The part of the Palestinian Jerusalem governorate (Muhafazat al-Quds) that coincides with the area of Jerusalem that Israel annexed and claims as its own—i.e., the area of the governorate that falls within the unilaterally declared Israeli municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. One of two subdistricts (J1 and J2) of this governorate, which was established when the Palestinian Authority was established in 1995 under the Oslo Accords.
See also Where Is Jerusalem? and J2.
The part of the Palestinian Jerusalem governorate (Muhafazat al-Quds) that lies outside the area of Jerusalem that Israel annexed and claims as its own—i.e., the area of the governorate that falls outside the unilaterally declared Israeli municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. One of two subdistricts of this governorate (J1 and J2), which was established when the Palestinian Authority was established in 1995 under the Oslo Accords.
See also Where Is Jerusalem? and J1.
The English name for one of the seven open gates in the wall of the Old City of Jerusalem. See also Bab al-Khalil.
See The Gates of the Old City for more detailed information.
A Palestinian Arab military force of volunteer irregulars who defended Palestinian villages and towns from British forces and Zionist militias during the Great Palestinian Revolt of 1936–39 and the 1948 War. Formed by the Palestinian revolutionary leader Abd al-Qader al-Husseini at the start of the 1936 Revolt, this modest Army of the Holy War confronted British forces in several battles. In Islam, one facet of the complex concept of jihad, or struggle, is the defense of Islam from invaders. Al-Husseini, who believed that Western imperialism and colonialism were encroaching on Islamic lands, thus named his army accordingly. While al-Husseini fled Mandate Palestine following the Battle of al-Khader in October 1936, he returned in 1947 and led the army alongside Hasan Salama. The two commanded a larger force of Palestinian volunteers, with Salama patrolling the coastal areas and al-Husseini the Jerusalem area. Known as al-Husseini’s “personal army,” the Jaysh al-Jihad al-Muqaddas carried out several successful military campaigns, blockading Jerusalem by attacking Jewish convoys to the city from the coast and attacking Zionist sites in the city. Though there is no official count of the army’s fighters, they are estimated at 5,000 to 10,000 men. Al-Husseini was killed during the Battle of al-Qastal on April 8, 1948, which led to the loss of morale among his men. The force of volunteer Palestinian irregulars who fought for years to protect their villages and towns with minimal weapons and funds gradually dissolved in the summer of 1948. By October 1948, the Arab Legion, under orders from the Jordanian government, disarmed the army.
A loose-fitting, long-sleeved, ankle-length garment traditionally worn by men and women in the Middle East and North Africa. Jellabiyyas align with conventions of modesty—specifically those required for Islamic prayer—and come in many different designs representing local customs. Among Palestinians, men’s jellabiyyas are often simple, come in white or beige, and are coupled with a kaftan, loose trousers, and a head garment. Small variations in color and tailoring signal a man’s region, status, and sometimes age. Jellabiyyas worn by Palestinian women are usually made of dark, loose fabric and might have small designs or appliqué. They differ, however, from the traditional Palestinian thobe and its detailed embroidery.
In Israeli discourse, refers to the 202 km segment of the Separation Wall, built variously as concrete wall and chain-link fence, that envelops Jerusalem, encapsulating the whole Israeli-envisioned “Greater Jerusalem” region from the south of Ramallah to the west of Jericho and down southwards into Bethlehem, embracing all of the major settlement blocs in the Jerusalem region and linking them to the city of the Jerusalem, while dissecting Palestinian spaces and fragmenting and entrapping Jerusalemite communities within different enclaves.
The district of Jerusalem as defined by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 1995. It was established alongside 15 other governorates, when the PA took on its administration as per the Oslo Accords. The governorate (or district; in Arabic, Muhafazat al-Quds) includes a wide area between Ramallah in the north and Bethlehem in the south, extending eastward as far as the Dead Sea. The governorate and its agencies are subordinate to the Ministry of Local Government and headed by a governor, who is appointed directly by the PA president. While the governorate includes the area controlled by the Israeli Jerusalem municipality, it has no jurisdiction over that area. For this reason, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics divides the governorate into two subdistricts: J1 (which coincides with Israeli municipal Jerusalem) and J2 (which is the remainder of the Jerusalem governorate that falls within the West Bank and is under PA authority). However, J2 is also mostly under Israeli control as 89 percent of the district is Area C, while 10.6 percent of it is Area B, and less than 1 percent is Area A.
See Where Is Jerusalem?, J1, and J2.
See Waqf Department.
Established in 1921 to purchase land for Jewish settlement in Ottoman-era Palestine, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) continues to be a significant landowner in Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories (oPT). In 1953, the JNF was dissolved and reorganized as an Israeli company under the name Keren Kayemeth LeYisrael (KKL-JNF), while a governmental agency, the Israel Land Administration, was tasked with administering land that is in the public domain, including JNF land holdings state land, and land that is the property of the Development Authority (comprising 93 percent of the land in Israel). Rights organizations have repeatedly petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court to challenge the discriminatory role of the JNF—whose funds are only allocated for Jewish settlement—in governing land use in Israel.
The Arabic word for “striving” or “struggle.” Jihad is a complex concept in Islam that is often associated with armed struggle against the enemies of Islam. But this limited definition refers to one aspect of jihad only—that known as “lesser jihad,” or an external struggle to defend Islam, promote justice and social well-being, and spread the religion. “Greater jihad,” the ongoing internal struggle to live a pure and noble life according to Islamic principles, has more importance. In this sense, armed struggle or “holy war,” as jihad is often mistranslated, is but one facet of a much larger philosophy of Islam. Contrary to misrepresentations of the term, in Islam, jihad is more accurately defined as an individual effort that is inwardly peaceful and spiritual.
A Jordanian government institution that once handled property claims created by war. The Jordanian Custodian of Enemy Property was established to handle property taken from Jews in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during and after the 1948 War, once the area came under Jordanian control. The Fourth Geneva Convention (1950) established that the acquisition of property by an occupying force is a war crime. After Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, the Israeli government declared properties owned by displaced Palestinians from the area as absentee property to be confiscated. At the same time, it continues to use the Jordanian Custodian of Enemy Property law (annulled by Jordan in 1967) to confiscate Palestinian lands, declaring this to be “property recovery.”
Refers to certain fundamental, overriding principles of international law (from Latin: compelling law; from English: peremptory norm). There is near-universal agreement for the existence of the category of jus cogens norms, as mentioned in Article 53 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT): “[A] treaty is void if, at the time of its conclusion, it conflicts with a peremptory norm of general international law.” However, in practice, the attempt to classify certain rules, rights, and duties as peremptory norms has not been very successful. Examples of jus cogens norms include prohibitions against crimes against humanity, genocide, and human trafficking.