Sovereignty Over the Old City of Jerusalem: A Study of the Historical, Religious, Political and Legal Aspects of the Question of the Old City

At the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, the Zionist Organization presented its claim for recognition of the historical and national rights of the Jewish people to Palestine including Jerusalem and its Old City. In San Remo, in 1920, the Allied Powers, holding the power of disposition over Palestine, decided to recognize the Jewish historical claim converting it into a binding international law claim. It was incorporated into the Mandate for Palestine approved by the League of Nations in 1922. This "Sacred Trust of Civilization" provided for the establishment of the Jewish National Home in Palestine based on historical connections and recognition of the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country, subject to safeguarding the civil and religious rights of its inhabitants. The thesis studies various aspects of the competing claims to sovereignty over the Old City in light of rights previously granted to the Jewish people under international law.