Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the Bible recently to justify the Jewish state’s contested claim on the city before a parliamentary session.
According to Reuters, Netanyahu said “Jerusalem” and its Hebrew name “Zion” appear 850 times in the Old Testament, Judaism’s core canon.
In the Christian New Testament, Jerusalem is mentioned 142 times, Netanyahu said. He noted that none of the 16 Arabic names for Jerusalem is mentioned in the Koran.
However, in an expanded interpretation of the Koran from the 12th century, one passage is said to refer to Jerusalem, Reuters reported.