Isawiya
Basic Information
- Type
- Town
- Governorate
- Jerusalem
- Region
- Jerusalem
Overview
Isawiya is a Palestinian neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem located on the eastern slopes of the Mount Scopus ridge. It is bordered by Road 1 to the east and north, the Hadassah Medical Center and Hebrew University Mount Scopus campus to the west, and the French Hill settlement to the southwest. The village has ancient roots: revenues from Isawiya were designated in the 1560s for the waqf (religious endowment) of Hasseki Sultan Imaret in Jerusalem, a charitable kitchen established by the wife of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Ottoman tax registers from 1596 show a small Muslim village of 35 households. The village's historical lands encompassed 10,417 dunams — an extensive area that has been almost entirely confiscated by Israeli authorities for the Hebrew University campus, Hadassah Hospital, Road 1, and the French Hill settlement. Of the original 10,417 dunams, only a small fraction remains for Palestinian residential use. Isawiya has become notorious for the severe discrimination its residents face: despite being within the Jerusalem municipality, the neighborhood receives grossly inadequate municipal services, building permits are virtually impossible to obtain, and the poverty and unemployment rates are among the highest in East Jerusalem.
Historical Significance
Located at the foot of Mount Scopus, an important strategic location. Village lands were extensive before Israeli confiscation for university and hospital construction.
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.
- Ir Amim
- B'Tselem
- UN OCHA
- ARIJ
- PCBS
- Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI)
- BADIL Resource Center
Faces severe municipal service discrimination