The first task of law is to define itself: what does it regulate? How and in what way? Of these three, the first is of the greatest import. Indeed, in the case of the holy sites, the first and preeminent question is: what is a holy site? The first critical task in creating a legal regime to protect the holy sites is to define the term. It is important not only in regards to determining what is to be regulated, but also because an adequate definition can provide insight and guidance on how to resolve certain disputes over the characterization of a site and may suggest some parameters for the type of regulatory control that is appropriate.

Background: Contested Ground

In seeking a legal definition for the holy sites, we do not start ab initio – we begin with the existing law. As previously described, over the last hundred and fifty years, this problem has challenged the Ottoman Empire, the British, the United Nations, and Israel. The current law traces its primary impetus to the 1967 War, Israeli occupation of the Old City and environs (home to most of the important holy sites), and the extension of Israeli Law over East Jerusalem on June 27, 1967. These actions reawakened the issue of Jerusalem and the holy sites. Israel attempted to reduce international opposition to its steps (interpreted by the world as the annexation of East Jerusalem) by legislating the Protection of the Holy Places Law, 5727–1967.