In March 2020, the Palestinian Authority publicized a comprehensive position paper titled, “SDSF 2030,” with SDSF standing for Special Development Strategic Framework.
You’ll notice that the name “Jerusalem” is not part of the acronym, even though the core of the program is the PA’s vision for Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian State.
But despite the glaring omission, it is clear from the maps that accompany the paper that the purpose of the planners was to expel the Jewish residents of Jerusalem: according to the SDSF 2030 maps, the Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem would by circled on three sides by new Arab neighborhoods whose main aim is to choke them, making life there intolerable for Jews.
The Palestinian Authority has been working for about four years to make Jerusalem the capital of the Palestinian state by 2030. the PA’s plan includes canceling parts of the Oslo Accords, establishing Palestinian police stations in the capital Jerusalem, a separate municipal establishment, massive construction, and even ambitions regarding the resources of the Dead Sea.
The plan, costing about a billion dollars, is supported by the UN and the European Union. “There is a need to move from reaction to initiative, to create facts on the ground,” SDSF 2030 says. According to the PA’s vision, it is expected to be completed by 2030. At the cost of $952 million, its goal is to make “Jerusalem the capital of the State of Palestine and its main heart and main volume.”
In the early years of SDSF 2030, it wasn’t clear where the funding––close to a billion dollars––would come from. Later on, according to a recent Jerusalem Institute for Applied Policy (JCAP) report, in late 2024, four years into the program, it became clear that at least $376 million invested in the program were missing.
Dr. Rami Nasrallah, Director International Peace and Cooporation Center #EastJerusalem continues the discussion on by sharing the #COVIDー19 situation in #WestBank and #Gaza highlighting the issues of sovereignty and control #PostCOVID19UrbanFutures pic.twitter.com/L6pUoYDGvF
— The Bartlett Development Planning Unit (DPU) (@dpu_ucl) May 5, 2020
Dr. Rami Nasrallah, an Israeli citizen and the Founder and Chairman of The International Peace and Cooperation Center (IPCC) in Jerusalem, is suspected of embezzling millions that were allocated to SDSF 2030, according to the JCAP report. There are reportedly additional suspicions of alleged financial irregularities on Dr. Nasrallah’s part. Suffice it to say that being unable to locate the money, SDSF 2030 has not been able to get off the ground.
The suspicions against Dr. Nasrallah are in addition to various other financial irregularities which were know as early as 2022. And, naturally, his alleged embezzlements prevented SDSF 2030 from taking off.
Individuals affiliated with the program have surmised that Dr. Nasrallah, who opened a Ramallah office for his IPCC, took out loans from construction firms who were promised a share in the future contracts to build SDSF 2030. Allegedly, the loans have not been repaid and Nasrallah’s Ramallah office was shut down under a criminal investigation by the PA.
As JCAP put it: Israel did not even have to do anything to bury the 2030 program – the PA elements involved did Israel’s work by misappropriating its funds.
