This interactive map shows how the city was divided in 1949. In March 1949, the armistice agreement between Israel and the Arab states surrounding historic Palestine was signed. These lines were drawn by negotiators in green ink on a map and were therefore referred to as the Green Line. This line represents both the armistice or ceasefire boundaries at the end of the 1948 War and the unofficial demarcation of the State of Israel’s boundaries at the time. This arrangement and this line divided Jerusalem, creating the unofficial boundaries of a Jewish part of the city under Israeli sovereignty and a Palestinian part of the city under Jordanian sovereignty (after Jordan annexed it).1
From that point on, these two parts of the city were referred to as “West Jerusalem” and “East Jerusalem.” Between the lines, the implicitly understood meaning of these terms was also Jewish Jerusalem and Arab Jerusalem.
Between 1949 and 1967, Jerusalem remained divided, with the Jordanian part separated from the now-Israeli part by demilitarized zones, fences, and barriers.
Use the magnifier box in the bottom left-hand corner to view the map full screen. Zoom in to view the localities’ names. Click on the Legend in the upper right to view and manipulate the various map layers.
For a detailed analysis of the many boundary changes the city has undergone, see Where Is Jerusalem? The Uncertain and Unfixed Boundaries of the City. For a wealth of stories on the Palestinian community during this period, see The West Side Story.