JERUSALEM, Feb. 7, 01 (CWNews.com) - Israel's newly elected prime minister, Arial Sharon, on Wednesday claimed all of Jerusalem as Israel's «eternal capital,» rejecting Palestinians' claim to East Jerusalem.
Sharon, speaking after his landslide victory against Ehud Barak in elections, called for an end to the four-month-old uprisings and a return to negotiations for a «realistic peace.» Following the tradition of past Israeli election winners, Sharon placed his right hand on the stones of Judaism's holiest site, the Western Wall in Jerusalem, and read from a prayer book in his other hand.
«I am visiting Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people for the past 3,000 years and the united and indivisible capital of Israel - with the Temple Mount at its center - for all eternity,» Sharon told reporters at the Wall. Sharon's tough language contrasted with compromises offered by his predecessor, Barak, which, despite their far-ranging character, were rejected by Palestinians as not enough.
Sovereignty over East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, and the Temple Mount - a shrine revered by Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif - is a key obstacle to an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as a capital of a future state. Pope John Paul II has proposed international guarantees for Jerusalem to recognize the city's sacred place in three religions - Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Catholic World News Service - Daily News Briefs
7. februar 2001