Al-Quds (Our Jerusalem) Our Holy City
everything, by Your names, which fill the essence of everything, by Your knowledge, which encompasses everything, and by the light of Your face (i.e., essence), for which everything shines.
O' the Light, O' the Most Holy, O' the first of those who where first, and the last of those who will be last. O' God! Forgive me (my) sins, which tear apart modesty.
O' God! Forgive me (my) sins, which bring down misfortunes. O' God! Forgive me (my) sins, which change prosperity. O' God! Forgive me (my) sins, which block out invocation. O' God! Forgive me (my) sins, which cut off hopes. O' God! Forgive me (my) sins, which bring down distress. O' God! Forgive me all sins that I have committed and all mistakes that I have made.
O' my Master! O' He only on Him I depend! O' He only to Him I complain about my situation! O' Lord, O' Lord, O' Lord! Strengthen my limbs for Your service, intensify (my) determination through all parts of my body, grant me eagerness in Your fear, and continuous service to You, in order to move towards You among those who are first in their fields, be prompt toward You among those who are first, yearn toward Your nearness among those who are eager, become close to You like the closeness of those who are sincere, fear You like those who are certain, and join the believers near You.
Bless Mohammad and The Members of his House, and do for me what You are worthy of doing.
May Allah bless His Messenger, and the blessed Leaders among his descendants, and bestow upon them an endless peace and tranquillity.
Article 13, Universal Declaration Of Human Rights
The United Nations "Resolves That The Refugees Wishing To Return To Their Homes And Live At Peace With Their Neighbors Should Be Permitted To Do So At The Earliest Practicable Date"
United Nations Resolution 194 On Palestine
Following the 1948 war, apart from a small number who have returned under family reunification arrangements, most refugees have been unable to exercise their right of return. The state of Israel has consistently rejected the Palestinian right of return, except for a conditional offer to accept 100,000 refugees in the early 1950's which was later withdrawn. In 1950 the United Nations set up a special agency, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), to provide for relief services for the refugees scattered in camps throughout the region.
In the 1967 war, some 350,000 Palestinians became refugees, many for the second time. Today there are around 5 million Palestinian refugees, about 70% of the total Palestinian population. They are scattered in 59 refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and individually throughout the world. Two of the primary demands by refugees are return and compensation as provided for under UN Resolution 194 of 1948.
The majority of the property in Jerusalem was owned by Palestinian Arabs. By 1948, however, Jews comprised over fifty percent of the population of the city, with most of the population growth stemming from increased Jewish migration to Palestine. As a result of the 1948 war, as many as 80,000 Palestinians from the western neighborhoods and villages of Jerusalem became refugees and were not allowed to return to their homes and property nor were they compensated for their losses. The land, homes and personal belongings of the refugees were taken by the state of Israel.
Between 1948 and 1967, the eastern areas of Jerusalem were under Jordanian control. In the 1967 war, Israel occupied eastern Jerusalem and later annexed these areas through the application of Israeli law, jurisdiction and administration. The former Jordanian municipality of East Jerusalem comprised only 8.5% of the 71,000 dunums (17,500 acres) of West Bank land which were annexed to Israel. The new eastern borders of Jerusalem were designed to include as much undeveloped land with the fewest number of Palestinian inhabitants.
Since 1967, Israel has used demographic and planning policies to secure Israeli sovereignty over the eastern areas of Jerusalem by creating a Jewish majority and strengthening Israeli control over the land while reducing the historic Palestinian presence in Jerusalem. Whereas Palestinians are limited to building on 7.3% of the land in the eastern part of the city, Israel has constructed over a dozen large Jewish-only Israeli settlements on land confiscated from Palestinians so that by the early 1990's the number of Israeli settlers in the eastern areas of Jerusalem had surpassed the size of the indigenous Palestinian population. The Israeli government has also revoked the right of thousands of Palestinians to live in the city through the confiscation of blue residency cards while denying the right of Palestinians not born in Jerusalem to live with their families in the city. Since 1993, Israel has imposed a military closure on Jerusalem which prevents most Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza from entering the city.
These measures, which can only be characterised as a kind of "low-intensity ethnic cleansing", have led to the expulsion of some 200,000 Palestinian Jerusalemites, not including their descendents, and a massive disentitlement of basic Palestinian rights in the city. International law and UN resolutions support the right of Palestinians to return to their homes and lands in Jerusalem as well as compensation for damages. Peaceful co-existence in the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic city of Jerusalem will only become a reality if the issues of the Palestinian people are addressed according to international law and UN resolutions.
(The Place Where I Live)
