West Jerusalem

Coordinates: 31°46′55″N 35°13′10″E / 31.78194°N 35.21944°E / 31.78194; 35.21944

Jerusalem municipal area between 1948 and 1967

West Jerusalem or Western Jerusalem refers to the section of Jerusalem that remained under Israeli control after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, whose ceasefire lines delimited the boundary with the rest of the city, which was then under Jordanian control.[1] A number of western countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States acknowledge de facto Israeli authority, but withhold de jure recognition.[2][3][4] Israel's claim of sovereignty over West Jerusalem is considered to be stronger than its claim over East Jerusalem.[5]

History

Division in 1949

Palmach soldiers attack Arab positions at St Symeon ("San Simon") Monastery in Katamon, Jerusalem, April 1948 (battle reconstruction)

The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine made of Jerusalem and its area an international city.[6]

Following the 1948 Palestine war, Jerusalem was divided into two parts: the western portion, populated mainly by Jews, came under Israeli rule, while East Jerusalem came under Jordanian rule[1][7] and was populated mainly by Palestinian Muslims and Christians, as Jordan immediately expelled all the Jewish residents of the Jewish Quarter.

Arabs living in such western Jerusalem neighbourhoods as Katamon or Malha were forced to leave; the same fate befell Jews in the eastern areas, including the Old City of Jerusalem and Silwan. Almost 70% of the land in West Jerusalem in the pre-mandate period had been owned by Palestinians, a fact which made it hard for the evicted Palestinians to accept Israeli control in the West. The Knesset (Israeli Parliament) passed laws to transfer this Arab land to Israeli Jewish organizations.[3]

The only eastern area of the city that remained in Israeli hands throughout the 19 years of Jordanian rule was Mount Scopus, where the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is located, which formed an enclave during that period and therefore is not considered part of East Jerusalem.

Capital of Israel

Israel established West Jerusalem as its capital in 1950.[3] The Israeli government needed to invest heavily to create employment, building new government offices, a new university, the Great Synagogue and the Knesset building.[7] West Jerusalem became covered by the Law and Administrative Ordinance of 1948, subjecting West Jerusalem to Israeli jurisdiction.

Reunification

During the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the eastern side of the city[8] and the whole West Bank. Over the following years, their control remain tenuous, the international community refusing to recognise their authority and the Israelis themselves not feeling secure.[8]

In 1980, the Israeli government annexed East Jerusalem and reunified the city but the international community disputed this.[1] The population of Jerusalem has largely remained segregated along the city's historical east/west division.[9] The larger city contains two populations that are "almost completely economically and politically segregated... each interacting with its separate central business district", supporting analysis that the city has retained a duocentric, as opposed to the traditional monocentric, structure.[9]

Mayors of West Jerusalem

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Key Maps". Jerusalem: Before 1967 and now. BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  2. ↑ J. J. Goldberg,'Was Benjamin Netanyahu’s Meeting With Donald Trump Another Case of Electoral Meddling?,' The Forward 26 September 2016:'the United States has never recognized Israel’s sovereignty over West Jerusalem.'
  3. 1 2 3 Dumper, Michael (1997). The politics of Jerusalem since 1967. Columbia University Press. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-0231106405.
  4. ↑ Moshe Hirsch; Deborah Housen-Couriel; Ruth Lapidot (28 June 1995). Whither Jerusalem?: Proposals and Positions Concerning the Future of Jerusalem. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 15. ISBN 90-411-0077-6. What, then, is Israel's status in west Jerusalem? Two main answers have been adduced: (a) Israel has sovereignty in this area; and (b) sovereignty lies with the Palestinian people or is suspended.
  5. ↑ Bisharat, George (23 December 2010). "Maximizing Rights". In Susan M. Akram; Michael Dumper; Michael Lynk. International Law and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Rights-Based Approach to Middle East Peace. Routledge. p. 311. ISBN 978-1-136-85098-1. As we have noted previously the international legal status of Jerusalem is contested and Israel’s designation of it as its capital has not been recognized by the international community. However its claims of sovereign rights to the city are stronger with respect to West Jerusalem than with respect to East Jerusalem.
  6. ↑ Greenway, H.D.S. (23 July 1980). "Explainer; The 3000 years of battling over Jerusalem". Boston Globe. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  7. 1 2 Dumper, Michael (1997). The politics of Jerusalem since 1967. Columbia University Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0231106405.
  8. 1 2 Dumper, Michael (1997). The politics of Jerusalem since 1967. Columbia University Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-0231106405.
  9. 1 2 Alperovich, Gershon; Joseph Deutsch (April 1996). "Urban structure with two coexisting and almost completely segregated populations: The case of East and West Jerusalem". Regional Science and Urban Economics. 26 (2): 171–187. doi:10.1016/0166-0462(95)02124-8. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  10. ↑ Archive of Jerusalem's 1949 wartime governor for sale in U.S, Haaretz
  11. ↑ Summary record of a meeting between the committee on Jerusalem and Mr. Daniel Auster, Mayor of Jerusalem (Jewish sector)
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Former Mayors of Jerusalem 1948-2008". City of Jerusalem website. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "Shlomo Zalman Shragai, 96, a former mayor of Jerusalem and...". Baltimore Sun. 4 September 1995. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  14. ↑ Eisenberg, Ronald L. (2006). The Streets of Jerusalem: Who, What, Why. Devora Publishing Company. p. 217. ISBN 1-932687-54-8.
  15. ↑ "Biography: Gershon Agron". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  16. ↑ "Mordechai Ish-Shalom, Jerusalem Ex-Mayor, 90". New York Times. 23 February 1991. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  17. ↑ Wilson, Scott (January 2, 2007). "Longtime Mayor of Jerusalem Dies at 95". The Washington Post. p. 2. Retrieved January 2, 2007.
  18. ↑ Senyor, Eli (15 April 2010). "Olmert cited as 'senior official' in Holyland affair". Ynetnews.com. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  19. ↑ Steven Erlanger (July 16, 2005). "An Ultra-Orthodox Mayor in an Unorthodox City". The New York Times.
  20. ↑ "Secularist 'wins Jerusalem vote'". BBC News. 2008-11-11.
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