East Jerusalem had a similar legal history to that of the rest of the West Bank until its annexation by Israel after the 1967 Six Day War.
U.N. General Assembly Resolution 181(II) of 1947 called for Jerusalem to have an independent international legal status, and be administered by the U.N. However, after the 1948 War, the western part of Jerusalem came under Israeli control while the eastern portion came under Jordanian control, despite the further U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194(III) of 1948 which reiterated its position that Jerusalem should remain under UN control.
Following the war of 1967, Israel occupied and then annexed the eastern part of Jerusalem, despite UN General Assembly resolutions 2253 (ES-V) and 2254 (ES-V) of 1967, and U.N. Security Council resolutions 252 (1968), 267 (1969), 271 (1969), 446 (1979), 452 (1980), 465 (1980), 476 (1980) and 478 (1980), declaring invalid all Israeli actions taken to alter the status of Jerusalem. Resolution 242 of 1967 called for the Israeli withdrawal from all occupied territories, including east Jerusalem.
Thus, since 1967, Israeli domestic law has been imposed on the residents of East Jerusalem. In 1980, the Israeli government declared that Jerusalem was the united and eternal capital of Israel. UN Security Council resolution 465 of 1980 declared the action invalid..
According to the terms of the Oslo II accord and the Palestinian election law, Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem were able participate in elections for the new Palestinian legislative council in January 1996. Further, pursuant to a letter, dated October 11, 1993, by then Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Israel promised not to interfere with Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem and to preserve the interests and well-being of Palestinians there.
According to the Oslo II accord, the final status of Jerusalem
is to be discussed during the final status talks, which began
on May 4th, 1996.