Mustafa Al-Zawati | Jerusalem News Agency

The political, social and service roles played by many political parties and authorities towards the city of Jerusalem are diverse. Perhaps the most prominent of these parties are the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs, the Jerusalem Governorate, the Popular Conference emanating from the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Palestinian Presidential Office for Jerusalem Affairs.

In this report, we examine the role assigned to the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and the reality of the services it provides to the people of Jerusalem in coordination with other parties and authorities.

Multiple references to Jerusalem and the absence of a unified vision

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs, Dr. Saeed Yaqeen, confirms that it is not possible to talk about a single authority representing the city of Jerusalem, which needs different institutions, figures, and leaders to represent it.

Yaqeen stressed that all authorities are required to play their role, as the roles must be diverse and integrated in the political, security, and service aspects, as well as combating settlement and Judaization in Jerusalem.

He added, "No one, whether a political faction or an official body, can monopolize work in Jerusalem, and every institution performs its assigned role."


Regarding the nature of the roles played by official institutions and authorities in Jerusalem, Yaqeen explains, during his interview with: Jerusalem News AgencyThe Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs is considered the executive tool of the Palestinian government, as support for the Jerusalemite citizen and his challenges is provided through the ministry, which constitutes the government’s financial channel, according to his expression.

As for the Jerusalem Governorate, it is considered the true representative of the Palestinian presidency in the city of Jerusalem and performs multiple roles and tasks in extremely complex circumstances.


Yaqeen believes that funding is the biggest obstacle facing institutions operating in Jerusalem, in addition to the problem of accumulated debts on the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs, which has reached approximately (30 million) shekels, stressing the constant coordination and joint work between the official institutions operating in the city, including the Ministry, the Jerusalem Governorate, and the Jerusalem Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and this falls within the framework of integrating efforts.


As for the Jerusalemite researcher at the Arab Studies Association, Mazen Al-Jabari, he believes that it is necessary to have a unified authority in Jerusalem, “it is unreasonable for there to be four official authorities working in Jerusalem,” according to him.

He stressed, in his interview with-Jerusalem AgencyThe authorities in Jerusalem suffer from a conflict and a struggle in vision, pointing to the dispersion of the Jerusalemite citizen regarding the correct authority and authority to which he must turn.

Al-Jaabari pointed out the “negligence of the Palestinian Authority towards Jerusalem” due to the Oslo Accords, which made it not make efforts, stressing that the budget approved for the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs does not exceed (28 million) dollars annually, which is not sufficient to play an effective role.


Regarding the budget allocated to the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs, Al-Jabari says: “It is surprising that a budget of this size is allocated, while the occupying state allocates approximately 20 million shekels annually through what are known as community centers in Jerusalem.”


Al-Jabri believes that the demolition of homes is the biggest problem facing citizens in the city of Jerusalem, as the average cost of building a home is $200,000, while the compensation provided by the Palestinian Authority for a home that is demolished in Jerusalem does not exceed $30,000.

The Palestinian Authority is suffering from a real financial crisis represented by the recurring annual deficit in its budget, which is caused by Israel’s deduction of $32 million per month from the clearance funds. He pointed out that the average salary disbursement for the Authority’s employees ranges between 40-50% of the salaries only, which increases the complexity of the roles of official institutions, including the Ministry of Jerusalem, according to Al-Jabari.

According to our guest, the Palestinian Authority fears the Israeli reaction if its institutions in Jerusalem take effective action and stand against the Israeli plans, considering that the Authority does not have sufficient political will to work seriously in Jerusalem despite the multiplicity of its institutions within the city.

He explained that despite the multiplicity of institutions affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, it does not follow up on many important files, such as the Al-Makassed Hospital file, as the Authority has not paid its debts, amounting to approximately (170 million) shekels.


Mechanism for selecting employees in the ministry

Regarding the mechanism for appointing employees and workers in the Ministry of Jerusalem, Yaqeen says that all appointments are subject to a precise job system and strict oversight, as is the case in the rest of the ministries of the Palestinian Authority.

For his part, Al-Jabari says that there is selectivity in appointing employees in institutions operating in Jerusalem, including the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs, where members of the Fatah movement constitute approximately 60% of the employees, and they are given priority in appointment.


The legal role is played by the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs.

Regarding the legal role of the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs, Deputy Minister Saeed Yaqeen says that the ministry has provided 10 lawyers to plead on behalf of Jerusalemite citizens in Israeli courts, noting that the high fees of Israeli courts increase the cost of the work of the legal department in the ministry. Despite this, the “Ministry of Jerusalem” seeks to take actual action against Israeli violations.

Yaqeen explained that dozens of legal cases and files related to demolition and eviction are presented to the ministry daily, stressing that the conflict with the occupation is not a legal conflict, but rather an existential conflict with its religious and political roots and contexts.

In light of the Israeli judiciary’s bias towards the settlers, the Legal Department of the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs is working to try to obstruct and postpone the implementation of arbitrary decisions and procedures against the Jerusalemite citizen.

Yaqeen revealed in his speech: For Jerusalem AgencyThe Ministry’s budget, which is rumored to not exceed $28 million, is only the operational budget for the Ministry and its employees. There are other expenses incurred by the Ministry in financing projects and aid that far exceed the proposed amount.

While the Jerusalemite researcher Mazen Al-Jabari says that the Palestinian Authority’s support for the institutions and authorities operating in Jerusalem has not changed since its establishment, ruling out that the siege on the Authority and the failure of Arab and European countries to fulfill their obligations and cut off aid to it are the real reasons.

Education sector: Israeli control and absent Palestinian role

Regarding the role of the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs towards education in Jerusalem, Saeed Yaqeen explains that the ministry is not the main reference in this regard, as educational institutions in Jerusalem are divided into four sections: institutions affiliated with the Jordanian Waqf, which the Palestinian government cannot develop because the Israelis prevent it, and the second section is the civil institutions and private schools, which the occupation has deliberately restricted and forced many of them to follow the distorted Israeli curriculum.

He added, "As for the third section, it is the private sector, which faces great challenges and pressures, including the rise in the cost of living, employee wages, and the imposition of the Arnona tax on school buildings and lands and educational institutions. As for the schools affiliated with the International Relief Agency, which constitute the fourth section, the occupation is trying to control them and dry up their resources."

In this context, the Jerusalemite researcher “Al-Jabari” confirmed that the education sector in the city of Jerusalem is now outside the control of the Palestinian Authority, as the percentage of control over the education sector does not exceed 10%.

He considered, in his speech, For Jerusalem AgencyThe Palestinian Authority’s policies have caused the loss of the education sector, which is the most important sector for strengthening identity, culture and presence in the city of Jerusalem.

Al-Jabari believes that the Palestinian Authority should have supported the education sector instead of leaving about 100,000 Jerusalemite students to an unknown fate with multiple educational references.

According to Al-Jabri, the occupation municipality in Jerusalem fully supervises about 50% of Jerusalem schools, while Islamic and Christian bodies supervise 40% of schools that are administratively under the Palestinian Authority, but their funding comes from the occupation municipality. He pointed out that the occupation municipality provides approximately (40 million) dollars to the affiliated schools in terms of funding and operational costs, while the remaining 10% of schools are fully under the Palestinian Authority.

Al-Jabari points out that some of the private schools in Jerusalem teach the falsified Palestinian curriculum approved by the occupation municipality, from which everything that indicates Palestinian history, culture and identity has been deleted, while the other part teaches the Palestinian curriculum approved by the Palestinian Ministry of Education.