Jerusalem at boiling point of

polarisation and violence EU report

Exclusive: Leaked report says city more divided than at any time since 1967 and calls for consideration of
tougher sanctions over settlement building

Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem-Friday 20 March 2015

A hard-hitting EU report on Jerusalem warns that the city has reached a

dangerous boiling point of polarisation and violence not seen since the
end of the second intifada in 2005.
Calling for tougher European sanctions against Israel over its continued
settlement construction in the city which it blames for exacerbating
recent conflict the leaked document paints a devastating picture of a city
more divided than at any time since 1967, when Israeli forces occupied the
east of the city.
The report has emerged amid strong indications that the Obama

administration is also rethinking its approach to Israel and the Middle East
peace process following the re-election of Binyamin Netanyahu as Israels
prime minister.
According to reports in several US papers, this may include allowing the
passage of a UN security council resolution restating the principle of a twostate solution.
The leaked report describes the emergence of a vicious cycle of violence
increasingly threatening the viability of the two-state solution, which it
says has been stoked by the continuation of systematic settlement
building by Israel in sensitive areas of Jerusalem.

Young Palestinians throw stones at Israeli security forces at Shuafat refugee camp in
Jerusalem in 2014, a year characterised by an EU report as the most violent and
polarised in the city in recent memory. Photograph: Peter Beaumont for the Guardian
In addition the report blames tension over the status of the Haram alSharif/Temple Mount complex as well as heavy-handed policing and punitive
measures including evictions and home demolitions by Israeli forces for
the escalating confrontation.
The document is prepared jointly every year by the heads of mission of the
European countries represented in Jerusalem. The group advises EU foreign
policymakers on the situation in the city while making recommendations for

action.
The disclosure of the 2014 report which suggests a series of potential
punitive measures targeting extremist settlers and settlement products
comes days after Israeli elections which saw Netanyahu emerge as the
decisive victor.
During the election campaign, Netanyahu vowed to continue settlement
building in occupied east Jerusalem in defiance of the international
community, including the EU and Washington, which strongly oppose Jewish
settlement construction in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu has also been criticised in parts of the international community
for appearing to suggest his opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state
on the eve of the vote comments he appeared to row back from after
winning the election.
For its part Israel rejects the charge of illegal settlement building in
Jerusalem, claiming the city as its undivided capital.
Among the recommendations in the report are:
Potential new restrictions against known violent settlers and those calling
for acts of violence as regards immigration regulations in EU member
states.
Further coordinated steps to ensure consumers in the EU are able to
exercise their right to informed choice in respect of settlement products in
line with existing EU rules.

New efforts to raise awareness among European businesses about the risks
of working with settlements, and the advancement of voluntary guidelines
for tourism operators to prevent support for settlement business.

Some of the recommendations in the EU

report
According to well-informed European sources, the report now being
discussed in Brussels reflects a strong desire from European governments

for additional measures against Israel over its continued settlement

building, and comes at a time when Europe is confronting the new reality
of a new and potentially more rightwing Netanyahu government.
The report also follows a period of growing frustrations in the EU over the
moribund state of the peace process, which collapsed last year, and
pressure to adopt a harder line over issues such as settlement building.
Since Netanyahus victory on Tuesday, speculation has been mounting that
both the US and the EU are looking for alternative and tougher strategies to
push forward the stalled peace process.
The document paints a picture of a grim year of violence in Jerusalem that
claimed the lives of 19 people, a total that includes a number of
Palestinians involved in deadly attacks, the highest number of deaths in
recent years.
Among the most high-profile incidents last year were the kidnap and
murder of a young Palestinian from an east Jerusalem neighbourhood by
Jewish extremists, a number of fatal attacks by Palestinians targeting Jews
with cars, and a bloody attack on Jewish worshippers praying in a
synagogue.

Israeli police at the al-Aqsa mosque in 2014. Tension over access to the
Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount compound is highlighted in the report.
Photograph: Peter Beaumont for the Guardian
Describing Jerusalem as one of the most emotive and problematic issues
in the Middle East peace process, the report says: The tensions, mistrust
and violence which have accompanied developments in the city in the
course of the year have reached extremely high levels.
These developments are increasingly threatening the viability of the twostate solution and, in turn, risk precipitating further levels of polarisation
and violence. In a bleak warning the report continues: 2014 has been
distinguished by a number of specific, disturbing and often violent
developments noting a cycle of stone throwing, terror attacks and heavyhanded tactics by Israeli police which, if the root causes were not
addressed, were likely to lead to further escalation and extreme
polarisation.
These incidents have occurred against the background of the systematic
increase in settlement activity, tensions over the Haram al-Sharif and rising
levels of tensions and acts of violence on both sides. Placing part of the
blame on Israels unabated policy of continued settlement construction, it

adds: The expansion of settlements has continued, including in highly

sensitive areas and [has] been followed in force by waves of demolitions
and evictions.
A second key factor identified by the report for the deteriorating security
situation in Jerusalem is the continuing tensions over the Haram al
Sharif/Temple Mount complex, which it blames on serious radicalisation on
both sides.
The report notes: Almost on a daily basis settlers and national religious
activists have ascended onto the Haram al Sharif/Temple Mount under the
protection of Israeli forces.
Although the report concedes that Israel has reduced the size of these
groups by two-thirds at the end of last year, and eased restrictions in place
during parts of last year on Muslim worshippers, it warned that the
perception still exists among Palestinians of a desire on Israels part to
change the longstanding and sensitive status quo.
A third factor the report identifies as fuelling polarisation is the heavyhanded policing of Palestinian areas of east Jerusalem, where additional
Israeli forces sent to quell disturbances have been engaged in recurrent
violent confrontations with Palestinian youth that led to more than 1,300
arrests (with 40% of the detainees being minors).
The disclosure of the EU report follows hard on the heels of a letter sent by
chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat to Federica Mogherini, the EUs top
representative on foreign policy, calling on the European Union to take a
tougher stance against Israel.
In the letter Erekat demanded: We believe it is time to focus all our efforts
in saving the two-state solution from its total disappearance through
holding Israel accountable of its violations of international law.
Posted by Thavam