Jaffa Gate Crossing Facilities

The Old City of Jerusalem is perhaps the most contentious issue in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and it will certainly be a cornerstone in any future solution of the conflict. Its sovereignty, administration, and control are questions of great dispute, and its holy sites resonate powerfully in the hearts and minds of Muslims, Jews, and Christians around the world. The Old City is a small, densely overcrowded and poor urban area, as well as the home to different religions, nationalities, cultures, and politics. This chapter analyses the question of movement into and out of the Old City, aiming to propose an efficient yet secure and spatially respectful scheme of operation and design of facilities. It focuses on planning and design tools to help envision the concept of the special regime. The chapter presents a Jaffa Gate case study that delineates a possible implementation of the security and spatial guidelines for an entering and exiting crossing facility.