Most Palestinians in East Jerusalem live in poverty: report

At least 82 percent of the Palestinians in East Jerusalem live in poverty, almost two times of the figure in entire Jerusalem, an Israeli research center said Wednesday.

A report by the Jerusalem Institute said that in 2014, the latest year of which data is available, about four out of five Palestinians in East Jerusalem lived below the poverty line.

Meanwhile, 49 percent of the population in Jerusalem and 22 percent of the total population in Israel lived in poverty.

According to the report, the figures registered a year-on-year growth of 8 percent.

The researchers attributed the sharp increase mainly to an economic crisis that broke out following the construction of the Separation Wall, which separates many of the Palestinians from their livelihood and restricts their movement.

About 300,200 Palestinians live in the municipal area of Jerusalem, comprising more than a third of the total population.

Israel seized Jerusalem's Old City and its surrounding neighborhoods in the 1967 Mideast War, along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It later annexed East Jerusalem and claimed it as part of its "indivisible" capital.

The Jewish state didn't allow the Palestinians to become Israeli citizens but enabled them to hold a status of "permanent resident" of the country, meaning they cannot vote in the general elections but are entitled to all rights and services provided for Israeli citizens.

However, Palestinians and human rights organizations often complain that the Israeli government has not allocated the necessary resources to develop East Jerusalem.

As a result, there has been a severe lack of public services and infrastructure in health, education, welfare, postal services and water and sewage systems. Endit