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For centuries, Jerusalem has been holy to the three monotheistic religions. What are the realities facing those who wish to worship in this treasured holy space today?
Featured in This Topic
Churches find themselves in the city’s crosshairs.
A long-standing clash between church and city flares up anew in Jerusalem.
A centuries-old Islamic religious practice is imperiled, causing consternation among Palestinians in the city.
From stabbings to harassment, Israeli attackers are emboldened by the far-right government.
A visual overview of the multilayered points at which Israel blocks Muslims from accessing their holiest site, even during Ramadan
The less visible method of closure quietly but effectively targets individuals, shattering hearts and families.
Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir led Jewish visitors in prayer next to the Dome of the Rock in early August 2025, marking a dramatic change to the Status Quo arrangements.
The Status Quo agreement on Jerusalem’s holy sites, enacted in the Ottoman era, seeks to prevent conflict between religious groups. Increasingly, it is being violated.
Bit by bit, Israel is attempting to alter the facts on the ground at Bab al-Rahma.
The ties that bind Jordan and Jerusalem
Palestinians are skeptical of Morocco’s initiatives in Jerusalem against the backdrop of its increasing normalization with Israel.
Sharing legends and paranormal activities may be crucial for preserving the collective memory of Jerusalem.
A glimpse at the American Colony’s evolution from a commune to a hotel in Jerusalem
How a local religious tradition became a cornerstone of Palestinian cultural and political life
The Story in Numbers
3
Number of monotheistic religions for which Jerusalem is sacred [1]
13
Number of official denominations of Christianity in the Holy Land. These 13 churches have legal and religious standing under the current governance and play roles in managing and officiating ceremonies at shared holy sites. [2]
1300+
Number of years the al-Aqsa Mosque has stood as one of the three holiest sites in Islam [3]
1699
Number of years since the first construction and dedication of a church on the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site believed to have witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection [4]
13,100
Number of Palestinian Christian residents in Jerusalem (2023) [5]
2,200
Number of non-Arab Christian residents in Jerusalem (2023) [6]
378,100
Number of Muslim residents in Jerusalem (2023)
577,000
Number of Jewish residents in Jerusalem (2023) [8]
821,798
Number of worshippers holding PA ID cards that Israel allowed to enter from the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank to pray at al-Aqsa mosque over the four Fridays of Ramadan and Laylat al-Qadr, 2012 [9]
40,000
Number of worshippers holding PA ID cards that Israel allowed to enter from the occupied West Bank to pray at al-Aqsa mosque over the four Fridays of Ramadan, 2025 (No entry was allowed from Gaza.) [10]
11,000
Number of worshippers typically allowed into the Church of Holy Sepulchre on Holy Fire Saturday before the coronavirus pandemic and before Israel began capping allowed attendance in 2022
1,000
Number of worshippers Israel allowed inside the Church of Holy Sepulchre on Holy Fire Saturday in 2022 (with only 500 outside)
Notes
[1] “Status of Jerusalem, Patriarchs and Heads of the Local Christian Churches in Jerusalem, 2006,” World Council of Churches, September 20, 2006.
[2] “The Christian Denominations in the Holy Land,” Mission Four Corners, March 23, 2018.
[3] The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, The Hashemite Custodianship of Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian Holy sites 1917–2020 CE (Amman: National Press, 2020), 14
[4] “History,” Church of the Holy Sepulchre, accessed August 20, 2025; “Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” Britannica, July 12, 2025.
[5] Omar Yaniv, Yair Assaf-Shapira, Eden Yitzhaki, and Yonatan Parda, Jerusalem Facts and Trends 2025 [in Hebrew] (Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, 2025), 16.
[6] Yaniv et al. Jerusalem Facts and Trends 2025, 16.
[7] Yaniv et al. Jerusalem Facts and Trends 2025, 16.
[8] Yaniv et al. Jerusalem Facts and Trends 2025, 16.
[9] UN OCHA, “Some 348,000 Palestinians permitted into East Jerusalem for Ramadan Prayers,” August 5, 2017.
[10] Khalil Assali and Daoud Kuttab, “The Last Days of Ramadan Reflected Worrisome Trends in Jerusalem,” Jerusalem Story, April 10, 2025.
[11] Jerusalem Story Team, “The Holy Light: From Jerusalem to the World,” Jerusalem Story, April 26, 2022.
[12] Jerusalem Story Team, “The Holy Light.”
See how Palestinians in the Old City observed al-Mawlid al-Nabawi, in photos.
Israel wants to transform a historic Muslim site into a Jewish space.