CNN raised some questions about the latest updates from Palestine and Israel. The article wrote by Richard Allen Greene and Oren Liebermann.
Why is this happening now? The city had been on edge for several weeks, with Palestinians angered over the closure of a popular plaza just as Ramadan was beginning, and as a years-long legal battle to remove seven Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem appeared set to end with eviction. An Israeli nationalist organization called Nahalat Shimon is using a 1970 law — passed after Israel gained control over East Jerusalem — to argue that the owners of the land before 1948 were Jewish families, meaning the current Palestinian occupants should be evicted and their properties given to Israeli Jews. Palestinians contend that restitution laws in Israel are unfair because they have no legal means to reclaim the property they lost to Jewish families in the late 1940s in what became the state of Israel.
Explained: Why Israel Palestinian tensions are sky high – CNN
What is East Jerusalem and why is it so sensitive?
After the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, the city of Jerusalem was divided. East Jerusalem was controlled by the Jordanians, while West Jerusalem was controlled by the Israelis, who made it their capital. The Old City of Jerusalem and its holy sites were in East Jerusalem. The Old City is home to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Christians believe Jesus Christ was buried. It is home to the Al Aqsa Mosque where Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed journeyed on his Night Voyage, as well as the site where they believe he ascended to heaven. And it is home to the holiest site in the world for Jews, the stone where they believe Abraham came to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and where the First and Second Temples stood in ancient times. During the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel captured East Jerusalem, placing the entire city under Israeli control. Israel also captured the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula. The latter was returned to Egypt under the 1979 peace agreement, but East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights have remained under full Israeli control. The Palestinians enjoy limited autonomy in Gaza and parts of the West Bank, but Israel maintains control of all borders and security.
