ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the evocation of Jerusalem in Palestinian poetry to the beginning of the twentieth century. Successive Israeli governments treated Jerusalem as the ultimate prize for its occupation in the name of authenticating its Jewish religious identity and claiming sole ownership and spiritual connection to Jerusalem at the expense of the Palestinian population, whether they be Muslims or Christians. Jerusalem is a centre of spiritual meanings, which radiate historical parallels and resonances that Palestinians relate to as sources of political inspirations and rights that have been denied to them. In the context at hand, the Palestinian attachment to Jerusalem draws on the Old Testament to highlight comparable sentiments when in their Babylonian exile the ancient Jews repeated and lamented the loss of Jerusalem and pledged to keep it in their memories. Palestine and Jerusalem are in a state of suspense awaiting liberation from an occupation that distorts language, geography, history and culture.
