Overview

In 2023, the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem was 391,400. About 60% of East Jerusalem’s residents lived below the poverty line, compared to around 38% of the general population of Jerusalem, Israel’s largest and poorest city. According to Knesset data from 2024, 90% of the city’s Palestinian population hold permanent residency status, 9% are Israeli citizens, and over 40% are under the age of 18.​

As detailed in this section, despite their status as permanent residents (and a minority as citizens), Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have long suffered from systemic discrimination, which has only deepened during wartime. Basic municipal services such as education, water supply, infrastructure repairs, and waste collection are not provided consistently, if at all, and road closures disrupt the daily lives of tens of thousands of residents.

Plans to establish new settlements in and around East Jerusalem are moving forward, house demolitions have reached record levels, and the threat of dispossession and displacement of entire communities is increasing. Government expropriation measures have become more sophisticated, involving coordination between various Ministry of Justice bodies, including the Registrar of Charitable Trusts, the Guardian General, and the Land Registration Officer; as well as the Custodian of Absentees Property Department in the Ministry of Finance; the National Building and Planning Laws Enforcement Unit in the Ministry of National Security; and the Jerusalem Municipality. The police provide support for demolition operations and, under the direction of the relevant minister, enable the erosion of the religious/worship status quo at the Haram al-Sharif / Temple Mount compound.

For further reading, see: HaMoked’s report, East Jerusalem Lexicon, May 2025.