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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan | |
| Netanyahu says all Jerusalem to remain Israeli | |
| 2009-05-22 | |
The twin moves came a day after Netanyahu returned from talks in Washington, where President Barack Obama backed creation of a Palestinian state and urged an end to Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank, setting up a potential confrontation between Israel and the U.S. Netanyahu has refused to endorse Palestinian statehood, and his uncompromising statement about Jerusalem focused attention on another issue that could cause friction between Israel and Obama’s administration. The U.S. has long held that the future of Jerusalem must be decided in negotiations, but Netanyahu offered no flexibility. “United Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” Netanyahu said. “Jerusalem was always ours and will always be ours. It will never again be partitioned and divided.” Netanyahu was speaking at a ceremony marking 42 years since Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. Netanyahu, who took office on March 31, has always rejected giving up control of any part of Jerusalem. Rafik Husseini, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, rejected Netanyahu’s stand. He said the Palestinians have accepted a two-state solution based on east Jerusalem as the capital of their state. “Israeli occupation of east Jerusalem is illegal,” he told The Associated Press, adding that an Israeli attempt to keep control of east Jerusalem would be a “major obstacle to peace.” | |
| Posted by:Steve White |