Access, Mobility, and Fragmentation
Neighborhoods beyond the Wall
A spotlight on the densely populated Palestinian neighborhoods that Israel severed from the city with the Separation Wall and then abandoned, marking them for excision
Featured in This Topic
Residents of Kufr ‘Aqab are forced to purchase and ration water in a summer heatwave.
What happens when a city walls off a densely populated neighborhood and then abandons it?
The Separation Wall and municipal neglect have transformed the Palestinian village of Kufr ‘Aqab into an overcrowded, dangerous urban ghetto slum.
A newlywed couple face challenges when they try to find an apartment to buy in the Palestinian neighborhood of Kufr ‘Aqab, which lies behind the Separation Wall.
Rinad’s story shows how closure steals time, lives, and livelihoods, and robs Palestinians like her of the chance to enjoy and engage with their own city.
A seven-year chronicle of the surreal world of Qalandiya checkpoint and all its everyday humiliations, indignities, and absurdities
The Story in Numbers
10
Number of Palestinian neighborhoods that lie beyond the Separation Wall but fall wholly or partially within the Israeli municipal boundaries of Jerusalem [1]
3
Number of clusters of Palestinian neighborhoods that lie beyond the Separation Wall but fall wholly or partially within the Israeli municipal boundaries of Jerusalem: Bir ‘Awna cluster, Kufr ‘Aqab cluster, and Shu‘fat refugee camp cluster [2]
1,525
Estimated number of Palestinians who live in Bir ‘Awna [3]
3
Number of military checkpoints controlling access to Jerusalem for Palestinians who live Bir ‘Awna [4]
2
Average number of hours any Bir ‘Awna resident needs to pass through the checkpoint in either direction [5]
120,000
A conservative estimate of the number of Palestinians who live in the Kufr ‘Aqab cluster [6]
1
Number of military checkpoints controlling access to Jerusalem for Palestinians who live in the Kufr ‘Aqab cluster [7]
3
Average number of hours any Kufr ‘Aqab resident needs to pass through the checkpoint in either direction [8]
2
Average number of times a resident needs to pass through the checkpoint each day (e.g. to go to work or school and return home) [9]
85,000
A conservative estimate of the number of Palestinians who live in the Shu‘fat refugee camp cluster [10]
1
Number of military checkpoints controlling access to Jerusalem for Palestinians who live in the Shu‘fat refugee camp cluster [11]
1.5
Average number of hours any Shu‘fat resident needs to pass through the checkpoint in either direction [12]
2
Average number of times a resident needs to pass through the checkpoint each day (e.g. to go to work or school and return home) [13]
Notes
[1] Jerusalem Story Team field research, summer–fall 2023.
[2] Jerusalem Story Team field research, summer–fall 2023.
[3] “Projected Mid-Year Population for Bethlehem Governorate by Locality 2017–2021” [in Arabic], Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, accessed December 13, 2023.
[4] Jerusalem Story Team field research, summer–fall 2023.
[5] Jerusalem Story Team field research, summer–fall 2023.
[6] “Kufr ‘Aqab, or the Area Where ‘There Is No Law and No Authority’ in East Jerusalem” [in Arabic], September 2, 2022.
[7] Jerusalem Story Team field research, summer–fall 2023.
[8] Jerusalem Story Team field research, summer–fall 2023.
[9] Jerusalem Story Team field research, summer–fall 2023.
[10] “Neighbourhood,” Shuafat Camp blog, accessed December 13, 2023.
[11] Jerusalem Story Team field research, summer–fall 2023.
[12] Jerusalem Story Team field research, summer–fall 2023.
[13] Jerusalem Story Team field research, summer–fall 2023.
What’s up with water in Kufr ‘Aqab? A conversation with Adalah’s legal director, Suhad Bishara, on the case they filed on residents’ behalf.
Ibrahim and his family have no choice but to keep living in a collapsing building in Bir ‘Awna to afford rent and keep their Jerusalem residency permits.