Jerusalem is home to about one million residents, 40% of whom are Palestinians. About 90% of Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents have permanent residency status (Hebrew) in Israel, and 9% are Israeli citizens. Sixty percent of Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents live below the poverty line (Hebrew), twice the poverty rate among the city’s Jewish population. Despite having permanent residency status, and citizenship in some cases, Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem (the parts of the city...

Settlement of Land Title as a tool for dispossession In 2018, the Government of Israel decided to renew Settlement of Land Title (SOLT) proceedings, which had been suspended since 1967. Since then, SOLT has effectively served as an additional tool for dispossessing Palestinian residents of their land and has bolstered settler activity in the city’s Palestinian neighborhoods. In January 2026, the government resolved to expedite the process, setting a four-year deadline to complete SOLT on 100%...

Although residents of East Jerusalem make up 40% of the city’s population and are charged municipal taxes like any other resident, they suffer from systemic discrimination in the provision of municipal services and in the quality of municipal infrastructure in their neighborhoods. Deficiencies covered in the previous State of the Occupation Report marking 58 years of occupation, continue to undermine quality of life for Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents, and in some cases, they have worsened....

Archaeology Archaeology, heritage, and tourism continue to be used as tools for taking over spaces, sites, and assets in East Jerusalem, and the trend is growing. The daily lives of Silwan residents, for example, are regularly disrupted by archaeological digs, while homes in the al-Bustan neighborhood are demolished and entire neighborhood face displacement due to the King’s Garden national park project. In February 2026, the government approved 250 million ILS (~88.6 million USD) in funding...

About one-third of East Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents, more than 100,000 people, currently live on the other side of the Separation Barrier and permanent checkpoints. As noted in the report on the 58th year of occupation, immediately following October 7, 2023 all peripheral checkpoints surrounding East Jerusalem were closed, abruptly cutting off Palestinian residents living beyond the barrier from their urban hub. The placement of temporary checkpoints and roadblocks between neighborhoods...

As noted in the previous State of the Occupation report, in November 2024, the Knesset enacted the Deportation of Families of Terrorists Law, 5785-2024 (Hebrew), which empowers the Minister of the Interior to deport Israeli citizens or residents who are first-degree relatives of individuals accused of terrorism for several years, under certain conditions set out in the law. This law is unique to Israel, and is an infringement on the universal right to residency and citizenship and the array...

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