Lexicon

See settlement of land title.

The Arabic term for marketplace or bazaar. Souks are typically found in the Middle East and North Africa. Usually, they offer a wide variety of goods being sold, including spices, textiles, jewelry, pottery, and more. They serve as hubs for trade and social interaction; historically, many ancient cities were reliant on tourists’ foot traffic in souks for economic benefit. Most souks comprise narrow, often covered, alleyways and dedicated outdoor plazas.

Settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory planned and built by Israeli state and military authorities. Two examples include Ma‘ale Adumim and Giv’at Ze’ev. The political ideology of settlers who live in these settlements is diverse and may not be right-wing.

One of at least 100 different types of permits Israel requires Palestinians with Palestinian Authority (Green) IDs to obtain to access Jerusalem. Specifically, this permit is for nonresident spouses of Palestinian permanent residents with Israeli IDs who live within the municipal boundaries of the city. Because family unification was banned in 2000, Israel introduced the stay permit in 2006 as a means of granting occasional “exceptions” to the ban, allowing such “nonresident spouses” to “stay” in the city legally with their spouses for periods longer than those allowed by other entry permits. Control over its issuance and approval lies entirely with the COGAT, and the application process is long, involved, and unpredictable. Only men aged over 35, women aged over 25, and children aged over 13 may apply.

If granted, the stay permit allows the spouse or child without an Israeli permanent-resident ID to live legally within the city boundaries for a defined period of time, usually a year or two. The applicant must reapply to renew the permit after that time. The holder of this permit only has the right to stay, sleep, and work (on a working permit similar to foreign workers) in Jerusalem or Israel. Holders of this permit do not have any civil and social rights in Jerusalem or Israel. For example, they cannot drive a car, open a bank account, or obtain healthcare. (Some limited numbers of exceptions were made mainly for humanitarian reasons.)

The COGAT can revoke the stay permit for an individual or for all holders of such permits at any time without notice.

A militant group that broke away from the Irgun, an underground Zionist paramilitary group, in 1940. (The label “Lehi” is the abbreviation of Lohamei Herut Israel, which translates as “Fighters for the Freedom of Israel.” Because the group was founded by Avraham Stern, it is also known as the “Stern Gang.”) The Lehi targeted Palestinian communities and British Mandate forces and was regarded as a terrorist organization. It was responsible for notorious acts of terrorism, including the assassinations of Lord Moyne, minister of state for the colonies, in 1944, and Folke Bernadotte, the Swedish UN mediator, in 1948. It also attacked railways, airfields, and strategic installations. During the 1948 War, the Lehi joined forces and command structure with the Haganah and committed several offensives and atrocities, among them the Deir Yasin massacre of April 9, 1948, during which more than 100 Palestinian noncombatants were killed. (News of this massacre contributed to the flight of Palestinian families to neighboring countries for safety; their wartime exodus turned out to be permanent.) The Lehi was later disbanded and some of its units merged into the Israeli army in September 1948. Yitzhak Shamir, a Lehi leader, later became prime minister of Israel.

The smallest categorization size in the Israeli land registry, about the size of an apartment. See also Block and Parcel.

One of two main tests, along with the “objective test,” that the Israeli Ministry of Interior uses to determine whether a Palestinian permanent resident’s “center of life” is in Israel and hence, if he or she is qualified to retain legal status as a permanent resident. The “subjective test” is based on a person’s subjective connection to the country, which the authorities give themselves latitude to evaluate on a “case-by-case basis,” meaning that there are no written or defined criteria for passing this test.

The last meal consumed before a Muslim’s daily fast begins with the dawn (fajr) call to prayer during the holy month of Ramadan. Muslims consume suhur meals as a means of fueling their bodies before their fasts begin, and therefore generally opt for filling meals such as eggs, lean meats, fruits, and slow-release carbohydrate sources. Many restaurants in Muslim-majority countries remain open late into the night and before dawn to provide suhur for customers. A centuries-old suhur tradition is the musaharati, an individual or group of individuals who roam the streets during Ramadan in the hours just before dawn and wake people for suhur and the dawn prayer. 

A body established by order of the first British High Commissioner, Sir Herbert Samuel, in December 1921 to oversee Muslim awqaf and sharia matters. The council established an orphanage, supported schools, expanded welfare and health clinics, and renovated religious buildings, including two mosques within the Haram al-Sharif. The council had an elected president and four members, two of whom represented Jerusalem. The first president was the mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husseini. In 1937, after the revolt of 1936, the British disbanded the council.