Jerusalem

Between both the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, the city of Jerusalem is located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains in Western Asia, between the two seas. It is one of the world's oldest cities, and it is regarded sacred by the three main Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—because it is one of the oldest cities on the planet. Due to the fact that Israel's principal administrative institutions are located there, as well as the fact that the State of Palestine eventually intends to establish its capital there, both Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their respective capitals. The truth is that none of these claims is generally accepted throughout the world.

Several scriptural passages say that King David captured the city from the Jebusites and established it as the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel, and that King Solomon commissioned the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in the next century. Modern academics believe that Jews broke out from the Canaanite peoples and civilization via the establishment of an unique monolatrous—and eventually monotheistic—religion focused on El/Yahweh, which they attribute to the prophet Jeremiah. They occurred around the beginning of the first millennium BCE and have taken on vital symbolic significance for the Jewish people ever since. In post-exilic periods, it is likely that the designation "holy city" was given to Jerusalem. According to Christian tradition, the sanctity of Jerusalem was preserved in the Septuagint, which Christians took as their own source of authority, and was bolstered by the storey of Jesus' crucifixion in Jerusalem recorded in the New Testament. As the third holiest city in Sunni Islam after Mecca and Medina, Jerusalem is revered as the holiest place on earth. Historically, in 610 CE, it was designated as the first qibla, the centre point for Muslim prayer (salat), and Muhammad travelled there ten years later, rising to heaven where he communicates with God, as described in the Koran. This has resulted in the Old City being home to several holy landmarks, despite its small size of 0.9 km2 (3.85 sq mi). These include the Temple Mount with its Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This tomb is located just outside of the Old City.

Jerusalem's future status continues to be one of the most contentious topics in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict today. Jerusalem's West Bank was among the regions acquired and subsequently annexed by Israel during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War; however, Jordan took and later annexed East Jerusalem, which included the Old City, during the same conflict. When Israel defeated Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War, it took East Jerusalem and annexed it into the city of Jerusalem, as well as a large amount of surrounding area. In Israel's Basic Laws, the Jerusalem Law, which was passed in 1980, the city of Jerusalem is designated as the country's undivided capital. Everything related to Israeli government is situated in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the presidential homes (Beit Aghion and Bet HaNassi), the Supreme Court, and the Prime Minister's residence (Beit Aghion). East Jerusalem is recognised as Palestinian land occupied by Israel by the international world, which views the annexation as unlawful.