Photo: AA
Bethlehem, mINA – Palestinian Christian religious leaders have decried U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as an “insult” to Muslims and Christians around the world.
“We, Palestinians, Christians and Muslims reject the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” Jerusalem’s Greek Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna said at a press conference in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Saturday, Anadolu Agency reported.
“This declaration is an insult to our people and to our just cause,” he said.
He said the U.S. decision was “an insult to Christians and Muslims around the world, who consider Jerusalem as an incubator of their most sacred, spiritual and national heritage”.
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Hanna warned that the U.S. decision was “dangerous” to the Palestinian cause.
“The U.S. gave the occupation what it does not deserve,” he said, “Jerusalem is the city which we consider as our capital and an incubator of our holy sites.”
On Dec. 6, U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital despite worldwide opposition. The decision sparked angry demonstrations across the Muslim world.
Following a UN Security Council resolution that would have passed unanimously but for a U.S. veto, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution spurning the U.S. move by 128-9 votes.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other top Turkish officials have been at the international forefront opposing the U.S. move, through sponsoring the UNGN resolution and calling an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, among other measures.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Middle East conflict with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem — occupied by Israel — might eventually serve as the capital of an independent state of Palestine.(R/R04/RS5)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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