N9 Objection to Declassificationjn Part 2009f12i16 - SECRET MEMORANQUM Eon . FROM: I 'Hail'old ":Saundern I ?7 _Sarnun1lM. Hoski?nann on J'erunalem .- CIA has produced a'fairly concise study on the.__issue of Jerusalem'asi- 11; Irelates' toval peace nettlement in theMiddlaEastinttached) You may ?nd the material beginning 011 p. be 113933111 background material on what: will ultimately be 'one bf the major issues of a-?nal 'seyz?ment. This givean brief'resume nf past proposals for Sinai? a1: describes a. numben 615 programs ?the Israelis have unda'r- . anwx in ecit thats 7 I irrw?rgi'ble, eem largely. Elemgned' to make than: contnol Atty CIA 1f15/7'1, No. 1257171,. Cy #27, Subj: - Infusalem; .An Issue Without Prospects- {-af 1; - .. f?.f - 3E i" No Ob'ection'to D?class'ification in Part 2009x1216 - wanna-I -- Tu. ilhulmud?Objection to Declassifipation in Part 2001912316 ga_ . .- . DIRECTORATE OF Intelligence Report An Issue Without Prospects Secret 2 7 15 January 1971 No.31257/7l' No Objecti'o'n' t9 Declassification in Part L-OC-HAK-1 1-6-30-9 - .- No Objection to Declassification in Part 2009f12f16 4-. WA I his dncument mtntains information affecting the- natinnal defense of the United States, witl?n the summing of Title 18, sections 793 and 79-1, of the US Code, as amended. Its transmission or rt-vclatiou of its contents to or m- - ceipt by an unautlmrimd person is prohibited by law. 1 I No ijeqtpn to Die-classi?cation in Part 2009f12f16 1-6-30-9 maj- .No Objection to Declassification In Part 2009(12f16: 1-6- I30- 9 SECRET- .25Xl CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY teami- - Directorate of Intelligence 15 January 1971 IJerusalem: An Issue Without Prospects Introduction Just after Christmas, the IIsraelis finally agreed to return to the Jarring talks, which they I'I'had left in early September to protest Egyptian/ Soviet violations of the terms of the cease-fire agreement. The negotiations are expected to be .extremely difficult, however, with neither side _showing much inclination to compromise even on minor matters. There are. many observers believe. l-some areas where agreement might eventually be reached. such as withdrawal by Israel from part . of the occupied territory and Arab recognition of T'Israel's right of transit through the Suez? Canal. The- status of Jerusalem,_however. constitutes a stumbling block on which the entire peace effort could founder. The Arabs say they cannot. agree I .to Israeli control of the city. and the Israelis .=say'they will not give it up.. The Israelis have. complicated the issue by undertaking a of programs within the city that are clearlyI ,f.f'designed toI make Israeli control irreversible?315: This report was produced by the- Office of I a?urrs at Intelligence and. coordinated wstIhin FjafDirectorats ofI IInteZZigsnIce.r . ., . e521 SFCR RT ILLEGIB No Objection to Declassification in Part 2009f12f16 x0 0 No Objection to Declassification in Part 2009f12f16 LOC-HAK-11-6-30-9 ILLEGIB No Objection to Declassification in Part 2009(12f16 LOC-HAK-11-6-30-Q x0 0 <2 ??90 No Objection to Declassification in Part 2009(12f16 No Objection to Declassification In Part 1-6- 30- 9 SECRET ?Historical Background 1.. Traditionally, Jews date their association with Jerusalem from early Biblical times {perhaps 16th century B.C.), when Abraham was commanded to "sacrifice Isaac on Mount Mor-iah, 'later known as the Temple Mount. Historically, their association began about 1004 B. C. when King David captured the city from the Jebueites and made it both his capital and the religious center of the Israelites. The Temple, completed by David's son Solomon, endowed the city with a sanctity in Jewish eyes which it has retained ever since. It has also made Judaism ?Jerusalem oriented.?_ When the Temple was_destroyed and the Israelites were exiled to Babylon (Mesopotamia) in about 586 B.C., their yearning to return to their homeland was expressed in the psalm, "If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, let-my right hand forget her cunning." . 2. The Jews were allowed to return rebuild the Temple, but their repeated {rebellions against the Romans, who conquered Je- 'rusalem in 63 B. C.-, ultimately led to their -sion from Jerusalem and the surrounding country? side (from 135 to 205 In the following centuries, Palestine??including Jerusalem?~Was ruled Successively by the Byzantines, Persians, Arabs, Crusaders, Mamelukes, Ottoman.Turks, and finally the British (from 1917 to 1943). Never, however, during the many centuries when control of Jerusalem.was denied them, did Jewish feeling -for .the city diminish. . 3. In 1948 the Jews recaptured the western iportion of Jerusaleme-now known as the New City-- which they designated as the capital of the new state of Israel. Until the 1967 war, however, no Jews were allowed entry to that portion of eastern Jerusalem.controlled by Jordan--the 01d City-?in which most of the holy sites of Judaism are located. For the Jews, the most holy Spot of all is the . western wall of the Temple of Herod, often_called the Wailing Wall, revered because of its proximity to the "Holy of Holies" (inner_ sanctum) at the western end of the Temple. SECRET No Objection to Deolassification in Part 2009i12fi6: LOC-HAK-1 1-6-30- 9 -_2531 25X1 . .5 No Objection to Declassification in Part SECRET i25Xl . g4. umnuring its.turbulent history, Jerusalem . has also developed a very special significance for Christians and Muslims. For the'Muslims. the city ranks 'behind. only Mecca and Medina as a holy place; -originally. Muslims faced Jerusalem rather than Mecca when praying. Muslims revere_an- area adja- '?cent to-the Wailing Wall as the place where Muham- mad tethered his winged horse Al?Buraq before he- wascended briefly to heaven from_a nearby rock. now - covered by the Mosque of Omar, or Dome of the Rock. . - 5. Toward the end of the_19th century. modern 'Jewish.settlement-began in Palestine.-and in 1897 Theodor Herzl formed the Zionist movement with the aim of establishing a Jewish state. In 1917, Great Britain issued the Balfour Declaration supporting "-?the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." When Great Britain assumed its mandate over Palestine in.1920. it was faced with deciding where in Palestine the Jewish national home would be established and what should be done with Jerusalem. At this point, Zionist representa~ tives,-although refusing to agree to put-the city _under Arab control. did not press for the inclusion; of Jerusalem in.a Jewish state. Their position, ._however. was a recognition of the realities of the 'time and not an indication that' Zionist leaders had lost inte rest in the city. Proposals on Jerusalem 6.- During the years of the -mandate before ?"the establishment of the state of Israel, various 'plans were evolved for the partition of Palestine between the Jews and the Arabs. and most of these affected the status of Jerusalem. The Peel Commis? J'sion (UK Palestine Royal commission) in 1937- recom- remanded that Jerusalem. together with several other "3towns in Palestine. remain under mandatory rule. In 1946. the Jewish Agency, the representative of the World Zionist Organization, proposed a partition of Palestine establishing frontiers for the Jewish - . -. state that were little different than those actually 4ame Jewi_sh Agency_ plan,_however, - put forth no claim to Jerusalem. 25X1 SECRET No Objection to Declassification in Part 2009f12i16: 9 .. i_l - in.? I J. . a -- m?t??lvu.3. Max. rawhw" I {5.335351% ma.- .. "Max:111? No JjectlonO t6 Declassirication In Part 2009f12f16: ?Ad-hull f?wgq-cn??v .. . . 1E1: .. Oglection t6 DeclaSSIfIcatlon in__ Part 2009f12f16: LOC- HAK-11-6-330-9 -. .- . . . . . i . . No Objection to Declassificaiion in Part 2009i12i16 1-6-3025r1 7. A plan recommended.by a majority of the United Nations Special-Committee on Palestine in November 1947-was subsequently adopted with minor- 'alterations by the General Assembly. This plan declared that Jerusalem.was a neutral area, although its neutrality was ill-defined and the city was to remain the reaponsibility of a UN mission after the end of the mandate.' Fighting broke out in Palestine - shortly after the UN announced its acceptance of the UNSCOP plan, and in March 1943 a UN commission an? nounced that the partition scheme had broken down. ?Several alternative proposals were put forward by different countries, including a US suggestion for temporary trusteeship. Although both Arab and Jew? ish leaders announced their willingness to accept a neutral UN commission to carry on the municipal . functions of the city, nothing could be done while- the fighting continued. . 3.. In the-summer of 1948, UN mediator Count 'Bernadotte proposed that the UNSCOP majority plan for Jerusalem be abandoned and that the'city be incorporated into Arab territory "with municipal rights for the Jewish community and special arrange- ments for the protection of the holy places.?_ This suggestion was rejected outright by Israel, whose forces were then in possession of the New City. Over the_next several months, official Israeli -opinion gradually hardened with respect to the division and control of the-city. By December 1948, the Israeli position, as set forth by Presiu dent Heismann, was that special arrangements might be.made for the Old City, but that it was unthinkable _that the New City should revert to foreign rule. h. 9. .The adamant Israeli stand did not stem 8 the offers of alternative proposals, but none af? fected the de facto statuS'of the city. In the . spring of 1949, when armistice agreements were [signed between Israel and the various Arab countries (except Iraq}, Jordan's King Abdullah announced his intention of claiming the Old City for his country .{then Transjordan}. In August 1949, Arab delegates ~-to the UN Conciliation Commission in the_Midd1e 25311 - - SECRET No Objection to Declassification in Part 200912116: -6-30- 9 . No Objection to Declassification in Part 2009f12f16 SECRET 25K1 'East approved in principle the internationalisation -.of the city. A month later, the Conciliation Com: mission published its plan. which suggested that Israeli and Jordanian sovereignty in Jerusalem be- - limited to purely local municipal administration in their respective zones. The city would be ad- -ministered as a whole by a UN?appointed commissioner I who would preside over a 14?memher General Council -of advisory nature only. The functions of the com- ~missioner would be limited to the.protection ofIthe holy places and to the supervision of the rights of - access. Because a principal intention of the plan was to prevent any change in the demographic makeup . of the-city. Israel. already in possession of the - _New City. refused to agree. - 10. A compromise proposal by the Netherlands and-Sweden called for recognizing the sovereignty of-Israel and Jordan in their respective areas and limiting the power of the international representa- tive to supervision of the holy places and the au- thority to suspend the application of laws .and regulations. The entire city was to be demilita~ rized. and both Jordan and Israel were to be for? - hidden from establishing their capitals in the .The General Assembly rejected this proposal, however. and instead assed an Australian proposal similar to the November 1947 plan to neutralize the city and place it-under a UN mission. '11. In January 1950 the Israelis formally proclaimed Jerusalem (i _the New City} to be the capital of Israel. Most foreign governments. 'including the US. refused to accept the Israeli action, and events during the ne-xt 1? years did _not alter the status of the city. Since 1948 the Israelis have conducted a continuous campaign to persuade or maneuver other governments into rec? Vognizing Jerusalem as its capital. 12. In the course of the 1967 war. Israel occupied the West Bank of Jordan. the Golan Heights, Sinai,-. and Gaza. When the fighting ended. the Is? ??"?""?rae11"covernment stated "that the future of Jerusalem - ~74 25K1 cnruinl* - Objection to Declassification in Part 2009i12i16: LOC-HAK-11-6-30-9 a .. . i1. Wall Afle Capture by Israel in 196'? I -- 45;; Home: Near Wail No Objection to Declassi?cation in 2069r12f16 No Objection to Declassification in Part 2009I12I16: LOC-HAK- 11-6- 30-9 . SECRET _25x1 unlike that of the other occupied territories,'was not negotiable. -As a result, the-UN General As- 1 sembly in July 1967 voted a resolution to the ef* feet that the-Israeli measures to change the status of Jerusalem were invalid and should be rescinded. 'In May l968, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution that deplored Israel's ignoring of the earlier General AsSembly.appeal not to change the status of Jerusalem and called on Israel "to re- scind all such measures already taken, and to .desist forthwith from taking any further action which tends to change the status of Jerusalem." Israel's confiscation and demolition of properties in the vicinity of the wailing Wall resulted in a - similar Secur_ity Council resolution in July 1969, 1 for which the US voted. Israeli Actions Affecting Jerusalem.Since 196? . 13. Despite protests from the outside and resistance.on the inside, the Israelis have-moved steadily and implacahly forward in the Israelization iof the city, In order to consolidate its control fever East Jerusalem-~the 01d City?-the government has extended Israeli law to the area, exercised eminent domain to requisition land for public pur- poses, and settled Israeli citizens in the area.- .14. The Israeli Knesset extended the appli? cation of Israeli law to East Jerusalem in June 1968 after having earlier redefined the boundaries of the united city, greatly expanding them both north and south of the original limits. Since that time, Israeli Government and Jerusalem municipality ,laws.have been applied, at least to some degree, especially in the fields of taxation, labor law, licensing requirements, and presumably, criminal law. Not only have Israeli courts supplanted Jordanian lower civil courts, but the Jordanian Appeals Court has been removed to Ramallah and has been deprived of its jurisdiction over East Jerue salem. Muslim religious courts in East Jerusalem,? which derive their authority from the Jordanian -3- II. I .25X1 SECRET - No Ob ection to Declassification in Part 2009f12i18: 1-6-30-9 - No Objection to Declassification in Pert?290??ifjl'2i16 . . - 25r1 -sovereign. have not acknowledged Israeli authority and their judgements are therefore not enforced. . The residents of East Jerusalem are included in Israeli population statistics. but they are not legally regarded-as-citizens. In the 1969 elec- tions. East Jerusalem residents were permitted -'and encouraged to vote in municipal elections, but prohibited from voting for national office. 15. ?Israel has progressively extended income -and real estate taxation to East Jerusalem. Dur- -ing the first year of occupation. the Israelis agreed to accept less than the full amount assessed. although they endeavored to force the Arab resi- dents of East_Jerusalem to make some payment as .an acknowledgement of the Israeli right to tax them.-.Early in 1969. the Israelis adopted a firmer 'tax policy and began a program-of enforcement that . by 1971 would bring the rates of residents of East '.Jerusa1em up to those of the residents of West Jerusalem. Although some Arab businessmen in East Jerusalem claim that they have not and will not pay taxes to the Israelis. probably many of them actually go along with the Israeli assessments because the renewal of business licenses has been linked to the payment of taxes. 16. Israeli regulations regarding minimum 'Wages and work_conditions have been applied to East Jerusalem since 1968 and are gradually being en- forced. The wage level in East Jerusalem is still substantially lower than in Israel. however, and conditions of work, customs. and management?labor -re1ations remain vastly different in the tradi- tional and paternal Arab East Jerusalem.than in Israel. In spite of the difficulties the Israeli Government has consequently-faced in.attempting to enforce minimum wage levels in the eastern sec- :?tor. it is persevering in its efforts. In early 1970 f.or example. the Israeli Ministry of Labor. ruling on a dispute between an Arab? owned hotel in East- Jerusalem and its employees. ordered the hotel gradually to increase its pay scale to that paid to hotel workers in west Jerusalem. -9 .i No Objection to Ilia-classification in Part ,1 1,Objection to Declassification in Part 2009312.!16 . some new - 25x1 .5 In June 1969; several East Jerusalem' were unilaterally registered as Israeli companies under the provisions of a newly passed law that set forth_a number.of regulations applying to individuals and licensed professions. trades} wand occupations. The Israelis allege that the formal registration of businesses in East Jerusalem is essential to facilitate normal commercial trans- actions. 13. Israel has taken over land in East Jeru- -salem for public (as distinguished from defense) purposes. In January 1968.'832 acres of largely." undeveloped land in the area of Mt. Scopus was . - reguisitioned for a.housing development and a pub? lic building center. A few months later. the gov- -1 - -ernment took over a_sma11er area that included the entire sorcalled Jewish Quarter of the Old City as. well as News Ya'aqov, the site of a pre-1948 Jewish -"settlement.. Approximately 300 Arabs who had been living in the Jewish Quarter were moved out, mostly to the_city's_suburbs. They were reportedly com- pensated at the rate of 1,000 Israeli pounds per .room vacatedAugust 1970. the Israelis expropriated -~abOut 3,000 acres of land within the enlarged - boundaries of Jerusalem. With the exception of an area around Government House, all of this land was . within Jordan's 196? borders. According to Israeli sourcess'only 20 Arab dwelling units and no culti? vated land or religious property were taken. The ?Ministry of Housing subsequently announced that. beginning in early 1971, 2,600 new apartment units .were to be built on the requisitioned land; the new 'units.are only the first of a projected 25,000 apartments. In announcing the project, the minister of housing said that the new construction was vital not only to provide housing for newcomers to the city? but also to ensure that the city remained _united and indivisible. - - . '20. Beginning in the summer of 196?. the Israelis demolished a number of buildings in the . 25x1 . . . . - -- No Objection to Declassification in Part 2009112146 i . - ..-. . . fr 9, 'No Objection to Declassification in Part 2009f12f16 1-6-30-9 . ISRAI JIIHE Iii? lm?sliu Linc (lm?il mum nan) ma IFTER mutant: municipal are: [28 Jun ism E3 Ismail-awaited {and In . . . I?w 3.6m Cain-1mm .H Ta Tel ma. .23" IS L.- r532- I 5r if? $.53 JERUSALEM limo I I'm . _Tn Malian-13 Irma. Jungfrau?? mic} .u tit mi Slpl?ir ?inm mu int .x 5? an arr-113m In Jun: No Ob'?ction to Deblassification in Part 200912116 I 1-6-30-9 .- Objection to Declassification in Part 2009f12f16 l' I .?srcRET 25x1 'vicinity of the Wailing Wall in order to enlarge the prayer area. The Israeli ministry of Religi- 'ous Affairs stated that the clearing of "this sacred site" was undertaken because the buildings in question were structurally unsafe. Other build- ings in the Wailing Wall area were requisitioned for security purposes following terrorist bombings ?_in the area in mid-1969. . 21; The_Israelis have extended.their control to include the.municipal administration and civil service. The Arab City Council was dissolved-by Israeli order-in June 1967 because it refused to sit with the Israeli Jerusalem Municipal Council 4 after Israeli law was extended to East Jerusalem." The Arab mayor was-deported-to Amman in March 1968, but the Israeli municipal administration employs several hundred Arab Jerusalemites, many of whom were former employees of the Jordanian Jerusalem municipality. Several hundred other Arab residents -of East Jerusalem are employed by various Israeli gministries, principally in the fields of public ghealth, communications, and public works. 22. The former Jordanian schools, virtually all of which.have been reopenedr use the same text books as those_in Israel's Arab schools. The con- version of the East Jerusalem schools to the Israeli Arab system, however, has resulted in a dramatic decline in enrollment in the two government second? ary schools. East Jerusalem parents and students 'claim.that by de-emphasising Arab history and geography the Israelis have made it virtually ime -possible for students graduating from the govern- ment schools to meet the requirements for Arab universities. Israeli and Arab positions Appear Irreconcilable . . 23.1 In_the face of pressure from a number of countriesIr including the US, the Israeli Gov- ernment has somewhat modified its positione-adopted immediately following the 1967 war--that the status of Jerusalem was not negotiable by acknowledging 25K1 Nogbjection to 1 -. No Objection to fie-classification in Part 2009f12/16: LOCSECRET .. . 25X1 _j that Jerusalem would be one of the subjects to be - included in any peace negotiations- The Israelis have continued to make it abundantly clear, how- .ever, that they have no intention of giving up control of the city.- They are also adamantly opposed to any internationalization of the city?- although they promise free access to the holy - - places for all faiths. As recently as December f1 . -1970, Prime Minister Golda Meir said that her gov? - . ernment would not make peace with the Arabs unless it got fdefensible" frontiers and-retained control 'of a united Jerusalem. - . 24. The Arabs, at least in public, remain unswervingly against Continued Israeli rule of- Jerusalem. King Husayn has been quoted as saying that Israel could have either peace or territory, 'but-not both. King Faysal of Saudi Arabia, guard-- 'ian of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, also very_strongly believes that-~by extension-?he holds the same position with regard to Jerusalem and its holy sites. He therefore leads other ele" ments in Arab society that strongly object to any 'Israeli presence in the Old City. Even if some Arab leaders. became personally inclined to accept a compromise according them.some control over the holy places--something Israel has not offered-- they wo_uld be deterred by the fast that large num? - bars of their fellow Arabs would consider any such arrangement as traitorous. Formal US- Position 25. Between 1947 and 1967, the US position toward Jerusalem was based on the UN resolution calling for the internationalisation of Jerusalem. At the same time, the US attempted to deal in a practical manner with the Israeli and Jordanian_ authorities in their respective sectors of the city. Since June 1967, the US has regarded Israel's pres- _ence in the former Jordanian?held sector as a mil- itary occupation and has opposed unilateral acts tending to create basic changes in the organization, administration, and nature of the city; Although- 25X1 . No Ob action to Declassification in Part 2009f12i?l6: - . .. -. - . No Objection to Deolassification in Part 20091216: LOC-HAK- 11-6-30-9 SECRET . f5 - . .: . I 25X1 4 the US has agreed with Israel that the city should remain unified, it maintains that Jordan _should also have a role and that the final status of the city should be de- termined by negotiations as part of a package set? tlement between ISrael and Jordan. The US has also emphasized the need for arrangements to safeguard the interests of Christi- anity, Judaism, and Islam in Jerusalem'and to guar? antee free access for all to the city. Ismelis at Dome of ills Rock Mosque . -1325x1 SECRET No Ob ection to Deolassification in Part 2009I?12i18: LOC-HAK-1 1-6-30-9