24 - Jerusalem

Summary

There are two distinct issues in attempting to arrive at a settlement concerning the status of Jerusalem: Holy Places and territorial jurisdiction. As regards Holy Places, both Israel and the PLO, apparently, are willing to accept special arrangements for international religious bodies in the holy sites. The Palestinians demand that East Jerusalem be the capital of a Palestinian State. In accordance with international law, an international organisation cannot be sovereign of territory, but it can administer it. All the parties concerned, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians object to internationalization. Any attempt to resolve this issue has to consider whether the City should be divided and should the division be a physical barrier. If there is no physical barrier then should there be another physical barrier between Israel and a Palestinian State or entity. As to possible solutions, there appears to be no international call for physically dividing the city again. There have been many proposals for solutions. Proposals include functional division and suspending the issue of sovereignty, treating the Old City within the walls as a separate issue, or dividing the city according to the demography of the different suburbs. Each proposal raises difficulties. It appears that international law may help buttress solutions but, unfortunately, international law holds no magic answer or golden key.