The national position is still the same

Written by: Tamara Haddad

In the year 2018, the Israelis voted to choose mayors and members of city councils, amid an almost complete boycott by more than 320,000 Jerusalemites of the occupation municipal elections in Jerusalem. At that time, the secretary of the Fatah movement in Jabal Mukaber, one of the movement's cadres, and the head of the students' parents committee, were arrested for their refusal. Putting ballot boxes in the Jabal Al Mukaber area in response to the national and popular position in Jerusalem to boycott the occupation municipal elections.

And now the days are passing towards upcoming municipal elections in Jerusalem, but with the presence of Arab individuals who wish to enter the elections, despite the continuation of the national position refusing to run for these elections, which has been a fixed position since 1967, given that the occupation municipality is an arm of the occupation authorities that practices oppression, abuse, daily arrests, educational families, and a policy of demolition Houses, changing the features of the city, and emptying it of its citizens, whether through voluntary or forced displacement, and continuing the process of Judaizing Jerusalem in its eastern and western parts. From this standpoint, the boycott came as a national, moral and religious duty, by "boycotting as a candidate and an election."

The religious and national powers, bodies, and authorities are still committed to the same position, stressing their absolute refusal to participate in these elections, as they give the occupation legitimacy for its presence in the Holy City, and for the ethnic policies it practices against the Palestinian people.

The position of Jerusalemites from the boycott:
Although the Palestinians in Jerusalem constitute about 30% of the city's population, they boycott the past local elections by constantly saying that voting would constitute recognition of Israeli control over Jerusalem, although the occupation municipality tried to attract as many Jerusalemites as possible in the Arab neighborhoods of the Old City and in Silwan, Beit Hanina, and Shuafat refugee camp.
And they have another position on participating in the elections for the municipality of Jerusalem, saying that the municipality will not change their situation in the economic-social demand issues, and the occupier robs all the rights of the people in the city of Jerusalem and enacts more laws and legislation that confiscate these rights in the city, including the Zionist National Basic Law and others.

Some positions indicate that the behavior of the occupation municipality continues to contribute to demolishing homes, leaking real estate, and not issuing licenses to the people of the Holy City, so this matter makes it an addition to the boycott of participation by Jerusalemites.

The aim of the occupation is to encourage:
The occupation wants to beautify its image and show the city that it is unified and for all its citizens, but the Jerusalem municipality cannot approve any decision related to the security, social and economic dimensions related to the Arabs except through the central Israeli government. What we are witnessing during this period is that governments are moving from the right to the extreme right against Jerusalemites.

The occupation is also very interested in the Jerusalem municipal elections because any mayor of the "municipality" pays attention to its elections because it is the gateway to the prime minister in Israel or an active member in the Knesset.

The position of some Jerusalemites:

Some of those who want to run in the elections claim that their entry comes in order to stop demolishing homes, granting building permits, stopping discrimination in education, investing more money in the city, and improving infrastructure, but the one who gives the real decision to support these decisions is the Israeli government, not the mayor.

National position:
In the end, Jerusalem is purely Arab and Palestinian, and the elections that take place in East Jerusalem are null and void, which violate international legitimacy resolutions and defy the resolutions of the United Nations in its General Assembly and the Security Council, especially Resolution 67/19, which granted observer membership to the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital on the borders of June 4, 1967. Therefore, the elections in East Jerusalem are invalid, and adhering to the boycott means a commitment to the national position.

a summary:
Not participating in the municipal elections for Jerusalem is a commitment to the Palestinian identity and an affirmation of the Arabism of the city of Jerusalem, and the process of participation means an affirmation of the occupation's sovereignty over all of Jerusalem.