Netanyahu explained in his remarks: I want to tell you that the Jewish people have a long memory, so we remember the proclamation of the great king, Cyrus the Great, the Persian king 2,500 years ago. He proclaimed that the Jewish exiles in Babylon{IRAN) could come back and rebuild our Temple in Jerusalem. We remember a hundred years ago, Lord Balfour, who issued the Balfour Proclamation that recognized the rights of the Jewish people in our ancestral homeland. We remember 70 years ago, President Harry S. Truman was the first leader to recognize the Jewish state. And we remember how a few weeks ago, President Donald J. Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Mr. President, this will be remembered by our people through the ages. The city is sacred to all three of the great monotheistic religions. Christians, Jews, and Muslims all revere the city and see religious significance there. As such, it has been the gem in the eye of conquerors for centuries. The Romans, Crusaders, Ottomans, and the British Empire all once sought for control of the city. In the centre of the Old City is a hill with great significance to both Jews and Muslims, for example. The hill is known to Jews as Har ha-Bayit, or Temple Mount. To Muslims around the world, the hill is known as al-Haram al-Sharif, or The Noble Sanctuary.Christians revere the city for its connection to Jesus Christ, who they believe preached, died, and was later resurrected there.When British rule of the area ended in 1948, the Jordanian military invade to occupy the Old City, and Arab East Jerusalem. The Israelis passed a law in 1980 that declared Jerusalem the “complete and united” city of their country, and its capital. The United Nations, which regards East Jerusalem as occupied, took the position that the city’s status is disputed and in need of resolution through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.