Status of Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the center for three of the world's largest religions.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Ground zero in the dispute is a hill in Jerusalem known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary. That precious piece of real estate is believed to contain the ruins of Judaism's holiest temple, on top of which stands the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third-holiest site. The 1999 Camp David talks broke down in part over the issue of which side would have sovereignty over the land on which the holy sites stand.

The terms of the U.N. partition of 1947 call for Jerusalem to be an international city shared between a Jewish and Palestinian state. Although Jews in British Mandate Palestine and elsewhere accepted the partition plan, Arabs rejected it and armies from surrounding countries invaded. More on the U.N. partition. Israel annexed West Jerusalem after gaining control during the 1948 war of independence while East Jerusalem, which includes the Dome of the Rock, came under Jordanian control. In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured East Jerusalem along with the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights. More on the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel formally annexed East Jerusalem in 1980. Today, East Jerusalem is primarily populated by Arabs and West Jerusalem by Jewish residents.

Israeli viewpoint

Ceding control even over the Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, or the Old City, is a red line for many Israelis, who consider Jerusalem to be the heart of Zionism and an important part of Jewish identity. They want to ensure that they maintain access to sites they consider sacred, and they are not willing to negotiate on this point.

Palestinian viewpoint

Besides Palestinians' historic territorial claims on Jerusalem's Old City, the presence there of the Islamic holy sites makes the issue a red line not only for Palestinians but for the entire Arab and Muslim world. Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, who died in November 2004, was unable to compromise at Camp David on his demand for sovereignty over the sites and the eastern portion of the city.