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PA backs EU declaration on Jerusalem
[Ma'an] The cabinet of the Fatah-backed government in Ramallah urged the European Union to adopt what it termed "clear positions in accordance with international law" on Monday.The call comes as the council of European foreign ministers is set to vote on a resolution that would declare East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital and hint that it would recognize a declared Palestinian state. The measure introduced by Sweden, obtained by the Israeli daily Haaretz, also calls on the Israeli government "to cease all discriminatory treatment of Palestinians in East Jerusalem." Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, annexing the Palestinian city and declaring it its "undivided, eternal capital." Israel's claims to the city were never recognized abroad, and most countries' embassies are in Tel Aviv. The ministers called on the EU in statement to play a role in restarting the long-stalled peace process with Israel. The cabinet also reaffirmed its view that peace will only be achieved through an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. The government headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad also reiterated its call for a total freeze on the expansion of Israeli settlements in the entire West Bank. It said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to freeze construction in settlements outside of Jerusalem, while approving an additional 3,000 housing units in the city, is a policy that violates international law. In the same context, the council of ministers condemned Israeli settlers' attacks on Palestinians, and the Israeli government's cancellation of residency rights of 4,500 Palestinians in Jerusalem this year. Posted by: Fred 2009-12-08 |
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