In the majority of the apartments and residential buildings in East Jerusalem neighborhoods, there are no safe rooms or shelters. These neighborhoods also lack public shelters (except for one public shelter in Shuafat, which is also temporarily inactive). The few places where residents can find protection during missile attacks are a limited number of schools in several neighborhoods, which have been opened to the public.
On October 11, 2023, we petitioned (Hebrew) the Mayor of Jerusalem, together with the "Bimkom" association, requesting immediate action to establish protected spaces in the neighborhoods of East Jerusalem. This could include opening safe rooms in educational institutions and public buildings with shelters or by implementing any other solution that would provide protection for the Palestinian residents of the city. In our communication, Attorney Tal Hasin stated that the current situation exposes the residents to missile damage, significantly infringing on their right to life, bodily integrity, and equality.