Palestinian Census Takers Pass Threshold for Israel

Suha Khalawi trudges up and down the hilly streets of this Palestinian city armed with a large black portfolio and a clear sense of national purpose.

“We are taking the first step for our state,” the young woman says with pride of her job as a surveyor for the first Palestinian census. “We are doing something great for our Palestinian people.”

But the census launched this week in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is also a powerful political symbol to the Israeli government, which has not allowed census takers to do their surveys in East Jerusalem. Israel says the survey is a challenge to its sovereignty and violates the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords, which limit Palestinian Authority activities in the city.

The Palestinian plan to conduct the census in Jerusalem constitutes a “gross violation” of the peace accords, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Israel insists that the eastern half of Jerusalem, which was captured from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast War and quickly annexed, will remain part of its united capital. The Palestinian Authority, in turn, claims the traditionally Arab area as the capital of the state it hopes to create one day in the West Bank and Gaza.

Both sides understand that information about the number of Palestinians who live on the disputed east side could be a potent tool in future negotiations over the city’s status.

Earlier this week, with census takers like Khalawi poised to begin work in Jerusalem, Netanyahu’s government quickly pushed a bill through the Israeli parliament to broaden an existing ban on Palestinian actions inside the city that are “inconsistent with Israel’s sovereignty.” On Wednesday, Israeli police briefly detained a Palestinian census taker on the city’s outskirts.

Hassan abu Libdeh, who heads the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, said the census will give the Palestinians detailed knowledge about themselves, their needs and their resources. The survey’s dozens of questions on education, health, employment status and housing conditions will help the Palestinian Authority set priorities for social and economic programs, he said.

Beyond that, the census “represents a triumphal step for us,” Abu Libdeh said. “It’s part of the process of recognizing the status of Palestinians and helping us to realize our potential.”

That the survey’s official kickoff came Tuesday, the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the six-year Palestinian intifada, or uprising, was no coincidence, he said.

“The intifada changed the course of Palestinian history and gave us enough courage to take bold decisions for peace,” he said. “This is another event which will allow Palestinians to understand more about who they are and where they are going.”

In this city just south of Jerusalem, posters and banners urge residents to take part in the census, which will be conducted over 15 days. “The census is our way to build a modern state,” a street banner proclaims. Wall posters say the survey will point the way toward a better future.

Lina Haj welcomed Khalawi into her apartment, declaring that she knows the census is “good for our country.” As her two young children peered shyly around her at the census taker, Haj answered detailed questions about her family and its circumstances.

One floor below, her sister-in-law, Maha Haj, proudly included her 11-day-old son, Ibrahim, in the family’s count. He had not arrived yet when the preliminary forms were distributed, she said.

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In East Jerusalem, meanwhile, there was no sign of the census being conducted this week, and many residents were reportedly reluctant to participate for fear of losing their Israeli identity cards, which allow them to work in Israel. But others were said to be participating secretly by filling out the lengthy questionnaires and faxing them to the census headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Abu Libdeh and other officials would not confirm that East Jerusalem residents are taking part.

Israeli officials, however, said the Palestinians are taking provocative actions aimed at destroying the peace process and redividing Jerusalem.