Khaled Odeh Allah - researcher and specialist in Jerusalem affairs

After reviewing a group of documents related to the Arab Orphan School - Waar Abu Hermas (Atarot), and an analysis of the settlement reality in the region, and after a purely professional study away from personalizing the issue and entering the world of intentions and without immersing ourselves in the details of the issue accumulated over many years, we can say the following. As an assessment of the situation and recommendations for action:

  1. The school lands are located in the Atarot industrial zone, which is a declared priority area in the settlement effort on the northern axis of the city of Jerusalem. Hence, the school lands, amounting to about 40 dunums, are targeted for confiscation by settlers, as they constitute the largest component of the Arab enclave within the industrial settlement, and what doubles the risk of confiscation is its proximity. The school grounds belong to the Cave of Abu Hermas, which is called Zionistly the Cave of Atarot (it is separated from it only by the street from the south), the largest cave in Palestine in size, and which the occupation plans to turn into a “national park.” The so-called “National Parks Authority” uses the excuse of faltering implementation because the cave is located in an area It has security issues because it is adjacent to an “Arab educational institution” in which hundreds of Arab students are present.
  2. Given the legal status of the association’s land ownership, the threat of confiscation by the Custodian of Absentee Property is a real and serious threat, and what exacerbates this threat is the presence of the school’s lands and buildings in the middle of a settled settlement environment, which deprives any counter-legal effort from benefiting from disruptive contextual considerations. To implement the seizure decision by the Custodian of Absentee Property according to the decisions of the so-called “Supreme Court of Justice.”
  3. Any investment trend that includes new construction works requires obtaining a building permit, as is known. Recently, the role of the settlement officer and the custodian of absentee property has been actively activated as one of the requirements for obtaining building permits. There are many construction projects that have been self-frozen by land owners. Jerusalemites fear the intervention of the Custodian of Absentee Property and their subsequent confiscation. Therefore, any construction investment approach necessarily means a direct summons to the Custodian of Absentee Property to consider the legal status of the association’s lands and buildings, regardless of the identity of the investors and the nature of the relationship between them and the association.
  4. Given the circumstances related to the current status of the association’s registration and the multiple legal bodies emanating from it, there are legal problems. Related to the ownership and continuity of the current legal body of its predecessors, and the issue of consistency with the bylaws defining the objectives and activities of the association; Each of these problems is considered a potential gateway to the risk of liquidation by the registrar of associations.
  5. Maintaining the existing status of the school as an effective educational institution while making maximum use of the existing buildings and facilities is the rational and correct option considering this circumstance.
  1. It is clear that the decision-makers in the association are disconnected from the complexities of the Jerusalemite reality, and that the association needs an administrative restructuring that is consistent with the challenges and imminent risks. Any development vision must be built on the professional opinion and study of specialists who are familiar with the details of the “Israeli” systems, laws, and policies in Jerusalem, and with the participation of all Popular frameworks concerned with the school issue.