Sharing Jerusalem: The Condominium Solution

beatriz

"An extremely interesting article analysing the legal status of Jerusalem, and thus its implications on the legality of building in this city. The author's prescriptions for a peaceful resolution to Jerusalem are worth consideration for a just solution to this conflict." Abe Hayeem

Sharing Jerusalem: The Condominium Solution
John V. Whitbeck, Arab News

JEDDAH, 7 May 2007 — There will never be a durable peace in the Middle East without a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict acceptable both to most Israelis and to most Palestinians. That is a fact. There will also never be a lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without a solution to the status of Jerusalem acceptable both to most Israelis and to most Palestinians. That is also a fact.
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Condominiums, while rare, are not without precedent. Chandigarh is the joint undivided capital of two neighboring Indian states. For half a century prior to its independence in 1956, Sudan was a condominium of Britain and Egypt, officially named “Anglo-Egyptian Sudan”. For more than 70 years, the Pacific nation of Vanuatu (formerly the New Hebrides Condominium) was under the joint undivided sovereignty of Britain and France. For more than 700 years, until a 1993 constitutional revision, the Principality of Andorra was under the joint undivided sovereignty of French and Spanish “co-princes”. In 1999, the arbitrator appointed by the International Court of Justice ruled that the contested Bosnian municipality of Brcko should be a condominium shared by Bosnia’s Serb Republic and Muslim-Croat Federation, with its own local administration.

In seeking a solution to the status of Jerusalem, it is essential to distinguish between sovereignty and municipal administration. While municipal administration involves ...
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President Yasser Arafat clearly recognized this principle when, in a speech delivered at Harvard University in 1995, he asked: “Why not Jerusalem as the capital of two states, with no Berlin Wall? United, open, coexistence, living together.” The audience rose for a standing ovation.
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Source: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=95876&d=7&m=5&y=2007

"High handed government denies local democracy in deciding planning issues -
real estate greed operates in Tel Aviv as it does in the Occupied Territories." Abe Hayeem.

Planned luxury towers will block Tel Aviv coastline
By Yigal Hai, Haaretz Correspondent

Tel Aviv residents might be separated from the beachfront permanently, if plans by the Tel Aviv Municipality come to fruition. Contradicting its own bylaw passed in 1983, which prohibits beachfront construction, over the past few years City Hall has been promoting 11 projects to build 1,800 housing units in those very areas.

Tel Aviv, which was built with its back to the sea, will find itself having to give up one of its most valuable assets to private developers who will sell to those who can afford the location, including its view and the refreshing sea breeze.
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Dori says the construction of so many private dwellings near the beach in one of the city's last open public areas, which at the same time is one of its liveliest, is a "social mistake." She believes the city will suffer from the loss of the area to residents and visitors and bemoans what she calls an "unsuccessful mixed-use of an area whose function in the future is uncertain."
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Source: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/856601.html

Contributed by Abe Hayeem, APJP