The take-over of Jerusalem

Occupied Jerusalem has always held importance because it houses the three religions of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. The monuments in that city stand as evidence of the history of humankind as events unfolded in that particular area over time.

Over thousands of years, Arabs have inhabited that land which became, in time, their identity and place of existence. Eventually, many were forced out as the Zionist occupation took place. Thus, the city's inhabitants turned into refugees, their homes confiscated and destroyed, their land expropriated.

Such violations were not random incidents but regular acts based on a strategic plan to change the status of the country, that is Palestine, as a whole and the city in particular. This has become a consistent pattern recently, with the Israeli extermination of Palestinians. The following is a look at how the take over of Jerusalem is being carried out:

The occupation

This Israeli aggression started in May, 1948, when the Jewish Agency set up an interim government and announced the establishment of the state of Israel in the part allocated by UN Resolution 181 to the Jews.

Resolution 181 was passed by the UN General Assembly in 1947 when most members voted for the majority proposal forwarded by the UN Special Committee on Palestine entrusted with investigating the Palestinian cause during the last year of the British Mandate in Palestine.

The proposal recommended dividing Palestine into two states, one for Palestinians and the other for the Jews, with Jerusalem left under international administration. This proposal was rejected by the Palestinians who at that time comprised two-thirds of the population and owned the greater part of the land.

The formation of Israel consequently led to the first Arab-Israeli war during which the Jews captured a great part of the territory allocated to Arabs under resolution 181, including 85 per cent of Jerusalem, mainly the western part.