Making Bricks Without Straw: The Jerusalem Municipality’s New Planning Policy for East Jerusalem Ir Amim & Bimkom report, January 2010

This report issued by Ir Amim and Bimkom examines the municipality’s new planning policy, and its conclusion: current planning realities in East Jerusalem serve to thwart, de facto, nearly every Palestinian building plan, whether at the stage of approving the plan itself or later on, at the stage of issuing of a building permit.

November 2009 Updat

The November update surveys the main developments in the city during this month, including the building in Gilo, the entry of settlers into Sheikh Jarrah, the objection of Ir Amim to the Town Plan 11555 and a survey of housing demolitions, which accelerated in the past month.

October 2009 Update

This update is meant to sound a warning concerning several recent developments in East Jerusalem, with information relating to: An initiative to build a new Israeli neighborhood IN East Jerusalem, The acquisition of properties by an extreme right-wing organization in the Muslim quarter, Worrisome intervention by the current Environment Minister in the procedures for approval of the Jerusalem 2000 master plan, An update on the latest developments in the Old City Basin.

A Layman's Guide to Home Demolitions Ir Amim Guide, March 2009

In recent weeks there has been a great deal of news coverage regarding planned home demolitions in East Jerusalem.  In response to the high volume of queries we have been receiving about the issue - focused as much on the technical aspects of Israeli home demolition policy in Jerusalem as on the demolitions themselves - we thought it would be helpful to offer this guide.

State of Affairs - Jerusalem 2008: Political Development and Changes on the Ground Ir Amim Annual Report, December 2008

Ir Amim’s report, State of Affairs - Jerusalem 2008, surveys the political developments in Jerusalem over the last year in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This was a tumultuous year that began with the fanfare of the Annapolis Conference and ended with the denouement of a government leaving office in the shadow of significant global and political changes. This report aims to bring to the Israeli public and to decision makers in the national and international arenas a current and complex picture of the reality of Jerusalem, of its political and public dimensions, of the impact of public discourse and its expressions in the fabric of daily life. The report examines how these elements are likely to influence the political future of the city and its chances of advancing an agreed-upon solution in Jerusalem.

Press for the Peace of Jerusalem? Israeli Media Coverage of the Jerusalem Issue (Report Summary) A research report by Keshev and Ir Amim, June 2008

This report analyzes how central issues relating to Jerusalem were covered by the six major Israeli media outlets – the newspapers Yedioth Ahronoth, Ma'ariv and Ha'aretz and the main news broadcasts on Channel 1, Channel 2 and Channel 10.  The analysis is based on an investigation of three months of coverage, from October 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007.  The Annapolis summit, which took place on November 27, was held near the midpoint of the investigation period. The analysis is based on reading and viewing of all the major newspaper editions and television news broadcasts that appeared in this period.

Negotiations toward an Accord on Jerusalem: Declarations vs. Actions Ir Amim monitoring Report, April 2008

Instead of serving to catalyze political agreement, the Annapolis Summit in November 2007 has become a launching pad for new unilateral Israeli actions in East Jerusalem: plans to construct thousands of house units, Police blockage of tens of Palestinian civil gatherings, continuation of house demolishing policy, Unlicensed archeological excavations and more.  Every aspect of these Israeli actions casts a heavy shadow not only on the sincerity of the negotiations, but on the very chance of their success. The failure of negotiations over Jerusalem will mean failure in reaching a final status agreement between the two peoples.

Winning the Battle, Losing the War: 40 Years of Israeli Rule in East Jerusalem Ir Amim Position Paper, November 2007

The following position paper outlines current developments in Jerusalem in relation to the policies of the Israeli governments over the past 40 years. We carefully analyze these developments and point out the factors that are likely to impact Jerusalem and the conflict. Special emphasis is placed on the dangerous development in the most-sensitive part of the city, the Holy Basin