Jerusalemites are living a struggle about existence, identity and religion in the Old City of Jerusalem under the siege of the Israeli occupation forces in their homes and livelihood in many forms.

The number of Jerusalemites inside the Old City is estimated at 33,000 people, compared to 4,000 settlers living inside its walls, according to statistics from the Jerusalem Center for social and economic rights. The population density of the Old Town is high relative to the number of inhabitants and the limited area. Ziad Hamouri, director of the Jerusalem Center for social and Economic Rights, believes that the economic factor is the decisive factor for the Palestinian presence inside the Old City of Jerusalem. Statistics indicate the closure of more than 250 shops, which is 25% of the number of shops in the Old Town, while 85% of them suffer from heavy debts for Arnona and income taxes.

Abu Abdullah, a Jerusalemite who owns a perfume shop in Khan Al-Zeit market and faces the risk of being seized from the occupation authorities, after the occupation municipality filed a case against him, the Arnona tax has so far reached 1,800,000 shekels, and there is no solution to his problem because he cannot pay the amount.

The accumulated debts in favor of the Israeli government, most notably the Arnona, are no less dangerous than other measures carried out by the occupation authorities, such as the demolition of houses and the withdrawal of identities, which will lead to the displacement of the population by the same means adopted after the Nakba of 1948. As for the closed shops in the Old Town, they are distributed in the tanning neighborhoods, al-Silsila Street, Al-Wad, Al-khawajat market, perfumers, welders, qatans, bashoura, Al-Nassari Lane, St. Francis, Casanova road, Bab al-Hebron and Aqaba Al-Khalidi. Abu Ghazi, a more than eighty-year-old pilgrim who owns a bazaar selling oriental antiques on Al-Wad Street near Bab al-Majlis, one of the doors of Al-Aqsa mosque, says: I have accumulated debts on all sides, and I can't pay the lawyer's fee, there are currently cases being considered in Israeli courts, and I don't know when it will end, or how many years I need to pay off the debts of taxes and rent."With this complaint, Abu Ghazi started his conversation when we asked him about his economic situation," he added: The tourism sector in Jerusalem is about to collapse, due to the acquisition of delegations from abroad by Israeli tourism offices, which warn tourists not to approach Arab shops to buy antiques and handicrafts, and the Palestinian Authority does not support this sector despite the measures. The Israeli complex, taxes and other obstacles that prevent its development, or even its continuity, as more than seven bazaars on this street have been closed due to the inability of their owners to pay their dues.

The tourism sector is one of the most important vital sectors in the city, where large numbers of Jerusalemites work, starting from the cake seller, oriental antiques shops (sentwari), ending with hotels, tourist buses and bazaars.Abu Ghazi's case is no different from his neighbor Abu Khalil, who said that there is no buying or selling in his place, as well as exorbitant taxes without providing services in return.

Abu Khalil says: the dues are piling up, and the commercial movement is weak, which prompted me to think about closing the store after running out of goods, the purpose of these measures and funds is to force Jerusalemites to either close their shops or leave the country, which we will not do, no matter how narrow our ways are."In this direction, Hammouri warns that the continued disruption of commercial traffic in East Jerusalem and the high rate of forced migration out of the city will inevitably lead to the achievement of the occupation's goal of reducing the number of Jerusalemites inside and outside the Old City, and therefore its captivity and Judaization. In the context of the goal of the city's dynasties, the occupation municipality not only prohibits construction in Arab neighborhoods, but also renovation, while granting building permits for residential buildings up to four or five layers in the Jewish Quarter and in other seized houses, having recently granted building permits for the construction of a settlement housing complex to be inhabited by 300 Jewish families near the tower of the stork. To achieve the same goal, settlement organizations falsify documents and house arguments to control more buildings, while resorting to the judiciary often does not help, because the judiciary has become a tool to stabilize the settlement.

The outposts were concentrated around the Holy Temple Mount to encircle it, whether by forcibly seizing property to establish Talmudic schools, buying other houses, or confiscating land inside the Islamic quarter, which was the basis of the honor Lane and parts of the Moorish Lane, which is known as the Jewish Quarter, which is located in the middle of the Islamic quarter in the Old City.

The number of synagogues, religious schools, Jewish Talmudic institutes and the headquarters of settlement associations scattered around the Al-Aqsa Mosque is estimated at about 60 synagogues and institutes headed by rabbis active in settlement associations that receive unlimited support from the ministries of construction, housing and tourism, as well as the support of the occupation municipality.

Abu Wasim castero, who lives in the neighborhood of Al-qarmi, and his story tells of his great suffering: "my family is subjected to various kinds of harassment because there is a wedding hall for Jews adjacent to our house. In addition to loud sounds and music all the time, they are partying on the street, blocking the entrance to the house until late at night, and when we complain, the police claim that they have permits, although this is contrary to the laws, many times we cannot return to our homes until the second or third . Night."In another chapter of suffering, he continues: we were prevented from using the roof of the house, because the settlers next to the back side of the house filed a lawsuit against us, asking us not to use the roof because it blocks the view of Al-Aqsa from them, as well as another lawsuit in which they demanded the demolition of parts of the second layer because it blocks sunlight and air. We have been in an ongoing legal battle with the settlers, and we have paid NIS 600,000 in expenses to lawyers and courts in seven cases for 23 years, but each time the settlers have been compensated at our expense. Nusseibeh's family objected to opening a door in the foundations of our house, but the court ruled for them and their plan was implemented in 2007 by opening an additional door to the wedding hall belonging to the Settlement Association "Ateret leushnah". Note that this wedding hall was a warehouse from 1965 until 1987, and was rented by the Ahmad castero family from a relative's family. In light of what the family is suffering in the Israeli courts, castero demands the presence of specialized lawyers who will defend Arab property in Jerusalem and cover the costs of the courts, saying: "we do not need money from anyone, but we want a specialized team to defend our homes and neighborhoods in light of the settlement attack targeting every square meter of the Old City."

There are more than seventy outposts in the old city, inhabited by more than 1000 settlers, and most of them are distributed around the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Al-Wad Street, Aqaba Al-Khalidiya, Aqaba al-Saraya, Saadia lane, Burj Al-luqluq, al-Silsila Street, the tanning market and the jabsha area.these outposts do not include the Jewish Quarter, which was built on the ruins of honor Lane shortly after the fall of the city to the occupation in 1967, in which about 3000 settlers live.

According to the reports of UN and human rights organizations, which monitor Israeli violations in Jerusalem, including the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the occupation authorities are intensively encroaching on the holy sites and historical monuments, as well as violating freedom of worship and the right to practice religious rites in the Old City of Jerusalem. In one of these reports, it was stated that the Israeli occupation authorities ' excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem, under the foundations of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and near it, the construction of a synagogue adjacent to the walls of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and under its courtyards, the violation of the sanctity of religious sanctuaries in Jerusalem and in other occupied Palestinian areas, the assault on them and worshippers, the violation of freedom of worship and the Prevention of worshippers from accessing and performing prayers in holy places, all these constitute a serious violation of freedom of worship and the right to practice religious rites guaranteed by all international canons and charters, in particular the International Bill of human rights, which is guaranteed by all international canons and charters, in particular the International Bill of human rights; they also contradict Article No. 53 of the protocol The first Geneva of 1977, which banned hostilities directed against places of worship that constitute the cultural and spiritual heritage of peoples. Article no., paragraph B, of the 1998 statute of the International Criminal Court states that deliberate attacks against buildings intended for religious purposes amount to war crimes. According to the report, the occupation authorities continue demolishing and bulldozing Bab al-Maghriba Hill, one of the gates of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque," and impose restrictions on worshippers to prevent them from entering Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In addition to the excavations at the bottom of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Nazmi Al-GEBA, director of the "Riwaq" Center, believes that the Arab-Islamic and Christian landscape of Jerusalem has long withstood multiple attempts to dominate it and color it with colors that do not correspond to its history.domes and minarets, along with church towers and bells, have dominated the Jerusalem landscape for centuries, while the Old City of Jerusalem is now witnessing dramatic changes in its cultural landscape that have no parallel during the past four decades.

He adds: the occupation authorities have completed the "Mamilla Market" project, removed the separations between West Jerusalem and east Jerusalem and turned them into an organically integrated form from the western point of view. As for the eastern side, it rewrote the scene of the Old City, and created new visual focuses, imposing a different space on the visitor to the city, at a time when the Jerusalem citizen feels alienated from his city, and the Western visitor doubts the identity of Jerusalem as a city, as well as the dense deployment of Israeli flags in the space of the city inside and outside the walls. To tighten the feeling of alienation, and to restrict Jerusalemites, the occupation authorities continue to pursue people in their livelihood, Abu Yunus is a father of five children, the oldest is seven and the youngest is not more than two weeks, and he is a refugee from the Shuafat camp from the honor Lane, the Jewish Lane now, a year ago ١٩٦٣, and his family has taken refuge from Beit Thul since the Nakba ١٩٤٨ to Jerusalem and he owns a cart selling towels on which is his only source of livelihood.

He says: "I stand at the entrance to the pillar door, and I stay alert to the presence of municipal personnel who constantly pursue us to impose a ticket for 450 shekels, which is what I earn in six days . He continues: "I cannot work for any other interest in the Israeli market, because I have been imprisoned by security ١٥ for a year, and currently I cannot obtain a certificate of good conduct necessary for any other interest ... And even my goods I am gradually bringing in from the Shuafat camp.

Abu Hassan, a Jerusalemite from Bab al-Amud, says: I submitted an application to the [Palestinian] presidency in an official letter to help me pay the accumulated Arnona tax for years, but the application was rejected, knowing that I am retired and my pension is not enough for me, and I cannot find a job at the age of sixty-seven. He continues: the support for the steadfastness of Jerusalemites, which comes from Arab countries, we see only on satellite TV, or in decorating the Old City during Ramadan and holidays.

The education sector is in no better shape than the rest of the sectors, with a shortage of 2,000 classrooms, as well as more than 10,000 students dropping out, which is fertile ground for drugs. Hammouri points out that the prevalence of drugs is very high, while Israeli official institutions sponsor addicts by providing them with monthly allowances, as well as turning a blind eye to the drug trade almost openly in the Old City. With the spread of the phenomenon of drug abuse among young Jerusalemites, serious social problems are deepening that affect the composition of the family, which is also suffering due to economic hardship and psychological pressure in the face of a life of suffering .