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erusalem From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). Jerusalem

The Old City of Jerusalem — its walls and the Tower of David

Seal Flag Hebrew 	יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Yerushalayim) (Standard) 	Yerushalayim or Yerushalaim Arabic 	commonly القـُدْس (Al-Quds); officially in Israel أورشليم القدس (Urshalim-Al-Quds) Name Meaning 	Hebrew: (see below), Arabic: "The Holiness" Government 	City District 	Jerusalem Population 	724,000 (2006) Jurisdiction 	123,000 dunams (123 km²)

Jerusalem (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (help·info), Yerushaláyim or Yerushalaim; Arabic: القُدس (help·info), al-Quds, "the Holiness")[2] is Israel's capital[3] and largest city both in population[4] and area, with a population of approximately 724,000 (as of 2006[5]) and an area totaling 123 square kilometers (47 sq mi).[6]

Located in the Judean Mountains between the Mediterranean and Dead Seas, Jerusalem is considered a holy city in three major religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the spiritual homeland of the Jewish people since the 10th century BCE.[7] The city is the third-holiest in Islam and contains a number of significant and ancient Christian landmarks. Thus, while the city has a large Jewish majority, a wide range of national, religious, and socioeconomic groups are represented. The walled area of Jerusalem, which until the late 19th century formed the entire city, is now called the Old City and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[8] It consists of four ethnic and religious sections — the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. Barely one kilometer square,[9] the Old City is home to several of Jerusalem's most important and contested religious sites, including the Western Wall and Temple Mount for Jews, the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre among different sects of Christians.

Surrounding the Old City are more modern areas of Jerusalem. The civic and cultural center of modern Israel in western Jerusalem stretches toward the country's other urban areas to the west, while majority Palestinian areas dominate the north, east and south of the Old City. Today, Jerusalem remains central to the Arab-Israeli conflict; Israel's annexation of the primarily Arab neighborhoods known as East Jerusalem is particularly controversial, as Jerusalem has been claimed by Palestinians as the capital for a future Palestinian state. Thus, the status of united Jerusalem as Israel's "eternal capital"[10] is not widely recognized by the international community, and most countries locate their embassies in Tel Aviv. Panoramic view on the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock