Status of Jerusalem

The status of Jerusalem has been described as "one of the most intractable issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict" due to the long-running territorial dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, both of which claim it as their capital city. Part of this issue of sovereignty is tied to concerns over access to holy sites in the Abrahamic religions; the current religious environment in Jerusalem is upheld by the "Status Quo" of the former Ottoman Empire.[1][2] As the Israeli–Palestinian peace process has primarily navigated the option of a two-state solution, one of the largest points of contention has been East Jerusalem, which was part of the Jordanian-annexed West Bank until the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967.

The United Nations recognizes East Jerusalem (and the West Bank as a whole) as the territory for an independent Palestinian state, thus rejecting Israel's claim to that half of the city. However, there is broader consensus among the international community with regard to West Jerusalem being Israel's capital city, as it falls within Israel's sovereign territory (per the Green Line) and has been recognized as under Israeli control since the 1949 Armistice Agreements.[1]

Most countries and organizations support that West Jerusalem and East Jerusalem should be allocated as capital cities to the Israelis and the Palestinians, respectively;[3] this position has been endorsed by the United Nations,[4][5] the European Union,[6][7] and France, among others.[8] Russia, which is a member of the Middle East Quartet, already recognizes East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital and West Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.[9]

The majority of United Nations member states hold the view that the city's final status should be resolved through negotiations and have therefore favoured locating their embassies to Israel in Tel Aviv, pending a final status agreement. Five countries have embassies to Israel in Jerusalem: the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, and the disputed Republic of Kosovo.[10][11]

  1. ^ a b Moshe Hirsch, Deborah Housen-Couriel, Ruth Lapidoth. Whither Jerusalem?: Proposals and Positions Concerning the future of Jerusalem, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1995. pg. 15. ISBN 978-90-411-0077-1.
  2. ^ Leigh Phillips (19 November 2009). "EU rebukes Israel for Jerusalem settlement expansion". EUObserver. "The issue of Jerusalem is one of the most intractable issues in the Israel-Palestine conflict. While both Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital, most countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv while the occupied territories are administered by the Palestinian Authority in the town of Ramallah."
  3. ^ Sherwood, Harriet (30 January 2014). "Israel-Palestinian peace talks: the key issues". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 December 2017. Both Israel and the future state of Palestine want Jerusalem as their capital. ... The international consensus is that Jerusalem would have to be the shared capital of both states.
  4. ^ A/RES/67/19 of 4 December 2012. United Nations General Assembly. The General Assembly emphasized "the need for a way to be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the capital of two States".
  5. ^ "Jerusalem must be capital of both Israel and Palestine, Ban says". UN News Centre. 28 October 2009.
  6. ^ 2012/2694(RSP) – 05/07/2012 Text adopted by Parliament, single reading. European Parliament. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014.
  7. ^ Leigh Phillips (19 November 2009). "EU rebukes Israel for Jerusalem settlement expansion". EUObserver. Quoting a statement by the European Union: "If there is to be genuine peace, a way must be found to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states."
  8. ^ Jerusalem's status: the statement made by the Israeli Prime Minister is detrimental to the final status negotiations Archived 1 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine, French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, (21 May 2009)
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference rus88 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference png-embassy-opened was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Israel authorizes Slovakian embassy branch in Jerusalem". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 10 September 2021.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · View on Wikipedia

Developed by Nelliwinne