East Jerusalem
Basic Information
- Type
- City
- Governorate
- Jerusalem
- Region
- Jerusalem
Overview
East Jerusalem is the Palestinian political, cultural, and religious capital of Palestine. It comprises the eastern portion of Jerusalem that was under Jordanian administration from 1948 to 1967, then occupied by Israel in the June 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently illegally annexed. The area includes the Old City with the Haram al-Sharif (Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock), the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the surrounding Palestinian neighborhoods that have been inhabited by Palestinians for centuries. Following the 1967 occupation, Israel unilaterally expanded Jerusalem's municipal boundaries from the Jordanian-era 6 km² to approximately 70 km², incorporating 28 Palestinian villages and towns into a newly defined 'unified Jerusalem.' Israel's 1980 'Jerusalem Law' declared the unified city as Israel's capital — a move unanimously rejected by the UN Security Council in Resolution 478. No country recognizes Israel's sovereignty over East Jerusalem. Under international law, East Jerusalem remains occupied Palestinian territory to which the Fourth Geneva Convention applies.
Historical Significance
East Jerusalem contains the Old City, one of the most contested and significant urban spaces in the world. The Haram al-Sharif with Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock represents the third holiest site in Islam and the premier sacred site in Palestine. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is Christianity's holiest site. The city has been the designated capital of the State of Palestine since 1988. Its status remains one of the core 'final status' issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel's policies of settlement construction, demographic engineering, residency revocation, and territorial fragmentation have been widely condemned by the international community as violations of international law.
Sources and record limitations
Source detail varies by record. Some entries include document and page references; others supply source names only. Check the cited material and the record's limitations before relying on a specific claim.
- Ir Amim — Israeli NGO monitoring Jerusalem policy
- B'Tselem — Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
- UN OCHA — United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- ARIJ — Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem
- PCBS — Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
- Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- UN Security Council Resolution 478 (1980)
- International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the Wall (2004)
- BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights
- UNRWA — United Nations Relief and Works Agency
- Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI)
East Jerusalem is the Palestinian political, cultural, and religious capital. All references to Israeli sovereignty or annexation should be understood as not recognized under international law. The city remains occupied Palestinian territory to which the Fourth Geneva Convention fully applies.