Is East Jerusalem safe?
Palestine · Asia · data updated 2026-09-04
East Jerusalem is a city in Palestine, home to about 1.1M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,390 of 6,168, with a safety score of 60.5 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.
Emergency Ambulance 101 · Fire 102 · Police 100
- Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 41,568 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (3,161 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
- US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Palestine, updated 2026-08-25.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country9 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza city471 deaths · 1 event
- Gaza governorate388 deaths · 30 events
- Rave party near kibbutz reim Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Reim366 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of East Jerusalem, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Gaza
- Areas near Gaza
- The West Bank
- Northern Israel and Occupied Golan Heights
- Tulkarm Governorate, Jenin Governorate, and Tubas Governorate except Route 90
- Areas north of Route 89 between Nahariyya and Dalton; north of a straight eastward line from Dalton to Route 91; and north of Route 91 across the Golan Heights, excluding routes 89 and 91 themselves
- Within 500m of the Area of Separation in the occupied Golan Heights (the ‘Alpha line’). Do not attempt to enter the occupied Golan Heights through Syria
- Sheba’a Farms and Ghajja
- West Bank
Named in the official UK travel advice for Palestine (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from East Jerusalem.
How safe is East Jerusalem really?
No published homicide figure exists for East Jerusalem itself, so the national rate stands in: Palestine recorded 0.3 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - well below the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Palestine's income inequality is middling (Gini 36.4) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
Crime statistics are not the main story here: the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 41,568 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of East Jerusalem across 3,161 events in 2022-2024. That is active-conflict territory, and ordinary crime figures say nothing about it. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza city (471 deaths), Gaza governorate (388 deaths), Rave party near kibbutz reim Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Reim (366 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Palestine at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2026-08-25). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 9 specific areas - listed above with the official advisory linked for exact boundaries and exceptions. Both advisories are country-level: no official source publishes verified neighborhood-level crime guidance for individual cities, which is why this page reports named areas only where an official source names them.
What to watch out for in Palestine
Conflict between Lebanese Hizballah and Israel · Conflict between Iran and Israel · Conflict between the Houthis (in Yemen) and Israel · Conflict in Israel and Palestine · Terrorism in Israel and Palestine · Terrorist kidnap · Political situation · Demonstrations and armed clashes · Refugee camps · Settlements · Protecting your belongings · Personal ID · Dress code · Ramadan · +11 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Palestine — country-level, not specific to East Jerusalem. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 0.3 /100knational rate, 2024
- Conflict deaths
- 41,568within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 36.4country, 2023
- Human development
- HDI 0.674country, 2023
- Income
- $5,310/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 1.1Murban centre · 6,075/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 5.3 /100kWHO, 2016 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 34/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 40/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- no dataTransparency International · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 6.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.47Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 22.4 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 81%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 2.2 doctors /1k1.3 hospital beds per 1,000
Natural hazards in Palestine
- Earthquake
- 4.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 1.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Palestine as a whole, not East Jerusalem specifically.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Palestine; none of them affect the safety score.
How the score works
One fixed, calibrated mix for every city: 40% homicide · 25% peace · 25% equality · 10% HDI. Homicide and conflict deaths are measured outcomes; income inequality carries the structural share because it predicts real city violence far better than national income (which is shown above but scored at zero). Each factor maps to 0-100 against fixed anchors, missing data drops out and is never estimated, and cities with data behind less than half the weighting get “no data” instead of a score. For East Jerusalem that gives 60.5/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
East Jerusalem compared with Jerusalem
| Measure | East Jerusalem | Jerusalem | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 60.5 | 43.5 | +17.0 — better for East Jerusalem |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 0.3 /100k | 3.7 /100k | −3.5 /100k — better for East Jerusalem |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 41,568 | 45,109 | −3,541 — better for East Jerusalem |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 36.4 | 38.3 | −1.9 — better for East Jerusalem |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.674 | 0.919 | −0.245 — better for Jerusalem |
| Road deaths | 5.3 /100k | 3.9 /100k | +1.4 /100k — better for Jerusalem |
| Rule of law | 40/100 | 67/100 | −27/100 — better for Jerusalem |
| Corruption perceptions | no data | 62/100 | — |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 22.4 µg/m³ | 21.9 µg/m³ | +0.5 µg/m³ — better for Jerusalem |
| Natural-hazard risk | 6.5/10 | 3.3/10 | +3.2/10 — better for Jerusalem |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Country-level rows describe the two countries, not the cities themselves. Full report for Jerusalem →
Nearby cities
- Jerusalem, Israel 43.5
- Modiin-Maccabim-Reut, Israel 43.5
- Hebron 52.9
- Rehovot, Israel 43.5
- Rosh HaAyin, Israel 43.5
- Nablus 66.2
- Tel Aviv, Israel 43.5
- Al Salt, Jordan 59.6
See East Jerusalem on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Asia → · Full travel briefings →