Palestinians condemn Netanyahu's threats to remove residency rights

Palestinians have condemned Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's threats to take residency rights away from Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem, the UK's Independent newspaper has reported.

Netanyahu had already raised the possibility of revoking the Israeli residency of between 80,000 to 100,000 East Jerusalem Palestinians during a security cabinet meeting in October, reported Israel's Channel Two.

This could create chaos by preventing Palestinians from entering Israel for work, education or health reasons. They would also be forced to give up their Israeli medical insurance and social security benefits.

"All of our life will turn topsy-turvy and Netanyahu will not care," said Ms Abu Shalbak, who would be affected by the change.

"We will be besieged in a small area and not be able to function as human beings," she added.

The changes will affect about a quarter of Palestinians living in neighbourhoods located within Jerusalem's municipal borders but on the "Palestinian side" of the separation wall built by Israel. They make up about a tenth of the city's population.

"He [Netanyahu] is saying he wants Jerusalem only for the Jews," said Yudith Oppenheimer, director of Israeli NGO Ir Amin, reported the Independent.

Even simply proposing the idea is "so dangerous to daily life in Jerusalem. You are pushing people to a dead end, people who already live in despair and poverty," Oppenheimer added.

According to Channel Two, during the meeting Netanyahu said: "We need to examine the possibility of cancelling their residency. There needs to be a discussion about it."

Speaking to the Independent on Sunday, an Israeli official linked the need to revoke residency to the increase in stabbing attacks by Palestinians against Israelis. However, residents from the affected neighbourhoods have reportedly carried out very few of these attacks.

Palestinian neighbourhoods in Jerusalem and in Israel have suffered from years of neglect at the hands of Israeli authorities. They are made to pay municipal taxes but many lack basic services such as sanitation, education and planning.

"If the Israelis take away people's identity cards, what will they do without work? It will only increase crime and drugs. It will turn people into criminals," said Basam Maswadeh, from Kufr Aqab, one of the neighbourhoods affected.