Abu Dis
Basic Information
- Type
- City
- Governorate
- Jerusalem
- Region
- West Bank - Central
Overview
Abu Dis is a Palestinian town on the southeastern edge of Jerusalem, historically connected to the city through daily economic, social, and familial ties. The town was originally designated to be the easternmost part of the internationalized Jerusalem 'corpus separatum' under UN Resolution 181 (1947), but this plan was never implemented. Since the 1967 occupation, Abu Dis has been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The most dramatic transformation came with the construction of the Israeli separation wall in the early 2000s, which physically divided Abu Dis — separating the eastern part (in the West Bank) from its western neighborhoods (on the Jerusalem side). An 8-meter-high concrete wall now runs through the town, cutting through streets, separating families, and severing the historic connection to Jerusalem. Al-Quds University, established in 1984 as the only Palestinian university in the Jerusalem area, had its main campus in Abu Dis but has faced severe access restrictions. The Ma'ale Adumim settlement bloc to the east further encircles the town. Abu Dis has been proposed as a potential capital of a future Palestinian state, with the idea of building a Palestinian parliament building there — an acknowledgment that Jerusalem is inaccessible. However, this proposal also reflects the reality of forced separation from Jerusalem, the historic heart of Palestinian political and cultural life.
Historical Significance
Originally designated as eastern Jerusalem under the UN Partition Plan (1947). Home to Al-Quds University, the only Palestinian university in the Jerusalem area. The separation wall has made Abu Dis a symbol of the physical fragmentation of Palestinian territory and communities. The town's division epitomizes how the wall has cut through Palestinian neighborhoods, not just along the Green Line.
Sources and record limitations
Source detail varies by record. Some entries include document and page references; others supply source names only. Check the cited material and the record's limitations before relying on a specific claim.
- PCBS 2017 Census
- ARIJ
- UN OCHA
- B'Tselem
- Al-Quds University
- PASSIA
- ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Wall (2004)
Abu Dis is one of the most dramatic examples of how the separation wall has physically divided Palestinian communities. The wall does not follow the Green Line but cuts through the town, separating families and severing historic ties to Jerusalem.