Muammar Awad/guoyu/Xinhua News Agency/PA images. All rights reserved Since Israel formalised its annexation of East Jerusalem when it passed the Jerusalem Law in 1980, Palestinians have been enduring numerous repercussions that rendered their mere existence difficult. Their fundamental human rights have been compromised, and their sense of national identity has been relentlessly challenged. And although Israel considers Jerusalem to be unified, Palestinians in East Jerusalem do not feel they are part of the Israeli cohort, and never will be.
At many occasions, Palestinians voice their disapproval against the actions of the Israeli government, to which, they are faced with strict responses. House demolitions have increased in East Jerusalem, residency statuses have been revoked, and more stringent security measures have been exercised to suffocate the nationalism out of East Jerusalemites. And while one could see many youngsters retaliating when the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) upsurges its oppression in East Jerusalem, many others refrain from participating in any form of protesting on the streets or even on their social media accounts. It would be fair to say that Israel has been quite successful in desensitizing the sense of “Palestinian-ess” in the mind-set of the newer generation thus dramatically decreasing the number of activists in East Jerusalem.
Being an activist requires one to adopt a particular lifestyle that dictates their day-to-day activities, socializing sessions, and online presence. Being an activist who supports the Palestinian case and cause, demands one to fulfil the criteria mentioned above clandestinely, especially if they were residing in Jerusalem.
