Veteran Mapam leader Yaacov Hazan has proposed a plan for Jerusalem that would leave the city united under Israeli control. He told Mapam’s political committee yesterday that under his proposal there would still be a central municipal government that would have authority over the entire city but the city would be divided into areas or boroughs on the basis of the demographic distribution of the population. The various areas would have authority to handle their affairs independently.
Hazan proposed his own Jerusalem plan because, he said, it was better for Israel to defend its own proposal than to oppose a plan by its opponents. The fact that some U.S. universities are working on draft proposals for Jerusalem means that people are thinking about the problem and it will come up sooner or later.
Hazan said the Old City should be governed by a committee of Jews, Christians and Moslems and the holy places should be regarded as having extraterritoriality, although Israel should continue to be responsible for maintaining order at the sites.
He said the Arabs could hold citizenship in some state east of Israel (he did not specify whether this would be Jordan or a Palestinian state) or they could apply for Israeli citizenship. He said if they retain their Arab citizenship they should still be given all the rights of Israeli citizens except to vote for the Knesset.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
