Status of Jerusalem
The status of Jerusalem has been described as "one of the most intractable issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict" due to the long-running territorial dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, both of which claim it as their capital city. Part of this issue of sovereignty is tied to concerns over access to holy sites in the Abrahamic religions; the current religious environment in Jerusalem is upheld by the "Status Quo" of the former Ottoman Empire.[1][2] As the Israeli–Palestinian peace process has primarily navigated the option of a two-state solution, one of the largest points of contention has been East Jerusalem, which was part of the Jordanian-annexed West Bank until the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967.
The United Nations recognizes East Jerusalem (and the West Bank as a whole) as the territory for an independent Palestinian state, thus rejecting Israel's claim to that half of the city. However, there is broader consensus among the international community with regard to West Jerusalem being Israel's capital city, as it falls within Israel's sovereign territory (per the Green Line) and has been recognized as under Israeli control since the 1949 Armistice Agreements.[1]
Most countries and organizations support that West Jerusalem and East Jerusalem should be allocated as capital cities to the Israelis and the Palestinians, respectively;[3] this position has been endorsed by the United Nations,[4][5] the European Union,[6][7] and France, among others.[8] Russia, which is a member of the Middle East Quartet, already recognizes East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital and West Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.[9]
The majority of United Nations member states hold the view that the city's final status should be resolved through negotiations and have therefore favoured locating their embassies to Israel in Tel Aviv, pending a final status agreement. Five countries have embassies to Israel in Jerusalem: the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, and the disputed Republic of Kosovo.[10][11]
Prelude: UN resolution from 1947
On 29 November 1947 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution which, as part of its Partition Plan for Palestine, included the establishment of Jerusalem as a separate international entity under the auspices of the United Nations, a so-called corpus separatum.
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
On 13 December 2017, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), consisting of 57 primarily Muslim countries, declared East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine and invited "all countries to recognise the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital."[75][76][77] The declaration makes no mention of Jerusalem as corpus separatum, nor makes any reference to West Jerusalem.
: On 15 December 2018 Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Australia recognised West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, while East Jerusalem should be the capital of the State of Palestine.[116] However, Morrison also announced that Australia would not relocate its embassy to West Jerusalem until after the final status of Jerusalem was resolved.[117][118][119] On 17 October 2022, Australia's foreign minister confirmed its reversal of the previous governments recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel's capital.[120][121][122] The decision was harshly criticised by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.[123] However, Australia still maintains close relations with Israel and currently has no formal relations with Palestine.
Australia
: Brazil recognizes East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine,[124] with which it maintains full diplomatic relations, whereas the Brazilian embassy to Israel is based in Tel Aviv.
Brazil
: According to Global Affairs Canada, "Canada considers the status of Jerusalem can be resolved only as part of a general settlement of the Palestinian–Israeli dispute. Canada does not recognize Israel's unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem."[125] In the fact sheet on Israel displayed on the Canadian Foreign Affairs Department's website, the "Capital" field states that "While Israel designates Jerusalem as its capital, Canada believes that the final status of the city needs to be negotiated between the Israelis and Palestinians. At present, Canada maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv."[126]
Canada
: According to Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, Germany is committed to a two-state solution and believes that the final status of Jerusalem must be resolved through negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.[127]
Germany
: "Endorsing the stance of the European Union in this regard, Italy does not recognise the legitimacy of any border changes that are not agreed between the parties. The question of Jerusalem is extremely sensitive, being the home to the Holy Places belonging to the three great monotheistic religions. To resolve this issue it will be necessary for the parties to reach a difficult, but possible, agreement to safeguard the special character of the city and meet the expectations of both peoples."[128]
Italy
: In a 1980 statement to the United Nations, Japan criticized Israel's proclamation of Jerusalem as its united capital: "Japan cannot recognize such a unilateral change to the legal status of an occupied territory, which is in total violation of the relevant United Nations resolutions". Japan later reiterated its position in a 2001 UN report: "Japan believes that issues relating to Jerusalem should be resolved through the permanent status negotiations between the parties concerned, and until such a solution is achieved both parties should refrain from taking any unilateral action relating to the situation in Jerusalem."[129]
Japan
: Saudi Arabia recognizes the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Saudi Arabia does not formally recognize the State of Israel. The Saudi monarchy has not taken an official position on the fate of West Jerusalem's status.[130] Saudi Arabia expressed disappointment in the United States's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Saudi Arabia
: On 17 December 2017, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said "the day is close when officially" his nation will open an embassy to the State of Palestine in East Jerusalem.[133] This statement came several days after Erdoğan had called for worldwide recognition of East Jerusalem as the occupied capital of a Palestinian state at a summit of Muslim countries convened in response to the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.[134][135]
Turkey
Islamic holy sites
The status of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, including Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount, is also unresolved. In 1924, the Supreme Muslim Council, the highest Muslim body in charge of Muslim community affairs in Mandatory Palestine, accepted Hussein bin Ali (Sharif of Mecca) as custodian of Al-Aqsa.[178]
In the 1994 peace treaty with Jordan, Israel committed to "respect the present special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem." Israel also pledged that when negotiations on the permanent status will take place, it will give high priority to the Jordanian historical role in these shrines. The Wakf Department that oversees Muslim sites in Jerusalem is controlled by the Jordanian government, which insists on its exclusive custodianship of the holy site. In 2013, the Palestinian Authority also recognized Jordan's role through an agreement signed between PA President Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah II.[179]
Position of the Vatican
The Vatican has had a long-held position on Jerusalem and its concern for the protection of the Christian holy places in the Holy Land which predates the Palestinian Mandate. The Vatican's historic claims and interests, as well as those of Italy and France were based on the former Protectorate of the Holy See and the French Protectorate of Jerusalem, which were incorporated in article 95 of the Treaty of Sèvres (1920), which besides incorporating the Balfour Declaration also provided: "it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine". The Balfour Declaration and the proviso were also incorporated in the Palestinian Mandate (1923), but which also provided in articles 13 and 14 for an international commission to resolve competing claims on the holy places. These claimants had officially lost all capitulation rights by article 28 of the Treaty of Lausanne (1923). However, Britain never gave any effect to Mandate provisions arts 13 & 14.
During the negotiations of proposals that culminated in the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine (also known as Resolution 181) in 1947, the historic claims of the Vatican, Italy and France were revived, and expressed as the call for the special international regime for the city of Jerusalem. This was also confirmed in UN General Assembly Resolution 194 in 1948, which maintained the position that Jerusalem be made an international city,[16] under United Nations supervision. The Vatican's official position on the status of Jerusalem was in favour of an internationalization of Jerusalem, in order to keep the holy place away from either Israeli or Arab sovereignty.[180]
Pope Pius XII supported this idea in the 1949 encyclical Redemptoris nostri cruciatus. It was proposed again during the papacies of John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.[181] The Vatican reiterated this position in 2012, recognizing Jerusalem's "identity and sacred character" and calling for freedom of access to the city's holy places to be protected by "an internationally guaranteed special statute". After the US recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017, Pope Francis repeated the Vatican's position: "I wish to make a heartfelt appeal to ensure that everyone is committed to respecting the status quo of the city, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations."[182]
There are four sites in Jerusalem claimed by France as "Domaine national français", which are based on claimed French acquisitions predating the formation of the State of Israel, and based on the former French Protectorate of Jerusalem (also known as capitulations), which was abolished in 1923. These sites are:
French presidents have claimed that the Church of Saint Anne in Jerusalem, for example, comes under French protection, is owned by its government, and is French territory.[183][184] The Israeli government has not made any public statement relating to the French claims.