Arab Housing, East Jerusalem - February 2012
East Jerusalem is the section of the city that was occupied by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The western section of the city, West Jerusalem, was occupied by Israel. Israel gained East Jerusalem along with the rest of the West Bank in the 1967 Arab–Israeli War (or Six-Day War).

East Jerusalem includes Jerusalem's Old City and some of the holiest sites of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, such as the Temple Mount, Western Wall, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Dome of the Rock, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, as well as a number of adjacent neighborhoods. Israeli and Palestinian definitions of the section greatly differ, with Israel’s based their definition of the current municipality boundaries of Jerusalem. The official Palestinian position is based on the 1949 Armistice Agreements.

Changes have been determined by a series of administrative enlargements decided upon by Israeli municipal authorities since the June 1967 Six-Day War. Despite its name, East Jerusalem includes neighborhoods to the north, east, and south of the Old City. The larger international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to be illegal under international law. However, Israel disputes this interpretation.