Israeli authorities are allegedly preventing Palestinian Jerusalemite families from using their Jordanian passports if the head of the family carries an Israeli passport. (AQ)
27 May
Two car bombs explode in West Jerusalem, with some minor injuries reported. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Islamic Jihad claim responsibility for one car bomb each. (HA)
29 May
Israeli Housing and Construction Minister Natan Sharansky says he has approved the bids for 496 new units in the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, outside of Jerusalem, and 217 units in Alfei Menashe, near Qalqilya. This move comes in the wake of international pressure on Israel to follow a recommendation by the Mitchell Report, calling for a total settlement freeze as part of a series of confidence-building measures to help end eight months of Israeli-Palestinian fighting. Israel objects to the settlement clause of the Mitchell report, saying it would have to maintain some construction to account for the "natural growth" of settlements. (AP)
31 May
The PNA Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Faisal al-Husseini dies of a heart attack during a visit to Kuwait. Husseini's death is considered a major setback for the Palestinian national movement, particularly in relation to Jerusalem. (JMCC)
A Palestinian from the Hizma village, north of Jerusalem, is shot dead by Israeli soldiers. (AY)
1 June
Tens of thousands of flag-waving Palestinians march through Jerusalem, behind the coffin of Faisal al-Husseini, turning the mourning for the Palestinian leader into an outpouring of defiance against Israeli rule. Husseini is buried in al-Haram al-Sharif next to his father, Abdel Qader al-Husseini, a legendary Palestinian fighter who was killed during the Battle for Jerusalem in 1948. (HA)
7 June
The Jerusalem Post newspaper reports on the latest poll of the Tel Aviv-based Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies. The poll indicates that, while Israelis are pessimistic about the latest conflict with the Palestinians, 58 percent of the 1,216 Israelis surveyed continue to back the Oslo process. The poll also shows Israeli willingness to separate from the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem: support for conceding Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem, as part of a final-status framework, reached an all-time high at 51 percent (JP)
8 June
The Jerusalem Times newspaper reports on a recent study by the Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce, which delineates the economic impact on Jerusalem's Arab sector of Israeli measures imposed since the onset of the Intifada. Based on a sample of 16 different establishments in various sectors (including industry, services, tourism, commerce, transportation, banking and contracting), the study shows that various economic indicators have dropped sharply. (JT)
11 June
Israeli authorities demolish a Palestinian home in Wadi Qaddum in East Jerusalem that housed 15 people. The owner says they were in the process of gaining a building permit. Fifteen other homes await demolition. These homes lie in the path of the proposed route of the eastern ring road that will be built around the eastern part of Jerusalem. (AY, HA)
U.S. President George W. Bush signs a waiver postponing, for another six months, any relocation of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. (HA)
12 June
A Greek-Orthodox monk is killed in a drive-by shooting on the Jerusalem-Ma'aleh Adumim highway. (JP)
Israel's Mayor of Jerusalem Ehud Olmert boycotts the reception held by the British Consul General in Jerusalem on the occasion of the Queen's birthday. His reason for the boycott is that the Consul General is holding two separate receptions: one for Israelis and one for Palestinians . (AQ)
13 June
The Islamic Higher Commission in Jerusalem says it has received information confirming the intention of Israeli authorities to erect a Jewish temple in the area of al-Aqsa Mosque. (HJ)
14 June
A group of Jewish extremists called the "Shalhevet Gilad" claims responsibility for the shooting death of a Palestinian near an Israeli military camp, which lies on land confiscated from Anata, a Palestinian village north of Jerusalem. (VOP)
A Palestinian, suspected by some to be a collaborator with Israel, shoots dead a senior IDF intelligence officer before being shot dead by Israeli forces on the Tunnel Road near the Gilo settlement, on Jerusalem's outskirts. The Brigades of Martyr Hussein Ubeyyat, a military wing in the Fatah Movement, claim responsibility for the operation. (AQ, HA, VOP)
20 June
One Palestinian is killed near the Modi'in settlement. According to the Israeli Defense Forces, an Israeli patrol saw three Palestinians heading towards Area B by foot. The patrol called for the three to halt, fired in the air, and then fired at the feet of the three as they began to run away. One of the Palestinians was wounded and died shortly afterward. (HA)
21 June
Ha'aretz newspaper reports that Meir Margalit, a member of Israel's Jerusalem Municipality, has written a letter of complaint to the Ministry of Defense, asking the Ministry to allow more Palestinian medical staff living in the PNA areas into their work places in East Jerusalem hospitals. This month, only 270 entry permits were issued, compared to the approximately 500 normally issued. Margalit argues that this goes against the Ministry's own claims that medical staff will not be hampered by closures and roadblocks and that doctors, nurses, ambulances, and patients will not be stopped from entering East Jerusalem. (HA)
Following a tour of the Old City, Israeli Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Eli Suissa vows that he will press ahead with building in all parts of the city. He says such action is the best answer to Arab violence and that the construction of an Israeli settlement in Ras al-Amud will thwart Palestinian plans to connect Abu Dis to al-Haram al-Sharif. One hundred and nineteen housing units are planned for this settlement. On the same tour, Suissa is also briefed on another proposed settlement to be built in Abu Dis, in which 250-300 housing units will be built on an area of 60 dunams. (JP)
25 June
Despite an order to evacuate 15 new settler outposts in the West Bank and the Mitchell Report's call to put a "freeze" on all settlement activities, Israel's Land Authority publishes tenders for 38 new housing units in Ma'aleh Adumim, the largest settlement in the West Bank and part of Israel's "greater" Jerusalem area. (AY)
28 June
Palestinian merchants in East Jerusalem observe a general economic strike in protest of the Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem 34 years ago. (HJ, JP)
Al-Ayyam newspaper reports that Israeli Prime Minister Sharon has presented to U.S. President Bush his vision for a solution to the crisis. Without mentioning the specific areas, his plan stipulates - among other things - the establishment of a Palestinian state with limited sovereignty but with geographical continuity in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel would maintain sovereignty over Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley, and settlements. The PNA rejects the plan. (AY)
1 July
Lawyers petition the Israeli High Court of Justice for 905 Palestinian children in East Jerusalem to be accepted into city public schools for the upcoming school year in September. Approximately 1,600 East Jerusalem children are on waiting lists for public school enrollment. According to one of the children's lawyers, Daniel Seidemann, the Jerusalem Municipality spends only seven percent of its education budget on the Arab sector, although Arabs constitute 33 percent of the population. He notes that, in Sur Baher there are roughly 11,000 pupils, yet not a single public school for girls. "The shortage of public schools amounts to unjustified discrimination," Seidemann says. The high cost of private schooling also prevents an estimated 4-5,000 Palestinian children in East Jerusalem from attending any school at all. (JP)
3 July
Al-Hayat al-Jadida newspaper reports that the Jerusalem Municipality has decided to bring in 7,500 new Jewish immigrants into Jerusalem, doubling the previous year's figure. (HJ)
5 July
Israeli extremists throw rocks at the Belgian Consulate in Jerusalem in response to charges a Belgian court has brought against Prime Minister Sharon for alleged war crimes. (AY)
Using pictures to prove their point, archeologists from the Israeli Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities charge that Islamic Waqf construction work continues unabated on al-Haram al-Sharif. Israeli police reject the claim. (JP)
8 July
Israeli authorities hand out house demolition warnings to the owners of 25 Palestinian homes in Shu'fat Refugee Camp, north of Jerusalem, claiming the homes were built without the proper permits. (HJ)
9 July
Jerusalem Municipality bulldozers demolish 17 homes in the Shu'fat Refugee Camp. Clashes erupt between the camp's Palestinian residents and the Israeli police, in which ten people are injured, including three women. Several Israeli peace activists protesting the demolitions are arrested. The PNA and Palestinian civil society groups condemn this Israeli measure as ethnic cleansing and an attempt to further "judaize" Jerusalem. According to several Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups, Israel has demolished more than 7,000 homes, leaving 40,000 citizens homeless, since occupying the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem in 1967. (AQ, JP)
10 July
Following intense Israeli pressure, the Swiss Foreign Ministry announces that its Palestinian liaison office will be transferred from East Jerusalem to Ramallah in August. (AY)
11 July
The Greek Orthodox Church accuses Israel of "unlawful intrusion" into church affairs, following Israel's disqualification of one-third of the candidates for the Church's next patriarch in the Holy Land, due to "security" reasons. (AP, HJ)
16 July
Israeli police report that two Palestinian youths from Bethlehem were killed when the bomb they were planting exploded near the Malha Mall in Jerusalem. Al-Hayat al-Jadida reports cast doubt on this version of events, saying neutral sources cannot confirm the cause of their deaths. (AP, HJ)
17 July
Israeli Security Minister Uzi Landau bans a planned memorial for Faisal al-Husseini at Orient House, the main Palestinian Liberation Organization's (PLO) office in East Jerusalem. Calling the ban "provocative," Palestinian officials refuse to cancel or move the ceremony, and a low-key ceremony goes ahead as planned, amid intermittent scuffling between border policemen and Palestinians. Several members of the al-Husseini family are beaten, including elderly women. Israeli authorities impose the ban in order to avoid similar outpourings of Palestinian nationalism seen during Husseini's funeral procession to al-Haram al-Sharif. (JP, OH)
18 July
Israeli police arrest four staff members of the Orient House, charging them with assaulting a police officer following Faisal al-Husseini's memorial service. (OH)
Settler rabbis in the West Bank and Gaza call for mass visits to al-Haram al-Sharif. This is the first time a group of rabbis representing a large segment of the religious Zionist public has ruled it is permissible for Jews to enter the sanctuary, as long as certain areas are avoided. According to most Torah scholars, Jews are not allowed on the compound at all. The call comes almost a week before Tisha b'Av, the day of mourning for the destruction of the Jewish Temple. (HA)
Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas), Palestinian President Yasir Arafat's deputy says that the Orient House is in danger. According to Abu Mazen, in the near future, the PNA will appoint a Palestinian official to take over the late Husseini's position at Orient House. He adds that the appointed person will be a Jerusalemite, who does not necessarily have to be a member of the PLO Executive Committee (AQ)
19 July
The Israeli High Court of Justice gives the Jerusalem Municipality 30 days to explain why the city has refused to register thousands of East Jerusalem schoolchildren in its schools, or at least fund their tuition at private schools. This follows the July 1 petition filed on behalf of almost 1,000 children to be accepted into the city's public schools. (HA)
Jerusalem District Police Chief Mickey Levy gives the Israeli right wing and extremist Temple Mount Faithful group conditional permission to stage a vigil for Tisha b'Av prayers on the Haram al-Sharif. However, he prohibits the use of a symbolic cornerstone and forbids the group from entering al-Haram. (JP)
20 July
Al-Quds reports that U.S. Congressman Eric Canton has initiated a draft resolution demanding that the PNA be deprived of any financial assistance until Jerusalem's Islamic Waqf halts the construction work underway on al-Haram al-Sharif. Canton says it may damage archeological artifacts from the Jewish Temple period. (AQ)
22 July
Al-Quds reports that Arik Ascherman, a member of the Israeli group Rabbis for Human Rights, has uncovered Israel's intentions to demolish further Palestinian homes in Shu'fat and Issawiyah, neighborhoods of Jerusalem. (AQ)
23 July
The Temple Mount Faithful group petitions the Israeli High Court for permission to hold Tisha b'Av prayers on al-Haram al-Sharif and conduct a vigil around al-Haram's entrance, with a symbolic cornerstone placed nearby on a truck. Countering Jerusalem District Police Chief Mickey Levy's earlier ban on July 19, the group's petition argues it is discrimination to allow radical Muslims free access to the sacred area while blocking Jews. (JP)
The International Solidarity Movement, a group of peace activists from several countries engaged in solidarity action with the Palestinian people, begins one week of solidarity visits with Palestinian families in Beit Jala. The group will stay in neighborhoods that have been subjected to Israeli shelling in recent months. (JMCC)
In an effort to move the onus of blame for the failure of the Camp David Summit away from President Arafat, the Palestinian Negotiating Team publishes a memorandum delineating frequently asked questions on the summit's failure. The team describes how Israel's proposal would have forced recognition of Israel's annexation of all of Arab East Jerusalem. Talks after Camp David indicated that Israel was prepared to allow Palestinians sovereignty over discrete Palestinian neighborhoods in the heart of East Jerusalem. However, explains the team's memorandum, such neighborhoods would remain surrounded by Israeli settlements, thereby separating Palestinian communities from each other and from the rest of a Palestinian state. (PNT)
24 July
Palestinian security forces hand the body of an Israeli youth over to Israeli authorities. The young man, from the Pisgat Ze'ev settlement near Jerusalem, is believed to have been killed by Palestinians in the West Bank. The Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claim responsibility for the killing. (AQ)
July 25
Ha'aretz reports that a group of well-known right-wing extremists, led by convicted Jewish underground member Yehuda Etzion and Kach activist Baruch Marzel, have announced plans to "camouflage" themselves as Arabs and infiltrate a group of Palestinians heading to al-Haram al-Sharif so they can pray "silently" on the plaza. On a related matter, Israel's High Court rules that a small group of right-wing Jewish radicals can plant a symbolic first stone for raising Judaism's third temple in Jerusalem's Old City, but not on al-Haram al-Sharif. (JP)
Ha'aretz reports that Israel's Or Commission Inquiry, which is investigating the clashes that occurred last fall between Palestinian citizens of Israel and Israeli police, will look into the events on al-Haram al-Sharif in September after the visit by then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon. During the clashes inside Israel, 13 Palestinians were killed. (HA)
July 26
Ha'aretz reports that the first residents of the Har Homa settlement, built on Jabal Abu Ghneim south of Jerusalem, will move into their houses in October. (HA)
Palestinian gunmen shoot and kill a teenage settler near the Givat Ze'ev settlement, north of Jerusalem. (JP)
Fearing Jewish extremists will attempt to break into al-Haram al-Sharif, national and Islamic forces in Jerusalem call for the Palestinian people to be prepared to defend the al-Aqsa Mosque. (HJ)
Ha'aretz reports that the Israeli army has taken over the Qalandya (Atarot) Airport. (HA)
29 July
Al-Hayat al-Jadida reports that Palestinian officials and other officials from across the Arab world have condemned Israel's attempt to Judaize Islamic holy sites, urging Israel and the U.N. Security Council to halt the planned ceremony by the Temple Mount Faithful to promote the building of a new temple. Palestinians and Arabs view the Israeli High Court's decision to allow the group to demonstrate near al-Haram al-Sharif on Tisha b'Av as highly provocative. Israel denies this claim, accusing the PNA of deliberately inflaming the emotions of Muslims. Later during the day, Palestinians throw stones at Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall. Hundreds of Israeli police officers enter al-Haram al-Sharif using teargas and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators. Thirty Palestinians and 15 Israeli police officers are injured (HA, HJ)
30 July
A car bomb explodes in the Pisgat Ze'ev settlement, north of Jerusalem; no casualties are reported. (HJ)
31 July
Three Palestinian buildings are demolished in Shu'fat. (JP)
Sources: ACJ (American Committee on Jerusalem) AP (Associated Press) AQ (Al-Quds) AY (Al-Ayyam) GS (Gush Shalom) HA (Ha'aretz) HJ (Al-Hayat al-Jadida) JMCC (Jerusalem Media and Communications Center) JP (Jerusalem Post) JT (Jerusalem Times) OH (Orient House) PNT (Palestinian Negotiating Team) VOP (Voice of Palestine)