I know this is a dumb question but explain like I’m 5 please.
I understand the basic desire for Israel and Palestine to “own” Jerusalem but I’ve wondered since my Sunday school days why the city can’t be made a country in an attempt to bring peace and make it a neutral Territory. I also understand that The Vatican is a very special case but so is Jerusalem.
You all are typically the most logical and factual r/ask community so I figured asking here would yield the most comprehensive answer in terms of historical precedent, and context. I’d like to disregard current affairs as much as possible.
I’m also not sure how to flair on mobile, sorry
Wait wait wait.. How did Israel manage to fight off 4 invading armies?? Help from the US?
The city could, in theory, be made into an international city or separate country. Indeed, that's precisely what the United Nations proposed through Resolution 181, which passed the UN General Assembly in November 1947. I discuss the details of that proposal here.
Following the failure of this proposal to ever be implemented due to a civil war, which was then followed by the Arab invasion, there was no appetite for an international city among the parties in the conflict (while the rest of the world did continue to insist on it). Jordan controlled the Old City of Jerusalem with its holy sites, and Israel wanted those sites. The problem was, neither side would want to give up control once it had it. While an international Jerusalem was accepted by Jewish groups in 1947, it was rejected by Arab groups and states, which effectively killed the proposal. Once Jordan had it, there was no way to convince Jordan to give up control of it; the importance of it to both sides is simply too high, and the lack of trust and unwillingness to recognize Israel's right to exist at the time also made it impossible.
In 1967, when Israel gained control in the six day war, the same was true, but reversed. Israel had no inclination to give up the city, particularly since Jews had been unable to pray at their holiest sites in East Jerusalem during the period that the city was divided. It was simply too important to Israel as well, and no Arab state recognized Israel's right to exist, either, which made it less appealing as well.
By the time peace could be considered and Israel's right to exist was recognized by the PLO, Jordan, and Egypt (though not any other Arab state), Israel still had no inclination to give up the city due to its importance. However, and this skirts the 20 year rule, there have been proposals in peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians to internationalize the holy sites in a peace deal, which I cannot go into further detail on in this sub.