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East Jerusalem is that part of Jerusalem which was held by Jordan from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War until the Six-Day War in 1967. It contains the Old City and some of the holiest sites in the Jewish, Muslim and Christian religions, including the Western Wall, the Temple Mount (containing the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque), and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It lies at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict, as warring factions engage in verbal and military disputes to gain control over it.
According to the 1947 UN Partition Plan, Jerusalem was supposed to be an international city, not part of either the proposed Jewish or Arab state. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, West Jerusalem was captured by Israel, while East Jerusalem (including the Old City) was captured by Jordan. In 1950 East Jerusalem, along with the rest of the West Bank, was annexed to Jordan; however, this annexation was recognized only by the United Kingdom and Pakistan. During the Six-Day War of 1967 Israel captured the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and eventually annexed 6.4 km² of Jordanian Jerusalem and 64 km² of the nearby West Bank to the City of Jerusalem.[1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2001/israel_and_palestinians/key_maps/3.stm) Under Israel, members of all religions were largely granted access to their holy sites, with the Muslim Waqf maintaining control of the Temple Mount and Muslim holy sites there. The slum in front of the Wall was removed and a large open air plaza constructed. Residents of the annexed territory were offered Israeli citizenship on condition they renounce their Jordanian citizenship, which most of them refused to do. However, even those rejecting Israeli citizenship are free to vote in municipal elections and play a role in the administration of the city.
In 1980 Israel enacted its "Jerusalem Law" formally declaring East and West Jerusalem together, "whole and united" to be "the capital of Israel". In response the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 478, declaring the annexation to be a violation of international law. In 1988, Jordan, while rejecting Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem, withdrew all its claims to the West Bank (including Jerusalem). The Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles, signed September 13, 1993, leaves open the final status of Jerusalem, though Israel did not cede sovereignty until final negotiations on the city's status.
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