Jerusalem 'No Man's Land' Traps Palestinian Couples

[azurnoir]

The neighborhood of Kufr Aqab has evolved into a kind of no man's land -- it's technically part of Jerusalem, but it lies on the Palestinian side of the West Bank barrier the Israelis have built to try to keep out suicide bombers.

Kufr Aqab's residents have to pay taxes to the Israeli authorities, but they get virtually nothing in return. Still, the East Jerusalem district's population is booming as Palestinian couples like Bayan Barghouti and his wife, Roula, move there.

The problem? Roula is from Jerusalem; Bayan is from the West Bank.

Palestinians from Jerusalem can travel freely between the West Bank and Israel, but to maintain their residency permits they have to live within the Jerusalem municipal boundaries. Most Palestinians from the West Bank don't have permission to cross the wall Israel has built in and around the occupied territory.

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To prove residency, Palestinians in Kufr Aqab have to pay arnona, the Jerusalem municipal tax. But their streets are mostly unpaved, services are minimal, there are few schools and only one recently opened clinic.

Roula and Bayan say this place is symbolic of how Palestinian residents of Jerusalem are slowly being disenfranchised. Israeli restrictions are forcing Jerusalem residents to either marry other Palestinians from Jerusalem or risk losing their residency in the city.

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