Foundations
What Is Jerusalem?
Today’s Jerusalem is a city that remains undefined in any official sense that would be considered legitimate by all its residents. Residents must navigate an imposed labyrinthine maze of borders, jurisdictions, and fragmented spaces that is difficult for non-natives to fathom. Understanding these complexities is the starting point for anyone wanting to grasp the realities faced by Jerusalem’s Palestinians.
Featured in This Topic
For Palestinian Jerusalemites, the Oslo Accords had the disastrous effect of severing the city from the rest of the West Bank.
Jewish aggressions toward Islam’s third holiest site escalate to new heights.
A stunning live performance work created by Douban Professional Dance that shows how Jerusalem has benefited from its diversity, and how diversity shapes Jerusalemites’ identity still.
Matthew Teller’s biography of Jerusalem’s Old City offers history as well as the lived experience of today’s Palestinian residents. A book review.
Is this a fleeting moment or a new reality?
Israel is spending millions on a Judeo-centric “Jerusalem Heritage” program for the Holy Basin.
Jerusalem’s Holy Basin is a microcosm of Israel’s settler-colonial agenda in the city and the country.
An introduction to the applications of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) within the context of the occupied Palestinian Territory (oPT), including East Jerusalem.
What was it like to live through Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem in June 1967, and how did it transform the city and community?
This documentary depicts life in Arab Jerusalem before the 1967 War and captures Palestinians’ sense of loss in its aftermath.
A look back at Jerusalem’s rulers since ancient times and the city’s population based on more recent censuses
The Story in Numbers
10
Number of times the official Jerusalem municipal boundaries have changed since 1917 [1]
19.2 sq km
The area of the city of Jerusalem under the British Mandate period, 1917–47 [2]
28
Number of Palestinian localities that Israel unilaterally incorporated into the city upon expanding the municipal boundaries in 1967 to add areas on the (Arab) eastern side of the city that had not previously belonged to it [3]
70 sq km
Newly expanded area of East Jerusalem after Israel unilaterally expanded the boundaries in June, 1967, de facto annexing an additional 64 sq km to East Jerusalem from the original 6 sq km, including many Palestinian villages that had not previously been in the city [4]
126.4 sq km
The total area of the city of Jerusalem today [5]
440 sq km
The area of “Greater Jerusalem,” the expanded, Jewish-majority Jerusalem that Israel envisions and is rapidly developing [6]
0
Number of times the Palestinian residents of Jerusalem have been consulted or given an opportunity to influence where the official municipal boundaries of Jerusalem should be [7]
Notes
1. See Table 1 in Where Is Jerusalem?.
2. See Table 1 in Where Is Jerusalem?.
3. See Table 1 in Where Is Jerusalem?.
4. See Table 1 in Where Is Jerusalem?.
5. See Table 1 in Where Is Jerusalem?.
6. See Israel’s Vision of a Greater [Jewish] Jerusalem
7. See Where Is Jerusalem?.
A new zip line gives tourists and Israelis another way to avoid seeing or visiting Jerusalem’s Palestinian neighborhoods.
Damascus Gate, brought to life by painter Ippolito Caffi