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Israel Improving Services for Jerusalem Arabs
(Ha'aretz) Nir Hasson - Changes are taking place in relations between Jerusalem's 360,000 Palestinian residents and the Israeli authorities. The penetration of Israeli government authorities into Palestinian neighborhoods is having a powerful effect on daily life, and is altering the entrenched order and the worldviews of Jewish Israelis and Palestinians alike. A new master plan was approved for the village of Isawiya, new schools are being built in other neighborhoods, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is teeming with Palestinian students, and the sanitation situation has improved. In the Beit Hanina neighborhood, the magnificent, well-equipped Alpha School has been built, boasting computer and laboratory facilities, which will teach the Israeli curriculum. A new public park has been built opposite Herod's Gate in the Old City, and in many places pirate garbage dumps and the smoke that arose from them have disappeared. Locals can use the Rav-Kav smart card on public transportation in eastern Jerusalem, signs with street names are proliferating, and there has been an increase in the number of playgrounds in the eastern neighborhoods.