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Settlements: Jewish Communities in East Jerusalem

(Updated May 2014)

East Jerusalem was formally recognized as part of Israel by Israel's Supreme Court in 1967; however, the international community considers Jewish communities beyond the 1949 armistice line as illegel settlements. Before 1865, the entire population of Jerusalem lived inside the Old City walls, what today would be considered East Jerusalem. Later, when the city expanded due to population growth, both Jews and Arabs began to build in new areas of the city.

By partition in 1947, a thriving Jewish community was living in the eastern part of Jerusalem, an area that included the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. This area also contains many sites of religious importance, including the City of David, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. In addition, major institutions such as Hebrew University and Hadassah Hospital are on Mount Scopus, in eastern Jerusalem.

The only time the eastern part of Jerusalem was exclusively Arab was between 1949 and 1967 because Jordan occupied the area and forcibly expelled all the Jews.


Name
Population
Area (dunam)
Growth
2013
2010
2008
2006
2004
2002
2000
East Talpiot
+1,139
13,757
13,984
12,186
12,078
12,238
12,591
12,845
1,195
Gilo
+1,922
29,567
29,559
26,929
27,173
27,309
27,569
27,637
2,859
Givat HaMiftar
+32
2,944
2,831
2,901
2,959
2,948
2,912
588
Givat Shapira
+467
8,660
7,099
6,724
6,630
6,631
8,193
2,018
Har Homa
+9048
13,887
9,811
9,615
6,040
3,354
1,125
763
2,523
Ma'alot Dafna
-925
2,050
2,720
3,732
3,765
3,647
3,617
3,645
380
Neve Yaakov
-585
19,477
19,703
20,383
20,149
20,218
20,250
20,288
1,759
Old City
+826
3,329
3,105
2,485
2,546
2,451
2,348
2,279
122
Pisgat Ze'ev
+8,043
37,784
44,512
42,115
41,653
40,665
38,684
36,469
5,467
Ramat Eshkol
+656
6,669
3,573
3,388
3,299
3,180
3,046
2,917
397
Ramat Shlomo
+3,206
14,512
14,554
15,123
14,658
13,888
12,822
11,348
1,126
Ramot Allon
+3,476
41,724
41,410
42,246
40,837
40,027
38,992
37,934
4,979
Sanhedriya
-924
4,094
4,959
5,034
5,021
4,994
5,018
378
Total:
+26,381
182,756
198,629
193,091
186,857
181,587
175,617
172,248
24,754

Sources: Foundation for Middle East Peace; Israel Central Bureau of Statistics; B'Tselem