The History of Jerusalem

This is a nonfiction book. It is designed to provide information about the country of Palestine on what is going on since 1947.

The history of Jerusalem is the history of a living city perhaps unlike that of any other in the world.

Jerusalem (al-Quds in Arabic) represents the heart of three world religions: a holy place for Islam, Judaism and Christianity, yet it is also a dangerous flashpoint to one of the world's most intractable conflicts, the Palestine-Israel issue.

Jerusalem is Islam's third holiest site and home to the al-Aqsa mosque (Muslims worldwide faced this mosque in prayer before the direction was changed to the mosque in Makka).

It also holds the Dome of the Rock, where the Prophet Muhammad ascended on his night journey to heaven. The al-Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary as it is also called, is held by Jews and Muslims alike to be the place where the Prophet Ibrahim was prevented from sacrificing his son Ismail (or Isaac to Christians and Jews) by God's intervention.

But for many people throughout history, Jerusalem has been a prized possession and much fought over. Archaeological work in the area suggests that the city was inhabited as far back as 4000BC.

Its earliest known name may be Jebusite, the translation of a Canaanite town. Together with the later arriving Philistines, they are believed to be the earliest known ancestors to present day Palestinians.

"Philistinians" settled along the stretch of the Mediterranean coast that extended approximately from Jaffa to the Gaza Strip, and was within the land of Canaan for many centuries. Having left such an indelible mark, the land of Philistia, or Palestine as it became known, has remained to this day...

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