This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Jerusalem [ note 2 ] is a city in the Southern Levant , on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea.
It is one of the oldest cities in the world , and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions β Judaism , Christianity , and Islam. Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there, and the State of Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power. Neither claim is widely recognized internationally. Throughout its long history , Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times , captured and recaptured 44 times, and attacked 52 times.
Today those walls define the Old City , which since the 19th century has been divided into four quarters β the Armenian , Christian , Jewish , and Muslim quarters. According to the Hebrew Bible , King David conquered the city from the Jebusites and established it as the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel , and his son, King Solomon , commissioned the building of the First Temple. Meanwhile, in Islam , Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. At present, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the IsraeliβPalestinian conflict.
Under the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine , Jerusalem was to be "established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime" administered by the United Nations.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem from Jordan during the Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into the city's municipality, together with additional surrounding territory. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset Israel's parliament , the residences of the Prime Minister and President , and the Supreme Court. The international community rejects the annexation as illegal and regards East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory occupied by Israel.
