 Hi there welcome back to my youtube channel this is Daniel Rosal and this youtube channel covers developments about Jerusalem and Israel. This Thursday is Yom Yerushalayim called in English Jerusalem Day. It's the day that commemorates when Israel unified the city of Jerusalem following its successful defeat of Jordanian forces and those of other Arab states in the 60th war of 1967. Prior to capturing East Jerusalem and the Old City and bringing them within the bounds of the Jerusalem municipality these territories as well as Judea and Samaria or the West Bank were administered by Jordan. This means of course that between 1948 and 1967 which was a 19 year stretch in total the city of Jerusalem was divided by effectively an international border alongside a no man's land. This border was known in Hebrew as the Kav Ironi the city line and was essentially the part of the green armistice line that passed through Jerusalem itself. Today the green line still has important significance although it's not demarcated neither in Jerusalem nor elsewhere it's still the boundary by which the international community believes that Israel is not legally allowed to build to the east of. Of course this view the one of the international community is increasingly unpopular in Israel especially so under this right wing government but it is how most of the world outside of Israel perceives the situation. You can see the course of the green line and the former Kav Ironi by simply opening google maps. Usually it's just one line but sometimes it's two was the old no man's land in between. This was because the temporary border that existed through Jerusalem between Israel and Jordan was actually an armistice line or a ceasefire agreement line with Israel and Jordan sometimes agreeing to ceasefire lines at slightly different locations creating a no man's land between the two. You can also see its course on this historic map of the city majoring that period the zone marked eight is the Mount Skopis enclave. Within Jerusalem today the line straddles the edge of the popular Tayyed at Walkway and then runs parallel to Hebron Road and through the mixed Arab Jewish neighborhood of Abutor. Around the old city the green line is set slightly to the west of the old city such that both its walls and contents are all on its eastern site. The Israeli side of the border continues along Ha'ay and Chet Street which is located in the Moosrara neighborhood of Jerusalem and a hat tip for pointing this out goes to long time subscriber and history buff Marcus James. The Kav Ironi then continues north right along the road of Route 60 before branching off to the west of the city. The Israel State Archives has a number of historical photos of the border between Israel and Jordan through Jerusalem back when it was physically demarcated. Here's one of my favorites it's taken looking southbound from where the former Barclays Bank used to stand. You can see the international border marked out by the tall concrete barricades running through the middle of the street. The children playing on the other side of those slabs are in Jordan as is the old city itself. You can see those same slabs a little better here with more children to play on the street. Given that the Kav Ironi was only intended as an armistice line little thought was given to what logical sense it might make as an international border on the ground. Hence, like modern day Nicosia and Cyprus, the border often dissected streets requiring a complex system of fencing and barriers in order to secure it. This photo also gives a sense for what it must have been like in those days to grow up living on the border of two enemy states. The Hebrew language on this side reads, be careful enemy territories before you, no crossing. Another great photo is of the Mendelbaum Gate. There was a customs house here and it was used by Israeli forces to load up convoys driving to the Mount Scopus enclave and back. You can see in this photo the familiar stop there's a border in front of you signs. These were still in use today next to Israeli borders, although the design has changed a little bit over the years. Here's another interesting photo also taken at the Mandelbaum Gate. It shows Jordanian soldiers in the background and Israeli soldiers in the foreground. This interesting photograph was taken at Kikar Tahr. Here's a photo of what that same area in Jerusalem looks like today. It's located towards the end of Yaffo Street at the approach to the old city. Again, you can see here the elaborate fortifications that were added to buildings in order to prevent crossing between the two countries at this point. Here's a particularly interesting photo showing what the No Man's Land itself looked like. This photo was taken by Eitan Tal and shows the old city of Jerusalem in the background. It was taken from the geology department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem which was then located on Mimil Street. Nowadays, a bitty pedestrian mall fills that area. I hope these photos have given a sense for what life must have been like during this 19 year period when Jerusalem was divided into two countries and passage for ordinary residents was forbidden. Of course, the period we're discussing here isn't exactly ancient history. If you were alive at that time or know a relative who was, I'd love to hear your stories about how the border worked and what interactions, if any, you had with the Jordanians living on the other side. Until next time, thank you for watching.