West Jerusalem

With certain exceptions, undivided Jerusalem is not internationally recognized as the sovereign territory of either Israel or the State of Palestine.

[6] Prior to the 1948 Palestine war, the area of West Jerusalem included one of the wealthiest Arab communities, numbering some 28,000 people, in the region.

[9] Moshe Salomon, a commander with the Etzioni Brigade’s Moriah Battalion, described the massive looting that took place in the Arab middle-class quarter of Qatamon: “Everyone was swept up, privates and officers alike ….

The battalion commander, his deputy, they all failed in this regard.”[10]After this widespread looting, Israeli institutions managed to gather in around 30,000 books, mostly in Arabic, dealing with Islamic law, Qur’anic exegesis and translations of European literature, together with thousands of works from the holdings of churches and schools.

United States President Donald Trump's administration announced recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on 6 December 2017.

[19][20] During the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the eastern side of the city[21] and the whole West Bank.

Over the following years, their control remained tenuous, the international community refusing to recognise their authority and the Israelis themselves not feeling secure.

[21] In 1980, the Israeli government annexed East Jerusalem and reunified the city, but the international community disputed this.

[22] Major commercial centres of Jewish West Jerusalem include: the Downtown Triangle,[23] Mamilla Mall[24][25] and Emek Refaim.