Israel Matzav

'Palestinians' favor united Jerusalem

Some of you may recall that I spent last Tuesday and Wednesday at the World Jewish Congress convention, from which I did a number of liveblogs. The convention took place in the David's Citadel Hotel, which is located on the corner of King David Street and Mamilla Street. Although the Old City can be seen from many points in the hotel, the hotel is most definitely in 'west' Jerusalem.

Until now, we've been told that the 'Palestinians' want to see Jerusalem divided, with Israel getting the 'western' half of the city and the 'Palestinians' getting the 'eastern' half of the city. In fact, it is often mentioned here with some degree of bitterness, that if the United States does not want to recognize our claim to the entire city, they could at least recognize our claim to the 'western' half and move their embassy here - in fact the 'west' Jerusalem consulate is a couple hundred meters from the David's Citadel Hotel.

However, it appears that the 'Palestinians' now have the idea that they have a better claim to ALL of Jerusalem. The reason we know that is that we have a Google translation of this article in Arabic in which the World Jewish Congress meeting in 'west' Jerusalem is termed a 'provocation.'

The Department of International Relations of the PLO today expressed deep concern, because Israel opened the door to the Jewish Congress to hold its fourteenth meeting in occupied Jerusalem, which is held with the blessing and the presence of the leaders of Israel, and the participation of more than 200 representatives of Jewish groups in the world.

The action that is confirmed in a press release is a blatant defiance of the resolutions of international legitimacy, which considers all Israeli actions in Jerusalem 'is invalid and illegal', which emphasizes that Jerusalem is part and parcel of the occupied territory.

The Department stressed that the move by the State of Israel is a provocation to the feelings of Arab and Islamic nation, and that such a move would confirm that Israel continues to take all necessary measures for control of Jerusalem 'capital' eternal, and an affirmation of the Israeli refusal to reach a just peace that guarantees the Palestinian rights in Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state. The Department called for all relevant international and Arab bodies to stand in the face of these activities, the Israeli aggression against the holy city, stressing the need for a national conference on high-level response to the situation of Israeli activity against a just solutions to the Palestinian cause seeking to control the Islamic and Christian sanctities and its annexation to Israel.

I wonder if Bibi discussed given all of Jerusalem to Abu Bluff in Washington last week.

What could go wrong?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:41 PM