Planning, Restrictions Building Land Permits Confiscation on Use and and Home Access Demolitions Introduction 107 Local Town Planning Scheme, delaying its preparation and preparing plans that limit the Palestinians' building possibilities.382 Building has been barred in most Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem on the grounds that a Local Town Planning Scheme has not yet been approved. To date, no comprehensive Local Town Planning Schemes have been approved by planning authorities.383 In the absence of an approved plan, it is impossible to obtain a building permit. As a result, tens of thousands of people have no legal building option and 28 percent of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem are built without a permit.384 Submitting Plans An approved planning scheme may be used to legitimize future building. In order to enter a planning scheme, a Local Commission is required to submit a plan to the District Commission according to paragraph 62(a) of the Planning and Building Law (1965).385 Palestinian neighborhoods face excessive delays on submitted plans such as a 13-year process (1977-1990) for the approval of Beit Safafa’s plan, or indefinite pending status of plans (such as in Beit Hanina and Shu’fat) that have detrimentally impeded construction to meet basic needs.386 If a planning scheme is approved, residents may seek to alter, revise or replace the plan in order to enable housing growth and adaptation. Additionally, residents may submit alternative planning schemes in cases where a house is slated for demolition for contradicting a planning scheme, essentially seeking to legitimize an already built structure. One has the right to access planning schemes at the planning department of the Jerusalem Municipality and also at the Ministry of Interior. Anyone may view and photocopy plans by making an appointment. If a plan has yet to be adopted and is pending, public access is refused. One may submit objections during public sessions assigned to a proposed planning scheme. 382 B’Tselem, A Policy of Discrimination, Land Expropriation, Planning and Building in East Jerusalem, 52. 383 On May 5, 2009, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat submitted his comments on the Jerusalem Master Plan 2000 to the District Planning and Building Committee, ahead of its deposit for public review. The Plan is not yet approved by all relevant bodies, but it guides planning policy in the city. 384 By 2009, more than 60,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem were at risk of home demolition due to unauthorized construction. Overcrowding is nearly double that of West Jerusalem. See: OCHA, The Planning Crisis in East Jerusalem, 12. 385 Planning and Building Law 5725-1965, para. 62(a)‘In the case of a local planning area for which a Local Outline Scheme does not exist, the Local Commission shall prepare such a Scheme and shall submit it to the District Commission for deposit within three years from the date of the coming into force of this Law or from the date of the coming into force of the planning order declaring the area, whichever is the later date.’ 386 Plans submitted for Jewish-Israeli neighborhoods take one year for approval on average. See: The Civic Coalition for Defending Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem, Aggressive Urbanism, 22.