Positions on Jerusalem
Encyclopedia
There are differing legal and diplomatic positions on Jerusalem held within the international community. Governments and scholars alike are divided over the legal status of Jerusalem under international law
. Most countries of the world do not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Many do not recognize it as a city that is properly Israel's. Many UN member states formally adhere to the United Nations proposal that Jerusalem should have an international status.
The chief dispute revolves around Israel
’s control of East Jerusalem
, while broader agreement exists regarding the Israeli presence in West Jerusalem
. De jure
, the majority of UN member states and most international organisations do not recognise Israel's control of East Jerusalem which occurred after the 1967 Six Day War, nor its 1980 Jerusalem Law
proclamation, which declared a "complete and united" Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. As a result, foreign embassies are generally located in Tel Aviv
and its suburbs, or suburbs of Jerusalem such as Mevaseret Zion
.
Jerusalem is a contentious issue in final status peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority
, which claims Jerusalem as Al Quds, the capital of a future Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has stated that “Jerusalem belongs to the Jewish people and will remain under Israeli sovereignty for eternity.”
Other organizations and communities advocate Jerusalem should be an international city.
and since 1830, it has had a Jewish majority. The 19th-century saw European countries vying for influence in the city, with some extending their protection over various Christian churches and Holy Places. A number of them also established consulates in Jerusalem. In 1917, following the First World War, Great Britain took control of Jerusalem. The principal Allied Powers
recognized the unique spiritual and religious interests in Jerusalem among the world's three great monotheistic religions
as "a sacred trust of civilization", and stipulated that the existing rights and claims connected with it be safeguarded in perpetuity, under international guarantee.
Preceding the termination of the British Mandate of Palestine in May 1948, Great Britain requested that the United Nations General Assembly
solve the territorial dispute between Arabs and Jews regarding Palestine. In November 1947 it adopted Resolution 181, which called for the partition of Palestine into an Arab and Jewish state, with Jerusalem being established as a corpus separatum, or a "separated body" with a special legal and political status, administered by the United Nations and separate from both states named in the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. Jewish representatives accepted the plan on the assumption that the Arabs would do likewise. However, the representatives of the Palestinian Arabs and the Arab states rejected the plan, claiming it was illegal.
With the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948 and the subsequent invasion by surrounding Arab states, the UN proposal for Jerusalem never materialised. The 1949 Armistice Agreements
left Jordan
in control of the eastern parts of the city, while the western sector was held by Israel. Each side recognised the other's de facto
control of their respective sectors. The Armistice Agreement, however, was considered internationally as having no legal effect on the continued validity of the provisions of the partition resolution for the internationalisation of Jerusalem. Soon after Israel declared that Jerusalem was an inseparable part of the State of Israel and its eternal capital. In 1950 Jordan annexed eastern Jerusalem. Foreign states did not recognise Jordanian or Israeli rule over the respective areas of the city under their control.
recommends that Jerusalem be placed under a special international regime
, a corpus separatum, but envisions the city eventually becoming the capital of two states, Israel and Palestine.
The UNGA has stated that the international community, through the United Nations has a legitimate interest, regarding the protection of Jerusalem's unique spiritual, religious and cultural dimensions. Its position on the question of Jerusalem is based upon General Assembly resolution 181
(II) November 29, 1947, which provides for the full territorial internationalisation of Jerusalem: "The City of Jerusalem shall be established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime and shall be administered by the United Nations." This position was restated in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War in UN General Assembly Resolution 303(IV) of 1949. According to a 1979 report prepared for and under the guidance of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, it would appear that the UN has maintained that until the final status of the city is agreed by the parties involved, the legal status of the city remains a corpus separatum.
The United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA) does not recognise Israel's proclamation of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which is, for example, reflected in the wording of General Assembly Resolution 63/30 of 2009 which states that "any actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem are illegal and therefore null and void and have no validity whatsoever, and calls upon Israel to cease all such illegal and unilateral measures."
A total of six UN Security Council resolutions on Israel have denounced or declared invalid Israel's control of the city, including UNSC resolution 478 which affirmed that the enactment of the 1980 Basic
Jerusalem Law
declaring unified Jerusalem as Israel's "eternal and indivisible" capital, was a violation of international law. The resolution advised member states to withdraw their diplomatic representation from the city.
Israel annexed East Jerusalem and declared the united city its capital. Most Israeli governments rejected calls to divide Jerusalem and proclaimed that it would remain united under Israeli sovereignty, though some Israeli governments were willing to discuss a division of the city. Israel has also suggested that the future capital of a Palestinian state should be in the Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis
.
Israel claims it acquired sovereignty over the western part of the city in 1948. Upon the departure of Britain, the area remained without a sovereign and during the war, Israel took control of it by a lawful act of self-defence. Following the 1967 Six Day War, Israel extended its jurisdiction and administration over eastern Jerusalem, establishing new municipal borders. It also ensured protection and freedom of access to the holy sites of the city. Although at the time Israel informed the UN that its actions had not constituted annexation
but rather administrative and municipal integration, later rulings by the Israeli Supreme Court
indicated that the eastern sector had become part of Israel. Israel was of the view that since Jordan had taken the eastern part of the city by an act of aggression in 1948, it never acquired sovereignty, and since Israel conquered it in 1967 during a war of self-defence, it had the stronger right to the land.
In July 1980, the Knesset
passed the Jerusalem Law
as part of the country's Basic Law
. The law declared Jerusalem the unified capital of Israel.
The Knesset
together with the presidential, legislative, judicial and administrative offices are all located within the city.
In November 2010, the Knesset passed a law which requires approval in a public referendum and the votes of at least 60 Knesset members before any withdrawal from East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights.
Israel believes that there is no basis in international law
for the position supporting a status of corpus separatum
for the city of Jerusalem. Israel holds that it was a non-binding proposal which never materialised, having become irrelevant when the Arab states rejected United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 and invaded the fledgling State of Israel. Neither has there ever been any agreement, treaty, or international understanding which applies the corpus separatum concept to Jerusalem.
Positions on the future status Jerusalem have varied with different Israeli governments. Despite having signed the Oslo Accords
which declared that the future status of Jerusalem would be negotiated, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
declared that he would never divide the city. In 1995, he told a group of schoolchildren that "if they told us peace is the price of giving up a united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, my reply would be 'let's do without peace'". This position was upheld by his successor, Benjamin Netanyahu
. Netanyahu's successor, Ehud Barak
, became the first Israeli Prime Minister to agree to the division of Jerusalem despite his campaign promises. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
vowed to keep Jerusalem the "undivided, eternal capital of the Jewish people", while his successor Ehud Olmert
supported the detachtment of several Arab neighborhoods from Israeli sovereignty and the introduction of an internation trust to run the Temple Mount
. When Netanyahu succeeded Olmert, he declared that Jerusalem would remain Israel's undivided and eternal capital, but that the city would be open to those of all faiths.
views East Jerusalem as occupied territory according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 242
. The Palestinian Authority claims all of East Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount
, as the capital of the State of Palestine
, and claims that West Jerusalem is also subject to permanent status negotiations. However, it has stated that it would be willing to consider alternative solutions, such as making Jerusalem an open city
. The official position of the PNA is that Jerusalem should be an open city, with no physical partition and that Palestine would guarantee freedom of worship, access and the protection of sites of religious significance.
currently adopts the corpus separatum
plan for the entire city of Jerusalem as outlined in United Nations Resolution 181. However, in the interest of achieving a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, it believes a fair solution should be found regarding the issue of Jerusalem in the context of the two-state solution set out in the Road Map
. Taking into account the political and religious concerns of all parties involved, it envisions the city serving as the shared capital of Israel
and Palestine
.
The EU opposes measures which would prejudge the outcome of permanent status negotiations on Jerusalem, basing its policy on the principles set out in UN Security Council Resolution 242, notably the impossibility of acquisition of territory by force. It will not recognise any changes to pre-1967 borders with regard to Jerusalem, unless agreed between the parties. It has also called for the reopening of Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem, in accordance with the Road Map, in particular Orient House
and the Chamber of Commerce, and has called on the Israeli government to cease all discriminatory treatment of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, especially concerning work permits, access to education and health services, building permits, house demolitions, taxation and expenditure."
views as desirable the establishing of an international regime for the city and is against Israeli settlement construction in East Jerusalem. On March 2010 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: "Israel's plans to continue the construction activities were unacceptable and could hamper the reconciliation process". In January 2011, reaffirming Russia's recognition of the State of Palestine
, president Medvedev said Russia "supported and will support the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to an independent state with its capital in East Jerusalem
."
views as desirable the establishing of an international regime for the city. Its final status must be resolved through negotiations and it does not recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
United States
policy on Jerusalem refers specifically to the geographic boundaries of the "City of Jerusalem" based on the UN's corpus separatum
proposal. De jure
, Jerusalem is part of the Palestine Mandate and has not been under sovereignty of any country since. President Bush
(1989–1993) stated that the United States does not believe new settlements should be built in East Jerusalem and that it does not want to see Jerusalem "divided". In a speech in June 2008, then-presidential-candidate Barack Obama
said "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." The Obama administration has condemned expansion of Gilo
and Ramat Shlomo
as well as evictions and house demolitions affecting Palestinians living in East Jerusalem.
The United States voted for the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in November 1947 and United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 in December 1948 following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War but voted against Resolution 303 in December 1949 that reaffirmed that Jerusalem be established a corpus separatum under a special international regime to be administered by the United Nations because the U.S. regarded the plan as no longer feasible after both Israel and Jordan had established a political presence in the city. The U.S. opposed Israel’s moving its capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem following Israel's declaration of Jerusalem as its capital in 1949 and opposed Jordan’s plan to make Jerusalem its second capital announced in 1950. The U.S. opposed Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem after the 1967 war. The United States maintains a consulate in Jerusalem that deals primarily with the Palestinian Authority, while relations with the Israeli government are handled from the U.S. embassy
in Tel Aviv. The U.S. consulate is not accredited to the Israeli government. The United States has proposed that the future of Jerusalem should be the subject of a negotiated settlement. Subsequent administrations have maintained the same policy that Jerusalem’s future not be the subject of unilateral actions that could prejudice negotiations such as moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In 2002, Congress passed legislation that said that American citizens born in Jerusalem may list "Israel" as their country of birth, although Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have not allowed it.
, Jerusalem was supposed to be a corpus separatum
, or international city administered by the UN. This was never set up: immediately after the UNGA resolution partitioning Palestine, Israel occupied West Jerusalem. Jordan occupied East Jerusalem (including the Old City). The UK recognised the de facto control of Israel and Jordan, but not sovereignty. In 1967, Israel captured East Jerusalem, which the UK considers a military occupation and regards Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem as illegal, under the terms of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The UK Embassy to Israel is in Tel Aviv, not Jerusalem. In East Jerusalem there is a Consulate-General, with a Consul-General who is not accredited to any state: this is an expression of the view that no state has sovereignty over Jerusalem.
The UK believes that the city’s status has yet to be determined, and maintains that it should be settled in an overall agreement between the parties concerned, but considers that the city should not again be divided. The Declaration of Principles and the Interim Agreement, signed by Israel and the PLO on 13 September 1993 and 28 September 1995 respectively, left the issue of the status of Jerusalem to be decided in the ‘permanent status’ negotiations between the two parties.
has expressed the position that Jerusalem should become an international city
, either under the United Nations
or a related organization. Pope Pius XII was the among the first to make such a proposal in the 1949 encyclical Redemptoris Nostri Cruciatus
. This idea was later re-proposed during the papacies of John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II.
, Chile
, Colombia
, Costa Rica
, Dominican Republic
, Ecuador
, El Salvador
, Guatemala
, Haiti
, the Netherlands, Panama
, Uruguay
and Venezuela
) which had maintained their embassies in Jerusalem, moved their embassies out of the city, primarily to Tel Aviv
. Costa Rica and El Salvador moved theirs back to Jerusalem in 1984. Costa Rica moved its embassy back to Tel Aviv in 2006 followed by El Salvador a few weeks later. No international embassy remains in Jerusalem, although Paraguay
has its embassy in Mevasseret Zion, a suburb 10 km west of the city, as did Bolivia
until relations were severed in 2009.
Various countries recognized Israel as a state in the 1940s and 1950s, but they did not recognize Israeli sovereignty over West Jerusalem. There is an international sui generis consular corps in Jerusalem. It is commonly referred to as the "Consular Corps of the Corpus Separatum". The states that have maintained consulates in Jerusalem say that it was part of Mandate Palestine, and in a de jure sense, has not since become part of any other sovereignty. The Netherlands
maintains an office in Jerusalem serving mainly Israeli citizens. Other foreign governments base Consulate General offices in Jerusalem, including Greece
, Spain
, the United Kingdom
and the United States
. Since the President of Israel
resides in Jerusalem and confirms the foreign diplomats, the ambassadors have to travel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to submit letters of credentials upon being appointed.
in Tel Aviv, and a Consulate General in Jerusalem as part of the "Consular Corps of the Corpus Separatum".
Under the Constitution of the United States the President has exclusive authority to recognize foreign sovereignty over territory. The Congress has adopted a number of concurrent resolutions which support recognition of a united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and urging Jerusalem as the site of the U.S. embassy. The resolutions expressed the "sense" of the House or Senate but had no binding effect. The Jerusalem Embassy Act
of 1995 stated that "Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel; and the United States Embassy in Israel should be established in Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999". The Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel concluded that the provisions of the bill invade exclusive presidential authorities in the field of foreign affairs and are unconstitutional. The fact that a U.S. embassy is located in a particular city, like Tel Aviv, does not legally mean that the U.S. recognizes that city as a capital. Experts in the field of foreign relations law have said that, faced with congressional force majeure, the State Department could simply construct another embassy in Jerusalem, and continue to argue that the U.S. doesn't recognize Jerusalem as the capital." The U.S. Consulate relocated to the neighborhood of Talpiot
to provide visa and other consular services to residents of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories.
– Maps: http://www.btselem.org/English/Maps/Index.asp
Jewish Virtual Library
:
IRIS.org (Information Regarding Israel's Security).
Map Centre of OCHA oPt (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – occupied Palestinian territory): http://www.ochaopt.org/?module=displaysection§ion_id=96&format=html
Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs
(PASSIA). Jerusalem maps section: http://www.passia.org/jerusalem/maps/0_M_A_P_S.htm
study on the Division of Jerusalem. Nadav Shagrai, "Jerusalem: The Dangers of Division. An Alternative to Separation from the Arab Neighborhoods" (2008): http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DRIT=2&DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=582&PID=0&IID=2646&TTL=Jerusalem:_The_Dangers_of_Division
Palestine Center
report on a briefing by Stephen Zunes. Lehman, Wendy. "The Evolution of U.S. Policy on Jerusalem: International Law versus the Rule of Force," (2001): http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/www.thejerusalemfund.org/carryover/pubs/20010802ftr.html
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
. Most countries of the world do not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Many do not recognize it as a city that is properly Israel's. Many UN member states formally adhere to the United Nations proposal that Jerusalem should have an international status.
The chief dispute revolves around Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
’s control of East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
, while broader agreement exists regarding the Israeli presence in West Jerusalem
West Jerusalem
West Jerusalem refers to:*The section of Jerusalem captured by Israel following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.*The western neighborhoods of Jerusalem today.-Division in 1948:...
. De jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
, the majority of UN member states and most international organisations do not recognise Israel's control of East Jerusalem which occurred after the 1967 Six Day War, nor its 1980 Jerusalem Law
Jerusalem Law
The Jerusalem Law is a common name of Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel passed by the Knesset on July 30, 1980 .It began as a private member's bill proposed by Geula Cohen, whose original text stated that "the integrity and unity of greater Jerusalem in its boundaries after the Six-Day War...
proclamation, which declared a "complete and united" Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. As a result, foreign embassies are generally located in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
and its suburbs, or suburbs of Jerusalem such as Mevaseret Zion
Mevaseret Zion
Mevaseret Zion is a suburb of Jerusalem, Israel. Mevaseret Zion is composed of two distinct townships, Maoz Zion and Mevaseret Yerushalayim—under the jurisdiction of one local council. The newer neighborhoods of Mevaseret Zion were not part of either settlement.Mevaseret Zion is located on a...
.
Jerusalem is a contentious issue in final status peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
, which claims Jerusalem as Al Quds, the capital of a future Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has stated that “Jerusalem belongs to the Jewish people and will remain under Israeli sovereignty for eternity.”
Other organizations and communities advocate Jerusalem should be an international city.
Background
From 1517 onwards the city was part of the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and since 1830, it has had a Jewish majority. The 19th-century saw European countries vying for influence in the city, with some extending their protection over various Christian churches and Holy Places. A number of them also established consulates in Jerusalem. In 1917, following the First World War, Great Britain took control of Jerusalem. The principal Allied Powers
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
recognized the unique spiritual and religious interests in Jerusalem among the world's three great monotheistic religions
Abrahamic religions
Abrahamic religions are the monotheistic faiths emphasizing and tracing their common origin to Abraham or recognizing a spiritual tradition identified with him...
as "a sacred trust of civilization", and stipulated that the existing rights and claims connected with it be safeguarded in perpetuity, under international guarantee.
Preceding the termination of the British Mandate of Palestine in May 1948, Great Britain requested that the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
solve the territorial dispute between Arabs and Jews regarding Palestine. In November 1947 it adopted Resolution 181, which called for the partition of Palestine into an Arab and Jewish state, with Jerusalem being established as a corpus separatum, or a "separated body" with a special legal and political status, administered by the United Nations and separate from both states named in the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. Jewish representatives accepted the plan on the assumption that the Arabs would do likewise. However, the representatives of the Palestinian Arabs and the Arab states rejected the plan, claiming it was illegal.
With the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948 and the subsequent invasion by surrounding Arab states, the UN proposal for Jerusalem never materialised. The 1949 Armistice Agreements
1949 Armistice Agreements
The 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and neighboring Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and established armistice lines between Israeli forces and the forces in...
left Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
in control of the eastern parts of the city, while the western sector was held by Israel. Each side recognised the other's de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
control of their respective sectors. The Armistice Agreement, however, was considered internationally as having no legal effect on the continued validity of the provisions of the partition resolution for the internationalisation of Jerusalem. Soon after Israel declared that Jerusalem was an inseparable part of the State of Israel and its eternal capital. In 1950 Jordan annexed eastern Jerusalem. Foreign states did not recognise Jordanian or Israeli rule over the respective areas of the city under their control.
United Nations
The United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
recommends that Jerusalem be placed under a special international regime
International regime
International regimes are not subnational actors or non-governmental organizations. They are international actors, and sometimes, when formally organized, many of them can be considered intergovernmental organizations.-Definition and Types:Stephen D...
, a corpus separatum, but envisions the city eventually becoming the capital of two states, Israel and Palestine.
The UNGA has stated that the international community, through the United Nations has a legitimate interest, regarding the protection of Jerusalem's unique spiritual, religious and cultural dimensions. Its position on the question of Jerusalem is based upon General Assembly resolution 181
1947 UN Partition Plan
The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was created by the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine in 1947 to replace the British Mandate for Palestine with "Independent Arab and Jewish States" and a "Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem" administered by the United...
(II) November 29, 1947, which provides for the full territorial internationalisation of Jerusalem: "The City of Jerusalem shall be established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime and shall be administered by the United Nations." This position was restated in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War in UN General Assembly Resolution 303(IV) of 1949. According to a 1979 report prepared for and under the guidance of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, it would appear that the UN has maintained that until the final status of the city is agreed by the parties involved, the legal status of the city remains a corpus separatum.
The United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
(UNGA) does not recognise Israel's proclamation of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which is, for example, reflected in the wording of General Assembly Resolution 63/30 of 2009 which states that "any actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem are illegal and therefore null and void and have no validity whatsoever, and calls upon Israel to cease all such illegal and unilateral measures."
A total of six UN Security Council resolutions on Israel have denounced or declared invalid Israel's control of the city, including UNSC resolution 478 which affirmed that the enactment of the 1980 Basic
Basic Laws of Israel
The Basic Laws of Israel are a key component of Israel's constitutional law. These laws deal with the formation and role of the principal state's institutions, and the relations between the state's authorities. Some of them also protect civil rights...
Jerusalem Law
Jerusalem Law
The Jerusalem Law is a common name of Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel passed by the Knesset on July 30, 1980 .It began as a private member's bill proposed by Geula Cohen, whose original text stated that "the integrity and unity of greater Jerusalem in its boundaries after the Six-Day War...
declaring unified Jerusalem as Israel's "eternal and indivisible" capital, was a violation of international law. The resolution advised member states to withdraw their diplomatic representation from the city.
Israel
Abu Dis
Abu Dis is a Palestinian town in the Jerusalem Governorate, bordering Jerusalem. Abu Dis is due east of the Jerusalem municipal border. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics , the town had a population of approximately 12,100 in mid-year 2006.-Ottoman era:Abu Dis was one of the...
.
Israel claims it acquired sovereignty over the western part of the city in 1948. Upon the departure of Britain, the area remained without a sovereign and during the war, Israel took control of it by a lawful act of self-defence. Following the 1967 Six Day War, Israel extended its jurisdiction and administration over eastern Jerusalem, establishing new municipal borders. It also ensured protection and freedom of access to the holy sites of the city. Although at the time Israel informed the UN that its actions had not constituted annexation
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
but rather administrative and municipal integration, later rulings by the Israeli Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Israel
The Supreme Court is at the head of the court system and highest judicial instance in Israel. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem.The area of its jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme...
indicated that the eastern sector had become part of Israel. Israel was of the view that since Jordan had taken the eastern part of the city by an act of aggression in 1948, it never acquired sovereignty, and since Israel conquered it in 1967 during a war of self-defence, it had the stronger right to the land.
In July 1980, the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
passed the Jerusalem Law
Jerusalem Law
The Jerusalem Law is a common name of Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel passed by the Knesset on July 30, 1980 .It began as a private member's bill proposed by Geula Cohen, whose original text stated that "the integrity and unity of greater Jerusalem in its boundaries after the Six-Day War...
as part of the country's Basic Law
Basic Laws of Israel
The Basic Laws of Israel are a key component of Israel's constitutional law. These laws deal with the formation and role of the principal state's institutions, and the relations between the state's authorities. Some of them also protect civil rights...
. The law declared Jerusalem the unified capital of Israel.
The Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
together with the presidential, legislative, judicial and administrative offices are all located within the city.
In November 2010, the Knesset passed a law which requires approval in a public referendum and the votes of at least 60 Knesset members before any withdrawal from East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights.
Israel believes that there is no basis in international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
for the position supporting a status of corpus separatum
Corpus separatum
Corpus separatum is used with regard to Jerusalem according to the 1947 UN Partition Plan which used it to refer to a proposed internationally administered zone to include Jerusalem in the 1947 municipal boundaries "plus surrounding villages and towns, the most eastern of which shall be Abu Dis;...
for the city of Jerusalem. Israel holds that it was a non-binding proposal which never materialised, having become irrelevant when the Arab states rejected United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 and invaded the fledgling State of Israel. Neither has there ever been any agreement, treaty, or international understanding which applies the corpus separatum concept to Jerusalem.
Positions on the future status Jerusalem have varied with different Israeli governments. Despite having signed the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
which declared that the future status of Jerusalem would be negotiated, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
declared that he would never divide the city. In 1995, he told a group of schoolchildren that "if they told us peace is the price of giving up a united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, my reply would be 'let's do without peace'". This position was upheld by his successor, Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
. Netanyahu's successor, Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
, became the first Israeli Prime Minister to agree to the division of Jerusalem despite his campaign promises. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
vowed to keep Jerusalem the "undivided, eternal capital of the Jewish people", while his successor Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003....
supported the detachtment of several Arab neighborhoods from Israeli sovereignty and the introduction of an internation trust to run the Temple Mount
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as , and in Arabic as the Haram Ash-Sharif , is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years...
. When Netanyahu succeeded Olmert, he declared that Jerusalem would remain Israel's undivided and eternal capital, but that the city would be open to those of all faiths.
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian National AuthorityPalestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
views East Jerusalem as occupied territory according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 242
United Nations Security Council Resolution 242
United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on November 22, 1967, in the aftermath of the Six Day War. It was adopted under Chapter VIof the United Nations Charter...
. The Palestinian Authority claims all of East Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as , and in Arabic as the Haram Ash-Sharif , is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years...
, as the capital of the State of Palestine
State of Palestine
Palestine , officially declared as the State of Palestine , is a state that was proclaimed in exile in Algiers on 15 November 1988, when the Palestine Liberation Organization's National Council adopted the unilateral Palestinian Declaration of Independence...
, and claims that West Jerusalem is also subject to permanent status negotiations. However, it has stated that it would be willing to consider alternative solutions, such as making Jerusalem an open city
Open city
In war, in the event of the imminent capture of a city, the government/military structure of the nation that controls the city will sometimes declare it an open city, thus announcing that they have abandoned all defensive efforts....
. The official position of the PNA is that Jerusalem should be an open city, with no physical partition and that Palestine would guarantee freedom of worship, access and the protection of sites of religious significance.
European Union
The European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
currently adopts the corpus separatum
Corpus separatum
Corpus separatum is used with regard to Jerusalem according to the 1947 UN Partition Plan which used it to refer to a proposed internationally administered zone to include Jerusalem in the 1947 municipal boundaries "plus surrounding villages and towns, the most eastern of which shall be Abu Dis;...
plan for the entire city of Jerusalem as outlined in United Nations Resolution 181. However, in the interest of achieving a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, it believes a fair solution should be found regarding the issue of Jerusalem in the context of the two-state solution set out in the Road Map
Road map for peace
The roadmap for peace or "road map" for peace is a plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict proposed by a "quartet" of international entities: the United States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations. The principles of the plan, originally drafted by U.S. Foreign Service...
. Taking into account the political and religious concerns of all parties involved, it envisions the city serving as the shared capital of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Palestine
State of Palestine
Palestine , officially declared as the State of Palestine , is a state that was proclaimed in exile in Algiers on 15 November 1988, when the Palestine Liberation Organization's National Council adopted the unilateral Palestinian Declaration of Independence...
.
The EU opposes measures which would prejudge the outcome of permanent status negotiations on Jerusalem, basing its policy on the principles set out in UN Security Council Resolution 242, notably the impossibility of acquisition of territory by force. It will not recognise any changes to pre-1967 borders with regard to Jerusalem, unless agreed between the parties. It has also called for the reopening of Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem, in accordance with the Road Map, in particular Orient House
Orient House
Orient House is a building located in East Jerusalem that served as the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1980s and 1990s. Built in 1897 by Ismail Musa al-Husseini, it has been owned by the Al-Husayni family since...
and the Chamber of Commerce, and has called on the Israeli government to cease all discriminatory treatment of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, especially concerning work permits, access to education and health services, building permits, house demolitions, taxation and expenditure."
"The European Union set out its position in a statement of principles last December. A two-state solution with Israel and Palestine side by side in peace and security. A viable state of Palestine in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, on the basis of the 1967 lines. A way must be found to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of both Israel and Palestine."
Catherine Ashton, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union
Russia
RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
views as desirable the establishing of an international regime for the city and is against Israeli settlement construction in East Jerusalem. On March 2010 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: "Israel's plans to continue the construction activities were unacceptable and could hamper the reconciliation process". In January 2011, reaffirming Russia's recognition of the State of Palestine
State of Palestine
Palestine , officially declared as the State of Palestine , is a state that was proclaimed in exile in Algiers on 15 November 1988, when the Palestine Liberation Organization's National Council adopted the unilateral Palestinian Declaration of Independence...
, president Medvedev said Russia "supported and will support the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to an independent state with its capital in East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
."
United States
The United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
views as desirable the establishing of an international regime for the city. Its final status must be resolved through negotiations and it does not recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
policy on Jerusalem refers specifically to the geographic boundaries of the "City of Jerusalem" based on the UN's corpus separatum
Corpus separatum
Corpus separatum is used with regard to Jerusalem according to the 1947 UN Partition Plan which used it to refer to a proposed internationally administered zone to include Jerusalem in the 1947 municipal boundaries "plus surrounding villages and towns, the most eastern of which shall be Abu Dis;...
proposal. De jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
, Jerusalem is part of the Palestine Mandate and has not been under sovereignty of any country since. President Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
(1989–1993) stated that the United States does not believe new settlements should be built in East Jerusalem and that it does not want to see Jerusalem "divided". In a speech in June 2008, then-presidential-candidate Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
said "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." The Obama administration has condemned expansion of Gilo
Gilo
Gilo is a neighborhood in southern East Jerusalem with a population of 40,000, mostly Jewish. It is one of the five ring neighborhoods of Jerusalem and is built on land in the West Bank that was annexed to Israel in 1980 under the Jerusalem Law. The international community regards it as an...
and Ramat Shlomo
Ramat Shlomo
Ramat Shlomo Heights) is a large Jewish housing development in northern East Jerusalem. The population, mostly ultra-Orthodox, is 18,000-20,000....
as well as evictions and house demolitions affecting Palestinians living in East Jerusalem.
The United States voted for the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in November 1947 and United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 in December 1948 following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War but voted against Resolution 303 in December 1949 that reaffirmed that Jerusalem be established a corpus separatum under a special international regime to be administered by the United Nations because the U.S. regarded the plan as no longer feasible after both Israel and Jordan had established a political presence in the city. The U.S. opposed Israel’s moving its capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem following Israel's declaration of Jerusalem as its capital in 1949 and opposed Jordan’s plan to make Jerusalem its second capital announced in 1950. The U.S. opposed Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem after the 1967 war. The United States maintains a consulate in Jerusalem that deals primarily with the Palestinian Authority, while relations with the Israeli government are handled from the U.S. embassy
Embassy of the United States in Israel
The Embassy of the United States of America in Tel Aviv is the permanent U.S. mission to Israel and has been located at 71 Hayarkon Street in Tel Aviv since the building's completion in 1966.-History:...
in Tel Aviv. The U.S. consulate is not accredited to the Israeli government. The United States has proposed that the future of Jerusalem should be the subject of a negotiated settlement. Subsequent administrations have maintained the same policy that Jerusalem’s future not be the subject of unilateral actions that could prejudice negotiations such as moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In 2002, Congress passed legislation that said that American citizens born in Jerusalem may list "Israel" as their country of birth, although Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have not allowed it.
United Kingdom position
According to the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Jerusalem was supposed to be a corpus separatum
Corpus separatum
Corpus separatum is used with regard to Jerusalem according to the 1947 UN Partition Plan which used it to refer to a proposed internationally administered zone to include Jerusalem in the 1947 municipal boundaries "plus surrounding villages and towns, the most eastern of which shall be Abu Dis;...
, or international city administered by the UN. This was never set up: immediately after the UNGA resolution partitioning Palestine, Israel occupied West Jerusalem. Jordan occupied East Jerusalem (including the Old City). The UK recognised the de facto control of Israel and Jordan, but not sovereignty. In 1967, Israel captured East Jerusalem, which the UK considers a military occupation and regards Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem as illegal, under the terms of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The UK Embassy to Israel is in Tel Aviv, not Jerusalem. In East Jerusalem there is a Consulate-General, with a Consul-General who is not accredited to any state: this is an expression of the view that no state has sovereignty over Jerusalem.
The UK believes that the city’s status has yet to be determined, and maintains that it should be settled in an overall agreement between the parties concerned, but considers that the city should not again be divided. The Declaration of Principles and the Interim Agreement, signed by Israel and the PLO on 13 September 1993 and 28 September 1995 respectively, left the issue of the status of Jerusalem to be decided in the ‘permanent status’ negotiations between the two parties.
Other countries
: "Canada considers the status of Jerusalem can be resolved only as part of a general settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute. Canada does not recognize Israel's unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem." In the fact sheet on Israel displayed on the Canadian Foreign Affairs Department's website, the indication of "Capital" is left blank.: "Israel has declared Jerusalem to be its capital. Due to the conflict and unclear situation concerning the city's status foreign embassies are in Tel Aviv.": "Israel considers Jerusalem to be its capital city. The international community has not recognized this. The Finnish embassy is in Tel Aviv.": "It is up to the parties to come to a final and overall agreement with regard to the final status, which would put an end to the conflict. France believes that Jerusalem must become the capital of the two States.": According to the German Federal Foreign Office: "Capital city (not internationally recognized): Jerusalem" The German embassy is in Tel Aviv.: "Endorsing the stance of the European Union in this regard, Italy does not recognise the legitimacy of any border changes that are not agreed between the parties. The question of Jerusalem is extremely sensitive, being the home to the Holy Places belonging to the three great monotheistic religions. To resolve this issue it will be necessary for the parties to reach a difficult, but possible, agreement to safeguard the special character of the city and meet the expectations of both peoples.": "Japan cannot recognize such a unilateral change to the legal status of an occupied territory, which is in total violation of the relevant United Nations resolutions." "Japan believes that issues relating to Jerusalem should be resolved through the permanent status negotiations between the parties concerned, and until such a solution is achieved both parties should refrain from taking any unilateral action relating to the situation in Jerusalem.": "Norway considers the Israeli presence in East Jerusalem to be in violation of international law, as does the entire international community.": A just solution must be reached regarding the issue of Jerusalem in line with UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. It views the Israeli expansion of the geographical boundaries of Jerusalem as illegal and a violation of international agreements.: "Sweden, like other states, does not recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, which is why the embassy is in Tel Aviv.": The Holy SeeHoly See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
has expressed the position that Jerusalem should become an international city
International city
An international city is an autonomous or semi-autonomous city-state that is separate from the direct supervision of a single nation-state.-Rationale for establishment:International cities had either had one or both of the following characteristics:...
, either under the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
or a related organization. Pope Pius XII was the among the first to make such a proposal in the 1949 encyclical Redemptoris Nostri Cruciatus
Redemptoris Nostri Cruciatus
Redemptoris Nostri Cruciatus is a peace encyclical of Pope Pius XII focusing on the war in Palestine. It was given at St. Peter's f Good Friday, April 15, 1949....
. This idea was later re-proposed during the papacies of John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II.
Location of foreign embassies
Subsequent to UNSC resolution 478, 13 countries (BoliviaBolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, the Netherlands, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
) which had maintained their embassies in Jerusalem, moved their embassies out of the city, primarily to Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. Costa Rica and El Salvador moved theirs back to Jerusalem in 1984. Costa Rica moved its embassy back to Tel Aviv in 2006 followed by El Salvador a few weeks later. No international embassy remains in Jerusalem, although Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
has its embassy in Mevasseret Zion, a suburb 10 km west of the city, as did Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
until relations were severed in 2009.
Various countries recognized Israel as a state in the 1940s and 1950s, but they did not recognize Israeli sovereignty over West Jerusalem. There is an international sui generis consular corps in Jerusalem. It is commonly referred to as the "Consular Corps of the Corpus Separatum". The states that have maintained consulates in Jerusalem say that it was part of Mandate Palestine, and in a de jure sense, has not since become part of any other sovereignty. The Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
maintains an office in Jerusalem serving mainly Israeli citizens. Other foreign governments base Consulate General offices in Jerusalem, including Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Since the President of Israel
President of Israel
The President of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely an apolitical ceremonial figurehead role, with the real executive power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister. The current president is Shimon Peres who took office on 15 July 2007...
resides in Jerusalem and confirms the foreign diplomats, the ambassadors have to travel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to submit letters of credentials upon being appointed.
US Embassy
The United States maintains its embassyEmbassy of the United States in Israel
The Embassy of the United States of America in Tel Aviv is the permanent U.S. mission to Israel and has been located at 71 Hayarkon Street in Tel Aviv since the building's completion in 1966.-History:...
in Tel Aviv, and a Consulate General in Jerusalem as part of the "Consular Corps of the Corpus Separatum".
Under the Constitution of the United States the President has exclusive authority to recognize foreign sovereignty over territory. The Congress has adopted a number of concurrent resolutions which support recognition of a united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and urging Jerusalem as the site of the U.S. embassy. The resolutions expressed the "sense" of the House or Senate but had no binding effect. The Jerusalem Embassy Act
Jerusalem Embassy Act
The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 is a public law of the United States passed by the 104th Congress on October 23, 1995. It was passed for the purposes of initiating and funding the relocation of the Embassy of the United States in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, no later than May 31, 1999, and...
of 1995 stated that "Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel; and the United States Embassy in Israel should be established in Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999". The Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel concluded that the provisions of the bill invade exclusive presidential authorities in the field of foreign affairs and are unconstitutional. The fact that a U.S. embassy is located in a particular city, like Tel Aviv, does not legally mean that the U.S. recognizes that city as a capital. Experts in the field of foreign relations law have said that, faced with congressional force majeure, the State Department could simply construct another embassy in Jerusalem, and continue to argue that the U.S. doesn't recognize Jerusalem as the capital." The U.S. Consulate relocated to the neighborhood of Talpiot
Talpiot
Talpiot , is a neighborhood in southeast Jerusalem, Israel, established in 1922 by Zionist pioneers.-Etymology:The name Talpiot derives from a verse in Song of Songs 4:4 – "Thy neck is like the tower of David, built with turrets." According to rabbinic sources, Talpiot refers to the Temple...
to provide visa and other consular services to residents of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories.
See also
- Six-Day WarSix-Day WarThe Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
- Green Line (Israel)Green Line (Israel)Green Line refers to the demarcation lines set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
- List of places in Jerusalem
- List of East Jerusalem locations
- Rule of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by JordanRule of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by JordanThe West Bank and East Jerusalem were occupied by Jordan for a period of nearly two decades starting from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. In 1950, the British extended formal recognition to the union between the Hashemite Kingdom and of that part of Palestine under Jordanian occupation and control -...
- Foreign relations of IsraelForeign relations of IsraelThe foreign relations of Israel refers to diplomatic relations and international agreements between the State of Israel and other countries around the world. Israel joined the United Nations on May 11, 1949. Israel has diplomatic relations with 157 states...
- :Category:Maps of Jerusalem
Jerusalem maps
B'TselemB'Tselem
B'Tselem is an Israeli non-governmental organization . It calls itself "The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories"...
– Maps: http://www.btselem.org/English/Maps/Index.asp
- East JerusalemEast JerusalemEast Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
: http://www.btselem.org/Download/Map_of_the_Isolation_of_East_Jerusalem_Eng.pdf. - Israeli West Bank barrierIsraeli West Bank barrierThe Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
with detailed, greater Jerusalem section (when viewed at high resolution): http://www.btselem.org/Download/Separation_Barrier_Map_Eng.pdf
Jewish Virtual Library
Jewish Virtual Library
Jewish Virtual Library is an online encyclopedia published by the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise . Established in 1993, it is a comprehensive website covering Israel, the Jewish people, and Jewish culture.-History:...
:
- Greater Jerusalem: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/greaterjerusalem.html
"The area known as 'Greater' Jerusalem usually refers to an approximately 100 square miles (259 km²) space surrounding the Old City of Jerusalem. This area includes both West and East Jerusalem, including the adjacent neighborhoods outside of the municipal boundaries of the city. ... Regarding the route of Israel’s security fenceIsraeli West Bank barrierThe Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
in the Jerusalem area, there have been a few competing strategies: to reinforce the municipal boundaries of the city, to alter the demographics in Israel’s favor, and to permanently draw the lines for 'Greater' Jerusalem."
- Metropolitan and Greater Jerusalem: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/jer97map.html
- Arab East Jerusalem with greater Jerusalem: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/eastjermap1.html.
- Jerusalem municipal boundaries: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/jermunimap.html
- 2000 Camp David Summit map. Israeli proposal for the division and expansion of Jerusalem: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/jerdivide.html
"The Israeli proposal included the following main points: 1. Jewish areas outside Jerusalem's municipal boundaries would be annexed to the city, including such population centers as Givat Ze'ev, Ma'aleh Adumim and Gush Etzion. (Gush Etzion is a major settlement block just south of Jerusalem, and is not shown on the map)."
IRIS.org (Information Regarding Israel's Security).
- Maps of Areas A, B, and C. 1993 and 1995 Oslo AccordsOslo AccordsThe Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
: http://www.iris.org.il/oslo_2000.htm
Map Centre of OCHA oPt (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – occupied Palestinian territory): http://www.ochaopt.org/?module=displaysection§ion_id=96&format=html
- East Jerusalem – closure map. March 2007: http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/EastJerusalem_closure_March07.pdf.
Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs
Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs
The Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs was founded in March 1987 by Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi and by a group of Palestinian academics and intellectuals in Jerusalem. PASSIA is an Arab non-profit institution located in Jerusalem with a financially and legally independent...
(PASSIA). Jerusalem maps section: http://www.passia.org/jerusalem/maps/0_M_A_P_S.htm
- Greater Jerusalem: http://www.passia.org/images/pal_facts_MAPS/WallWeb/pages/FMFMEJERPas3.htm http://www.passia.org/images/pal_facts_MAPS/WallWeb/index.htm.
- Jerusalem municipal boundaries: http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/MAPS/images/jer_maps/Jlem1947-2000.html
- Old City and Holy/Historical Basin area: http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/MAPS/images/jer_maps/Holy-Basin.htm. At the 2001 Taba SummitTaba SummitThe Taba summit were talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, held from January 21 to January 27, 2001 at Taba in the Sinai peninsula...
Israeli negotiators presented to the Palestinians the idea of creating a special international regime for the 'Holy Basin' – an area including the Old City and some areas outside the walls including the Mount of OlivesMount of OlivesThe Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem with three peaks running from north to south. The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters . It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes...
cemetery.
Other links
Jerusalem Center for Public AffairsJerusalem Center for Public Affairs
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is a public policy think tank devoted to research and analysis of critical issues facing the Middle East. The center is located in Jerusalem, Israel...
study on the Division of Jerusalem. Nadav Shagrai, "Jerusalem: The Dangers of Division. An Alternative to Separation from the Arab Neighborhoods" (2008): http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DRIT=2&DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=582&PID=0&IID=2646&TTL=Jerusalem:_The_Dangers_of_Division
Palestine Center
Palestine Center
The Palestine Center is an independent think tank based in Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C.. Their focus is on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other Middle East issues....
report on a briefing by Stephen Zunes. Lehman, Wendy. "The Evolution of U.S. Policy on Jerusalem: International Law versus the Rule of Force," (2001): http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/www.thejerusalemfund.org/carryover/pubs/20010802ftr.html