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Jerusalem is the capital and largest city of Israel in both population and area, with 732,100 residents in an area of 126 square kilometers. Located in the Judean Mountains, between the Mediterranean Sea and the northern tip of the Dead Sea, the city has a history that goes back as far as the 4th millennium BCE, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the spiritual center of the Jewish people since the 10th century. The city contains a number of significant ancient Christian sites and is considered the third-holiest city in Islam. On December 5, 1949, the State of Israel`s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, proclaimed Jerusalem as Israel`s capital and since then all branches of the Israeli government — legislative, judicial, and executive — have resided there. At the time of the proclamation, Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan and thus only West Jerusalem was considered Israel`s capital. Immediately after the 1967 Six-Day War, however, Israel annexed East Jerusalem, making it a de facto part of the Israeli capital. Israel enshrined the status of the ``complete and united`` Jerusalem — west and east — as its capital
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