Palestinian council seeks to revive Jerusalem Secretariat
Palestinians have expressed skepticism about the Palestinian Central Council’s ability to reactivate the Jerusalem Secretariat and have it work as a shadow municipal council in East Jerusalem.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian Central Council (PCC) in Ramallah convened Jan. 14-15 and decided to reactivate the Jerusalem Secretariat.
The secretariat was the first municipal council elected in Jerusalem after the Jordanian government (the official custodian of Jerusalem's holy sites) turned the city into a secretariat in 1955. The council continued to operate until the beginning of June 1967, when Israel occupied the eastern part of Jerusalem, dissolved the body and expelled its members to Jordan, where the secretariat is currently based. The council is headed by Zaki al-Ghul, who took over the presidency after the council’s secretary-general, Ruhi al-Khatib, died in exile.
Jihad Abu Zneid, a PCC member who pushed for reactivation, said in a press statement Jan. 16 the action comes in light of Jerusalemites’ urgent need for a Palestinian body to fill their daily needs and provide them with necessary services.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is not allowed to hold municipal elections in East Jerusalem, which Israel has occupied since 1967. This means that no Palestinian council is covering the services that fall within the responsibility of the municipal council, hence the need to activate the Jerusalem Secretariat.
