Video

David Harris (TML): If ever the Israelis and Palestinians reach a final peace deal, there could well be that that side of this street would be Palestine and that would be Israel. Ahead of the Annapolis peace talks the municipality of Jerusalem tried to create facts on the ground. Uri Lupolianski (Mayor, Jerusalem): The Marshall Plan for the center in Eastern Jerusalem includes building of housing, schools, gardens, buildings for public use and hotel. Jerusalem is the heart of the state of Israel and the heart of the Jewish nation. And the state of Israel cannot exist while its heart is divided. David Harris (TML): The view there, from Jerusalem city hall. But not everyone is happy with the proposal or its timing. Nir Barkat (Opposition Leader, Jerusalem): Four and a-half years nothing has been done in East Jerusalem by the municipality and the Mayor. There's no affirmation from the government for this. Nothing has been done to strengthen the city of Jerusalem by this Mayor. Saman Khoury (P.A. Peace and Democracy Forum): I think it has to do with the Annapolis meeting. Internal Israeli politics is playing again here a role in affecting the outcome of the Israeli official position. David Harris (TML): The views of officials are there. But what are the thoughts of the people on both sides of the divide? Woman 1: Hopefully they would do something for our children, for our people, for people who don't have anything to live for. Woman 2: I think they should do it for them, for the Palestinians. They deserve it. Man 1: Anyone can notice the big difference between the two parts of Jerusalem, the east and the west side. They took care of everything there and they have neglected everything here. Woman 3: They need their garbage to be picked up. They need their homes properly maintained with the proper building permits and the streets paved. This exactly what the municipality should provide for them. I think it’s a good thing. It's about time. Man 2: It for us. No problem. We except it. Woman 4: I hope he will do it. I hope he is honest. Man 3: We don’t want them to stay here. We prefer to live in poverty and to stay under the Israeli rule. Man 4: That we see Jews, Muslims, Christians and all people able to live here; and that Jerusalem be the capital of the Jewish state, if not also the capital of a Palestinian state. David Harris (TML): But of course all of this for the time being is simply conjecture because the two sides have yet to begin serious discussions on the fate of Jerusalem. This is David Harris for The Media Line in Jerusalem.