Jerusalem Trail: From The Walls To The Wall
An off the beaten track walk for exploring Eastern Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city of two cities.
While Western Jerusalem is predominantly Jewish in character — some of it ultra-Orthodox — the East of the city functions as a de facto separate city.
While there is no longer an international border bisecting Jerusalem — as there was when Jordan controlled its Eastern half and the West Bank — travelling from West to East still feels like transversing two worlds which exist side by side but which barely intersect.
For one, East Jerusalem is majority Palestinian. Its citizens by and large reject Israel as a foreign occupier and would prefer to live under Palestinian sovereignty in a as-yet unestablished state.
There’s also a stark contrast in the development between West and East Jerusalem — and in the urban planning.
Simply viewing low-resolution satellite imagery is enough to see the difference in urban planning between the city’s Jewish and Palestinian residents. Below, West Jerusalem is to the left. East Jerusalem is to the right.
With the exception of a narrow no-man’s land — a reflection of the fact that the boundary was originally merely intended as a ceasefire line and was plotted inaccurately in thick green pencil — a line running north-south through the Old City represents the rough divide between the two.
For those looking to explore East Jerusalem, it’s a little hard to pinpoint what exactly there is to see.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that there are a few neighborhoods located within the confines of the Jeruslaem city boundaries but which are on the far side of the separation barrier. Kafr Aqab, which runs into Ramallah, is an example of such a neighborhood.
Given that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is not legally entitled to operate there (the PA Authority is precluded from operating in any part of Jerusalem), the fact that Israel’s interventions are not welcomed, and the fact that access is complicated by the presence of the wall, these neighborhoods have devolved into drug-infested legal no-mans-land, untouched mostly by both Israel and the PA.
East Jerusalem is really only the portion of Jerusalem east of the Green Line but before the security barrier which Israel constructed around the time of the second intifada.
The path of the security barrier is a little hard to identify. Google Maps plots the Green Line but doesn’t have a separate layer showing the path of the security barrier.
The freely accessible Jerusalem GIS website (Hebrew only), however, provides much more detailed satellite imagery. At high resolutions, the path of the barrier is clearly identifiable.
If you want to get up close and personal with east Jerusalem — and the wall that divides the East of the city from the rest of the West Bank (technically anywhere over the Green Line is in the West Bank), then the walk plotted above, from the Old City to the point at which the wall separates between Ras Al Amud and Abu Dis is worth doing.
From Jaffa Gate To Abu Dis (50 minute walk)
Time: 50 minutes
Terrain: Uphill from the Old City climbing the Mount of Olives. Then slightly downhill.
Starting out from Jaffa Gate, follow the walls of the Old City along the Southern Wall. Take Al-Akma to the intersection with Derekh Yerikho (417) and then loop southbound.
Veer with the road left into Ras Al Amud climbing upwards. Continue with the 417 as far as you can. The road will come to an end just after a petrol station. The separation barrier will be visible as a tall concrete structure. On the other side is Abu Dis, which was once floated as a capital for a Palestinian State.
Safety notes: Once you leave the Old City, the trail continues through Palestinian neighborhoods all the way to the separation barrier. Personally, I would strongly advise against walking through these neighborhoods while looking visibly Jewish. I would also refrain from speaking in Hebrew or wearing any clothing that suggests an affiliation with Zionism or Israel.
East Jerusalem is largely impoverished and in part the footpath (between Ras Al Amud and the barrier) becomes a little bit difficult to pass. I would strongly advise against doing this walk at night time.
