Abu Dis, an Unlikely Capital for a Future Palestinian State

An abandoned Palestinian parliament building is seen in a general view picture of the Palestinian town of Abu Dis in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, east of Jerusalem January 29, 2020. (Reuters)
An abandoned Palestinian parliament building is seen in a general view picture of the Palestinian town of Abu Dis in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, east of Jerusalem January 29, 2020. (Reuters)
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Abu Dis, an Unlikely Capital for a Future Palestinian State

An abandoned Palestinian parliament building is seen in a general view picture of the Palestinian town of Abu Dis in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, east of Jerusalem January 29, 2020. (Reuters)
An abandoned Palestinian parliament building is seen in a general view picture of the Palestinian town of Abu Dis in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, east of Jerusalem January 29, 2020. (Reuters)

Abu Dis, the town earmarked for the Palestinian capital in US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, lies a short distance to the east of Jerusalem’s walled Old City.

A relatively featureless urban sprawl on the old road to Jericho, it has little of the religious or cultural resonance of the historic city center, which contains sites sacred to the three great monotheistic faiths: Islam, Christianity and Judaism, said Reuters.

Abu Dis belongs to the Palestinian governorate of Jerusalem but is just outside the Israeli municipal city limits set by Israel after it captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in 1967, later annexing it in a move not recognized by most of the international community.

What the neighborhood does have is a large shuttered building that was constructed in an earlier, more hopeful era to be a site for the parliament of the Palestinian Authority.

That hall now lies abandoned and disused after the breakdown of the Oslo peace process and the outbreak of the second Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, two decades ago.

Since then, Palestinians in Abu Dis have been cut off from Jerusalem neighborhoods to the west by a high concrete wall that Israel built to stop suicide bombers and gunmen entering the city.

Students at a nearby university have used the wall as a backdrop to project movies during warm summer nights when they sit outside.

The White House document accompanying the US plan’s release said the barrier should “serve as a border between the capitals of the two parties.”

It said Jerusalem should “remain the sovereign capital of the State of Israel, and it should remain an undivided city.”

It continued: “The sovereign capital of the State of Palestine should be in the section of East Jerusalem located in all areas east and north of the existing security barrier, including Kafr Aqab, the eastern part of Shuafat and Abu Dis, and could be named Al Quds or another name as determined by the State of Palestine.”

Holy sites

That would leave within Israel’s control the hill at the heart of the Old City known Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, or The Noble Sanctuary, and to Jews as Har ha-Bayit, or Temple Mount.

Atop the plateau are two imposing Muslim holy places, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was built in the 8th century. Muslims regard the site as the third holiest in Islam, after Makkah and Madinah.

It is this compound that Palestinians seek as part of the capital of a future state and to which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was referring when he said it was “impossible for any Palestinian, Arab, Muslim or Christian child to accept” a state without Jerusalem.

The holiest place in Judaism, it was home to the Jewish temples of antiquity and its restraining wall built by Herod the Great - known as the Western Wall - is a sacred place of prayer for Jews.

The day after the Trump plan identified Abu Dis as a potential capital, residents were scornful of the notion.

Mohammed Faroun, an Abu Dis resident, said: “The capital of Palestine is Jerusalem.”

Another resident, who declined to give his name, said: “Trump, or whoever else, are not welcome. Jerusalem tells its own story, every stone tells about its history. It was never Israeli or American, it is Palestinian, Islamic and Arab.”



What is Israel's Multi-layered Defense against Iranian Missiles?

Israel's Iron Dome air defense system intercepts ballistic missiles fired from Iran over the city of Tel Aviv, Israel, 15 June 2025. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
Israel's Iron Dome air defense system intercepts ballistic missiles fired from Iran over the city of Tel Aviv, Israel, 15 June 2025. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
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What is Israel's Multi-layered Defense against Iranian Missiles?

Israel's Iron Dome air defense system intercepts ballistic missiles fired from Iran over the city of Tel Aviv, Israel, 15 June 2025. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
Israel's Iron Dome air defense system intercepts ballistic missiles fired from Iran over the city of Tel Aviv, Israel, 15 June 2025. EPA/ATEF SAFADI

Israel has multi-layered air defenses against attacks by Iran, which has fired hundreds of ballistic missiles and suicide drones at Israel over the past two days as the Middle East rivals traded heavy blows.
Israel has been honing its air defenses since coming under Iraqi Scud salvoes in the 1991 War, in addition to receiving support from the US, which has provided its ally with advanced anti-missile equipment.
An Israeli military official said on Saturday that the defensive umbrella had an "80 or 90% success rate", but emphasized that no system is 100% perfect, meaning that some Iranian missiles were breaking through the shield.
Here are details of Israel's missile defenses:
ARROW
The long-range Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 interceptors, developed by Israel with an Iranian missile threat in mind, are designed to engage incoming targets both in and outside the atmosphere respectively. They operate at an altitude that allows for safe dispersal of any non-conventional warheads.
State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries is the project's main contractor while Boeing is involved in producing the interceptors.
DAVID'S SLING
The mid-range David's Sling system is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles fired from 100 km to 200 km (62-124 miles) away.
Developed and manufactured jointly by Israel's state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and RTX Corp, a US company previously known as Raytheon, David's Sling is also designed to intercept aircraft, drones and cruise missiles.
IRON DOME
The short-range Iron Dome air defense system was built to intercept the kind of rockets fired by Palestinian movement Hamas in Gaza.
Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with US backing, it became operational in 2011. Each truck-towed unit fires radar-guided missiles to blow up short-range threats such as rockets, mortars and drones in mid-air.
A naval version of the Iron Dome, to protect ships and sea-based assets, was deployed in 2017.
The system determines whether a rocket is on course to hit a populated area. If not, the rocket is ignored and allowed to land harmlessly.
Iron Dome was originally billed as providing city coverage against rockets with ranges of between 4 km and 70 km (2.5-43 miles), but experts say this has since been expanded.
US THAAD SYSTEM
The US military said last October that it had sent the advanced anti-missile system THAAD, or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, to Israel.
THAAD is a critical part of the US military's air defenses and is designed to intercept and destroy short, medium and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats in their terminal phase of flight.
The US military helped to shoot down Iranian missiles fired at Israel on Friday, using ground-based systems, one US official said. A US Navy destroyer in the Eastern Mediterranean also helped to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles, Israeli media has reported.
AIR-TO-AIR DEFENSE
Israeli combat helicopters and fighter jets have fired air-to-air missiles to destroy drones that were heading to Israel, military officials have said.
Jordan’s air force also intercepted missiles and drones entering its airspace Friday, its state news agency said.