Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has raised the possibility of revoking benefits and travel rights of some Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, a government official said on Monday. Such a move did not appear to be imminent or even politically feasible but its mere mention ran counter to a decades-old Israeli assertion that occupied Jerusalem is a united city where Arab and Jewish residents enjoy equal rights. Israel regards all the city, including East Jerusalem, which was captured along with the West Bank in 1967, as its indivisible capital. Unlike their brethren in the occupied West Bank, Palestinians in East Jerusalem receive Israeli social benefits and can move freely in Israel. Israeli forces on Monday shot dead a Palestinian who the army alleged had stabbed and wounded a soldier at an intersection near the town of Hebron. Since Oct. 1, at least 54 Palestinians have been shot and killed by Israelis at the scene of attacks or during protests in the West Bank and Gaza. Citing comments at a security Cabinet meeting held two weeks ago, the government official said Netanyahu mentioned the possibility of revoking some rights for Palestinians who live within Jerusalem's municipal borders but outside the barrier Israel built during a Palestinian suicide bombing campaign a decade ago. Rights groups estimate that around 100,000, or almost a third of Jerusalem's Palestinians, live beyond the barrier. The official, however, said there was no discussion of the matter at the forum and Netanyahu did not ask that it be included on the agenda of a future meeting. Netanyahu's remarks were first reported by Channel Two television late on Sunday. After the 1967 Middle East war, Israel expanded Jerusalem's municipal borders by annexing parts of the West Bank to the city. Jerusalem Palestinians are not Israeli citizens, but they hold Israeli-issued blue IDs that grant them permanent resident status. "We have to think about what to do. There are all sorts of possibilities. But it is impossible to give them all of the rights without having them fulfill all of their responsibilities," Channel Two quoted Netanyahu as saying. Rights groups and Palestinians in East Jerusalem have long complained of a paucity of municipal services, difficulties in receiving building permits and Israeli moves to revoke the residency of those who leave the city for extended periods. Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem and its claim to all of the city as its capital are not recognized internationally. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of the state they seek to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. — Reuters
