What Does Israeli Law Say About East Jerusalem?
Israeli law has applied in East Jerusalem since 27 June 1967. The Basic Law’s text, the 80-vote rule, and 331,567 permanent residents in 2024.
Israeli law has applied in East Jerusalem since 27 June 1967, when the Knesset added section 11B to the Law and Administration Ordinance, applying “the law, jurisdiction and administration of the State” to any area of the Land of Israel set by order. A declaration the next day expanded the limits of the Jerusalem municipality, and the 1980 Basic Law, as amended in 2000, ties the city’s limits to that declaration. The same Basic Law names “the complete and united Jerusalem” the capital and bars transferring powers over the municipal area unless a Basic Law adopted by 80 Members of the Knesset changes that provision. Most Arab residents hold permanent residency rather than citizenship: the Knesset Research and Information Centre counted 331,567 permanent residents among 370,332 on the register in July 2024.
| Figure | What it counts | Who published it | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 June 1967 | Adoption of section 11B, applying the State’s law, jurisdiction and administration to areas set by order; in force that day | Knesset | 19 Sivan 5727 |
| 28 June 1967 | Date of the declaration expanding the Jerusalem municipality, whose whole area section 5 places within Jerusalem | Knesset, Basic Law section 5 | 20 Sivan 5727 |
| 80 | Members of the Knesset needed, by Basic Law, to change section 6 | Knesset, Basic Law section 7 | Since the 2000 amendment |
| 331,567 | Arab East Jerusalem residents with permanent residency, of 370,332 on the Population and Immigration Authority register | Knesset Research and Information Centre | July 2024 |
| 33,741 | Arab East Jerusalem residents with citizenship, of the same 370,332 | Knesset Research and Information Centre | July 2024 |
| 785 | Residency statuses revoked from Arab East Jerusalem residents | Knesset Research and Information Centre | 2011 to 2024 |
| 6,266 | Citizenship applications approved, of 19,785 filed, counted by year of filing | Knesset Research and Information Centre | 2010 to 31 October 2024 |
Israeli law has applied in East Jerusalem since 27 June 1967
The Knesset added section 11B to the Law and Administration Ordinance 5708-1948 on 19 Sivan 5727, 27 June 1967, and the section was in force on the day of adoption. The text below is the Hebrew as published in Sefer HaChukkim, followed by an English rendering:
המשפט, השיפוט והמינהל של המדינה יחולו בכל שטח של ארץ-ישראל שהממשלה קבעה בצו
“The law, jurisdiction and administration of the State shall apply in any area of the Land of Israel that the Government has set by order.”
The section leaves the area to be fixed by the Government’s own order. On 20 Sivan 5727, 28 June 1967, a declaration issued under the Municipalities Ordinance expanded the limits of the Jerusalem municipality, and the Basic Law records that declaration and its date in section 5.
- 27 June 1967. Section 11B added to the Law and Administration Ordinance, in force the same day.
- 28 June 1967. Declaration expanding the limits of the Jerusalem municipality, issued under the Municipalities Ordinance.
- Basic Law: Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel, 5740-1980, adopted.
- 7 December 2000. Amending law adopted, stating its intention as limiting changes to Jerusalem’s confines and to the application of Israeli law there.
The 1980 Basic Law names complete and united Jerusalem the capital
Section 1 of the Basic Law states: “The complete and united Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.” The quotations below come from the Knesset’s English translation, which includes amendments through 1 May 2022 and which the Knesset labels unofficial. The Basic Law does not use the words “East Jerusalem”; section 5 defines the city’s limits by reference to the 28 June 1967 municipal declaration.
| Section | Text, in the Knesset’s translation | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “The complete and united Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.” | 1980 text |
| 2 | “Jerusalem is the seat of the President of the State, the Knesset, the Government, and the Supreme Court.” | 1980 text |
| 5 | “Inter alia, the limits of Jerusalem include, for the purpose of this Basic Law, the whole area described in the addendum to the declaration of the expansion of the limits of the Jerusalem municipality of 20 Sivan 5727 (June 28, 1967), that was issued under the Municipalities Ordinance.” | Amendment No. 1, 2000 |
The 1967 municipal area therefore sits inside the Basic Law’s “Jerusalem” by the statute’s own definition.
Section 6 bars transferring powers, and 80 votes amend it
Changing section 6 takes a Basic Law adopted by 80 Members of the Knesset, and the Basic Law states that requirement in section 7. Section 6, which came from Amendments No. 1 and 2, reads: “No powers concerning the limits of the Jerusalem Municipality area […] shall be transferred to a foreign political or governing power, or to another similar foreign authority, whether permanently or for a given period.”
| Provision | What it says | Majority needed to change it |
|---|---|---|
| Section 6 | No transfer of powers concerning the municipal limits to a foreign political or governing power, or a similar foreign authority, permanently or for a given period | A Basic Law adopted by 80 Members |
| Section 7 | “The provisions of article 6 are not to be changed, save by a Basic law adopted by a majority of eighty Members of the Knesset.” | A majority of the Knesset’s Members |
The amending law of 7 December 2000 states its intention as laying down “a limitation on a change of the confines of the territory of Jerusalem, and the application of the law, jurisdiction and administration of the State of Israel in this territory”.
331,567 Arab East Jerusalem residents held permanent residency in 2024
The Knesset Research and Information Centre counted 331,567 permanent residents among 370,332 Arab residents of East Jerusalem in July 2024, working from the Population and Immigration Authority’s own register rather than a census. The paper rounds this to almost 90% permanent residents and 9% citizens. The register covers Arab residents only, not Jerusalem’s whole population.
What permanent residency carries, as the Centre’s paper states it:
- No Israeli passport.
- No vote in Knesset elections.
- A vote, and the right to stand, in municipal elections.
- Entitlement to National Insurance and state health insurance.
- The right to apply for Israeli citizenship.
The Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded 785 revocations of residency status among Arab East Jerusalem residents from 2011 to 2024, ranging from 13 in 2018 to 93 in 2015.
6,266 of 19,785 citizenship applications since 2010 were approved
Arab permanent residents of East Jerusalem filed 19,785 applications to apply for Israeli citizenship from 2010 to 31 October 2024, and the Knesset Research and Information Centre reported 6,266 of them approved as at October 2024. The count is by year of filing, from the Population and Immigration Authority’s own data. “Refused or delayed” is a single column, and a delay is given where further information or checks are needed.
| Outcome, by year of filing | Applications | Share of 19,785 |
|---|---|---|
| Approved | 6,266 | 31.7% |
| Refused or delayed | 9,484 | 47.9% |
| No decision yet, or file closed | 4,035 | 20.4% |
Source: Knesset Research and Information Centre, on Population and Immigration Authority data, 2010 to 31 October 2024.
Filings ran at 705 to 1,075 a year in 2010 to 2019, then rose. The paper attributes the 2021 peak to an enlarged appointment quota.
Counted by year of decision instead, the Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded 16,694 decisions from 2010 to 2024: 6,749 approvals (40.4%) and 9,945 refusals or delays (59.6%). The recent years remain open: 82.8% of 2024 applications and 71.6% of 2023 applications had no decision at October 2024.
Which figures on this page may not be combined?
The residency and citizenship figures here sit on different bases and do not merge.
- The 370,332 is the Population and Immigration Authority’s own register count at July 2024; the Central Bureau of Statistics puts the base at 391,388 at the end of 2023, with census corrections, and the two are not mixed in one ratio.
- The 6,266 approvals are counted by year of filing and the 6,749 by year of decision; they are not added together or set against each other.
- “Refused or delayed” is one column and is not a count of refusals.
- An application may cover several people, so applications are not persons.
- The Basic Law quotations are the Knesset’s English translation, which it labels unofficial; section 11B is quoted from the Hebrew.
Questions readers ask
When did Israeli law begin to apply in East Jerusalem?
On 27 June 1967. The Law and Administration Ordinance states, in section 11B added that day, that the State’s law, jurisdiction and administration apply in any area of the Land of Israel set by order, and the section took effect on adoption.
Did the 1980 Basic Law extend Israeli law to East Jerusalem?
The extension dates from 1967. The 1980 Basic Law states that “the complete and united Jerusalem is the capital of Israel”, and its 2000 amendment ties the city’s limits to the June 1967 municipal declaration.
Does the Basic Law use the words East Jerusalem?
It does not. The Basic Law states that Jerusalem’s limits include “the whole area described in the addendum to the declaration of the expansion of the limits of the Jerusalem municipality of 20 Sivan 5727 (June 28, 1967)”.
How many Knesset votes does it take to change section 6?
It takes 80 Members. The Basic Law states in section 7 that section 6 may be changed only “by a Basic law adopted by a majority of eighty Members of the Knesset”.
What does section 6 bar?
The Basic Law states that no powers concerning the limits of the Jerusalem Municipality area may be transferred to a foreign political or governing power, or a similar foreign authority, whether permanently or for a given period.
How many Arab residents of East Jerusalem are Israeli citizens?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre counted 33,741 citizens among 370,332 Arab residents on the Population and Immigration Authority’s own register in July 2024.
Can permanent residents of East Jerusalem vote?
In municipal elections they can vote and stand as candidates; in Knesset elections they cannot vote. The Knesset Research and Information Centre states both in its December 2024 paper.
Do permanent residents get an Israeli passport or health insurance?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre states that permanent residency gives no Israeli passport, and does give entitlement to National Insurance and state health insurance.
How many East Jerusalem residencies have been revoked?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded 785 revocations of residency status among Arab East Jerusalem residents from 2011 to 2024, from 13 in 2018 to 93 in 2015.
Why did citizenship applications peak in 2021?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre states that the 2021 rise, to 3,490 applications, followed an enlarged appointment quota; that is the paper’s own explanation.
How many applications filed in 2021 were approved?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre reported 802 of the 3,490 applications filed in 2021 approved (23%) and 2,534 refused or delayed (72.6%), as at October 2024.
How many citizenship decisions were made in 2024?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded 620 approvals and 1,855 refusals or delays in 2024, counted by year of decision rather than year of filing.
Is one citizenship application one person?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre states that an application may cover several people, so the 19,785 applications filed from 2010 to October 2024 are not a count of persons.
Is the English text of the Basic Law official?
The Knesset publishes its English translation, covering amendments through 1 May 2022, and labels it unofficial; the 1967 section 11B is published in Hebrew in Sefer HaChukkim.
Sources
- Knesset, 1980, amended 2000. Basic Law: Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel, 5740-1980, unofficial English translation including amendments through 1 May 2022, with the Law and Administration Ordinance (Amendment No. 11) Law, 5727-1967, Sefer HaChukkim, Hebrew. https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/activity/documents/BasicLawsPDF/BasicLawJerusalem.pdf and https://fs.knesset.gov.il/6/law/6_lsr_210248.pdf. Official or primary record.
- Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2024. Data on the Arab Population in East Jerusalem (נתונים על האוכלוסייה הערבית במזרח ירושלים), 26 December 2024, on Population and Immigration Authority and Central Bureau of Statistics data, Hebrew. https://fs.knesset.gov.il/globaldocs/MMM/8c56802e-d583-ef11-a851-005056aa1f91/2_8c56802e-d583-ef11-a851-005056aa1f91_11_20794.pdf. Official or primary record.
