1967 war: Jerusalem then and now

1967 war: Jerusalem then and now

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Israel will soon mark the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War, a conflict in which it captured the Old City of Jerusalem and more than two dozen Palestinian villages around it from Jordan, laying the foundations of a long-simmering dispute.

Before & After

Before
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Government Press Office
After
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Ronen Zvulun

Before: Arab legion positions are seen under fire to clear way for Israeli units to takeover the hills surrounding the Jerusalem's Old City during the 1967 Middle East War.
After: The East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Wadi al-Joz in the foreground and Mount of Olives in the background.

According to the Jewish calendar, the anniversary falls on May 24 this year, even though the anniversary for most of the world will be on June 5, when the war began in 1967.

Before & After

Before
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Moshe Pridan/Government Press Office
After
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Ammar Awad

Before: Men sit at a sidewalk cafe in Jerusalem's Old City.
After: The same location is seen 50 years on.

For Israelis, all of Jerusalem, including the Old City and its eastern suburbs, is their "eternal and indivisible" capital.

Before & After

Before
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Moshe Pridan/Government Press Office
After
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Ammar Awad

Before: Palestinians stand in front of the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City.
After: The same location is seen 50 years on.

For Palestinians, East Jerusalem is a symbol of their national struggle and home to Islam's third most sacred site, the al-Aqsa mosque, and the nearby glittering Dome of the Rock.

Before & After

Before
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Moshe Pridan/Government Press Office
After
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Ronen Zvulun

Before: Avshalom's tomb and the Garden of Gethsemane are seen in Jerusalem.
After: The same location is seen 50 years on.

Both stand on an elevated plaza Jews refer to as Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, and the location of an ancient Jewish temple.

Before & After

Before
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Fritz Cohen/Government Press Office
After
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Ammar Awad

Before: Ancient archway and ramp leading to the Qayt Bay fountain or Sabil Qaitbay (Center, lower court), on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount.
After: A woman walks near the same location.

The Palestinians want the eastern part of the city to be the capital of their future state, alongside the West Bank and Gaza.

Before & After

Before
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Fritz Cohen/Government Press Office
After
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Ronen Zvulun

Before: People walk near Damascus Gate leading into Jerusalem's Old City.
After: The same location is seen 50 years on.

Over the decades since 1967, Jerusalem has seen controversy over settlements, violence, and demographic change. Despite all this, many of the key sites in the Old City, scenes of fighting half a century ago, have changed relatively little.

Before & After

Before
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Moshe Pridan/Government Press Office
After
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Ammar Awad

Before: People stand in a plaza near al-Aqsa mosque during Friday prayers on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount.
After: The same location is seen 50 years on.