The international Peace and Cooperation Centre (IPCC) held a meeting in Sur Baher yesterday attended by Deputy British Consul General in Jerusalem John Edwards and local community representatives from Sur Baher in East Jerusalem. The aim was to discuss the results of the Urban Development Project in Deir Al Amoud and Al Mintar areas in Sur Baher that was supported by the British Government. The meeting discussed the construction and planning maps prepared by the IPCC and the local community in order to start with the implementation phase after an initial approval from the official planning committee. The project currently implemented in Sur Baher and in Beit Hanina, two neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem, aims to address the problems of houses that lack building permits and also problems of building in areas classified as "green" in Jerusalem through preparing and submitting the necessary construction plans. The project also addressed the problem of illegally constructed houses and was able to increase the number of houses permitted for building in Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem.

 

Professor Rasem Khamayse the head of the planning team at the IPCC said that the building plans were possible after achieving one of the most important goals of the project which is raising awareness of local residents on issues related to urban planning and construction and also on ways to deal with building laws and permits, improving the capacity of residents and providing them with effective tools that will increase their chances to acquire building permits. He added that the obstacles which came in the way of the project were related to the existing complicated laws and bureaucracy in addition to the fact that most of the Palestinian land in Jerusalem is not registered and thus incompatible with the local planning laws and procedures. Furthermore, there were issue of collective and fragmented ownership of lands and internal struggles between the owners and problems of illegal and unplanned constructions.

 

The project was able to prepare an alternative building plan for areas of Deir Al Amoud and Al Mintar that was initially approved by the building organization committee. This makes it the first project that deals with re-planning Palestinian areas, re-organizing residential areas and changing the classification of green areas into construction sites with a capacity of 500 housing units.

 

John Edwards, the acting Consul General in Jerusalem thanked the IPCC team for their efforts, and praised the community’s commitment that helped deliver the project results.

He said that the British Government supported this project through the British Consulate General in Jerusalem out of concern for the situation of Palestinians in Jerusalem and awareness of the problems they face when issuing a building permit. The new plan is the first in east Jerusalem neighbourhoods and deals with problems of house constructions through professional urban planning. It succeeded in changing the classification of green areas into construction and development sites. This could be a model that can be implemented in other areas in Jerusalem, and work has already started in four other neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem. The British Government position, which had been stressed by PM Gordon Brown during his last visit, reaffirms that Jerusalem should be the capital of two states, Israel and the future Palestinian state" he said.

 

 

For more information please call Fadi Adeeb, British Consulate Communication Manager on mobile 0547712648

E-mail: fadi.adeeb@fco.gov.uk

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