Section of Jerusalem in the West Bank
About East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem, the portion of Jerusalem east of the Green Line established formally by the armistice agreements at the end of the 1948 Palestine war, the territory which the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations consider to be the capital and part of the Palestinian territories according to international law, and under illegal occupation by Israel. Many states recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine, whereas other states see East Jerusalem as the future capital of Palestine while referring to it as "an occupied territory".
![William McLean's 1918 plan was the first urban planning scheme for Jerusalem. It laid the foundations for what became West Jerusalem and East Jerusalem.[26]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/First_Town_Plan_of_Jerusalem%2C_1918%2C_William_McLean.jpg/500px-First_Town_Plan_of_Jerusalem%2C_1918%2C_William_McLean.jpg)
Names
East Jerusalem is the familiar term in English. Arabs largely use the term al-Quds al-ʿArabī (القدس العربي), or, in official English-language documents, Arab Jerusalem, emphasizing the predominance of the Arabic-speaking Palestinian population, while Israelis call the area East Jerusalem because of its geographic location in the east of the expanded Jerusalem. The territory is also sometimes referred to as Occupied East Jerusalem or OEJ.
History
The area of East Jerusalem has been inhabited since 5000 BCE, with settlement beginning in the Chalcolithic period. Tombs are attested by the Early Bronze Age, around 3200 BCE. In the late second millennium BCE, settlement concentrated around the City of David, which was chosen because of its proximity to the Gihon Spring. Massive Canaanite constructions were undertaken, with a water channel excavated through rock drawing water to a pool inside the citadel, the wall of which was seven metres (23 ft) thick, built from rocks weighing up to three tonnes. In 1934, the British Mandatory authorities divided Jerusalem into 12 wards for electoral purposes. The mapping was criticized by those who believed it was drawn to ensure a Palestinian majority on the Jerusalem city council. …
Culture
Jerusalem was designated the Arab Capital of Culture in 2009. In March 2009, Israel's Internal Security Minister responded with a number of injunctions, banning scheduled cultural events in the framework of this designation in Jerusalem, Nazareth and in other parts of the Palestinian Territories. The Minister instructed Israel Police to "suppress any attempts by the PA to hold events in Jerusalem and throughout the rest of the country". The minister issued the ban on the basis that the events would be a violation of a clause in the interim agreement between Israel and the Palestinians that forbids the Palestinian Authority (PA) from organizing events in Israeli territory. On 22 June 2013, the Israeli Public Security Minister closed the El-Hakawati Theater for eight days, to prevent a puppet theater festival with an 18-year tradition. …
Content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA. Read the full article →