Jerusalem - is the capital of Israel, though
not internationally recognized as such. If the area and
population of East Jerusalem is included, it is Israel's largest
city in both population and area, with a population of 763,800
residents over an area of 125.1 km2 (48.3 sq mi). Located in the
Judean Mountains, between the Mediterranean Sea and the northern
edge of the Dead Sea, modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the
boundaries of the Old City.
Jerusalem is a holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions
- Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In Judaism, Jerusalem has
been the holiest city since, according to the Biblical Old
Testament, King David of Israel first established it as the
capital of the united Kingdom of Israel in c. 1000 BCE, and his
son Solomon commissioned the building of the First Temple in the
city. In Christianity, Jerusalem has been a holy city since,
according to the New Testament, Jesus was crucified in c. 30 CE,
and 300 years later Saint Helena identified the pilgrimage sites
of Jesus' life. In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest
city. It became the first Qibla, the focal point for Muslim
prayer (Salah) in 610 CE, and, according to Islamic tradition,
Muhammad made his Night Journey there ten years later. As a
result, and despite having an area of only 0.9 square kilometres
(0.35 sq mi), the Old City is home to sites of key religious
importance, among them the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa
Mosque.
During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice,
besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and
recaptured 44 times. The oldest part of the city was settled in
the 4th millennium BCE, making Jerusalem one of the oldest
cities in the world. The old walled city, a World Heritage site,
has been traditionally divided into four quarters, although the
names used today—the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim
Quarters—were introduced in the early 19th century. The Old City
was nominated for inclusion on the List of World Heritage in
Danger by Jordan in 1982.
Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in
the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli
War, West Jerusalem was among the areas captured and later
annexed by Israel, while East Jerusalem was captured by Jordan.
Israel captured East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War and
subsequently annexed it. Currently, Israel's Basic Law refers to
Jerusalem as the country's "undivided capital". The
international community has rejected the annexation as illegal
and treats East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory held by
Israel under military occupation. The international community
does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and the city
hosts no foreign embassies.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics,
208,000 Palestinians live in East Jerusalem, which is sought by
the Palestinian Authority as a future capital of a future
Palestinian state. All branches of the Israeli government are
located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's
parliament), the residences of the Prime Minister and President,
and the Supreme Court. Jerusalem is home to the Hebrew
University and to the Israel Museum with its Shrine of the Book.
The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo has ranked consistently as Israel's
top tourist attraction for Israelis. |