Catholic bishops from the Middle East demanded last Saturday at a special synod in Rome that Israel “put an end to the occupation” of Arab lands.

The AP reported that the bishops released the statement on the final day of its two-week Vatican conference that was convened by Pope Benedict XVI. (See  http://theundergroundsite.com/index.php/2010/10/pope-urges-christians-jews-and-muslims-to-work-for-peace-14015).

The bishops said Israel should agree to U.N. resolutions for them to leave Palestinian territory, and added that it is wrong of Israel to employ the Bible as defense of “injustices” that were committed against the Palestinians, the AP said.

The special synod was called to thresh out the mass departure of Christians from the Middle East, which is the place where Christianity originated. The bishops also condemned all forms of terrorism and anti-Semitism, the AP reported.

The statement said, “The Palestinian people will thus have an independent and sovereign homeland where they can live with dignity and security,” the Jerusalem Post said. Furthermore,

“The State of Israel will be able to enjoy peace and security within their internationally recognized borders,” CNN reported.

The statement added that this would give Jerusalem its proper status as a holy place for Jews, Christians and Muslims saying, “We hope that the two-state solution might become a reality and not only a dream,” according to the Jerusalem Post.

The first time the pope publicly endorsed the two states coexisting was in May 2009 when he visited the region. The pope at that time expressed support for a sovereign Palestinian homeland, a suggestion that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposed, CNN said.

Recently, peace talks had been revived between Palestinians and Israelis, but were scuttled because Israel embarked on the construction of 600 housing units in the West Bank. Palestine had said a freeze on Israeli settlements was a precondition for continuing with the talks, CNN reported.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the Bible recently to justify the Jewish state’s contested claim on the city before a parliamentary session.

According to Reuters, Netanyahu said “Jerusalem” and its Hebrew name “Zion” appear 850 times in the Old Testament, Judaism’s core canon.

In the Christian New Testament, Jerusalem is mentioned 142 times, Netanyahu said. He noted that none of the 16 Arabic names for Jerusalem is mentioned in the Koran.

However, in an expanded interpretation of the Koran from the 12th century, one passage is said to refer to Jerusalem, Reuters reported.

Netanyahu’s comments came on Jerusalem Day, an Israeli national holiday marked by tens of thousands of Israelis marching through the city singing, dancing and waving Israeli flags.

Jerusalem Day commemorates Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in June 1967, marking the unification of their ancient capital.

However the Palestinians consider the annexation of East Jerusalem illegal. They anticipate East Jerusalem to be the capital city of a future Palestinian state. Israel has pledged that Jerusalem will remain united as their capital city.

Jerusalem lies within Israel’s boundaries.  Mayor Nir Barkat added that the city’s boundaries are “nonnegotiable” according to Aol.News.

Holy sites

Jerusalem is holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  For the Jews, the Western Wall, which is part of Solomon’s Temple that was destroyed in 70 AD, is the holiest site in Jerusalem.

For Christians the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the traditional burial place of Jesus and a regular pilgrimage place.
For Muslims, the gold-topped dome of the Rock, is believed by them to be where Muhammad ascended to heaven, Aol News reported.

Also, the Al-Aqsa mosque makes Jerusalem the third holiest site after Mecca and Medina.

However, the Al-Aqsa mosque stands on a plaza that Jews revere as the vestige of two biblical Jewish temples, according to Reuters.

In the international community a united Jerusalem under Israel is not recognized.

Many countries agree that East Jerusalem should be the future capital of a future Palestinian state.

Indirect peace negotiations with the Palestinians resumed this month after one to one and a half years of U.S. trouble-shooting.

However, the Israel and Palestine remain at odds over the issue of Israel which Palestine refuses to formally recognize as a Jewish state, Reuters reported.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said of Netanyahu’s recent comments, “I find it very distasteful, this use of religion.

East Jerusalem is an occupied Palestinian town, and East Jerusalem cannot continue to be occupied if there is to be peace,” according to Reuters.

Netanyahu promised that while Israel would retain control over all of Jerusalem, they would ensure freedom of worship at its holy sites.

However, Palestinians over the last decade have had limited access to al-Aqsa.  Christians in the West Bank also note similar problems in Jerusalem churches, Reuters reported.

There are 750,000 people in Jerusalem, two in three of them Jews with the remainder mostly Muslim Palestinians.

Some Palestinians are aligned with the Islamist Hamas, while those who would like peace blame Israel for sabotaging peace prospects because they insist East Jerusalem is a Jewish birthright, Reuters reported.

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U.S. Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell will meet today with Israel leaders with hope to revive peace talks between Israel and Palestine after almost a year of deadlock.

Mitchell is expected to meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Ehud Barak.  The visit comes after a row broke out between Israel and the U.S. recently over home construction plans by Israel in East Jerusalem.

Both Israel and Palestine are reportedly willing to resume indirect peace negotiations, meaning at present, Mitchell will broker indirect talks by speaking to each leader individually as a middleman, until the two reach the point where they will agree to meet personally.  Mitchell is scheduled to go to Ramallah in the West Bank after his Israel meeting.

Negotiations met a snag early this month when Netanyahu announced plans to construct 1,600 houses in East Jerusalem.  One of the conditions set on the table for the peace talks is to halt all construction in that area.  Netanyahu responded with outright rejection saying, “There will be no construction freeze in Jerusalem.  There should be no preconditions to talks.”

Netanyahu pointed out that he is following a four-decade-old policy of his predecessors.  However State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said, “We understand that the Israelis have a longstanding position, but … the status quo is not sustainable.”

East Jerusalem is the most explosive issue that divides Israel and Palestine.  Israel captured the area in the 1967 Mideast war.  However, their annexation of the area has never been internationally recognized.

Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its eternal capital.  Some 180,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem, mostly in Jewish neighborhoods surrounding the area. But one cause of friction is some 2,000 Israeli nationalists who live deep inside Arab neighborhoods.  Some 250,000 Palestinians live in the Arab neighborhoods.

Benny Begin, a senior Cabinet minister, said in a Thursday meet with media and diplomats that Netanyahu would have a hard time selling even limited concessions to his government, a coalition dominated by hard-line nationalist parties.

“It is just impossible and unacceptable that people try to impress us that we should limit construction in Jerusalem,” Begin said.  Netanyahu so far has curbed West Bank construction in a temporary freeze.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat called the Netanyahu position on Jerusalem “very unfortunate.”  The Palestinians have said they will not hold face-to-face talks with Netanyahu until he freezes all settlement activity in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Other proposals that were given to Israel include release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, turning over more West Bank territory to Palestinian control, and possibly curbing Jewish construction in the heart of Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem.

Last week Obama assessed the situation, saying the U.S. couldn’t force its will on Israelis and Palestinians if they weren’t interested in making needed compromises in order to end their decades-old conflict.

Sources:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100422/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians;_ylt=Ar8iv5t7GCXzAAUzvv43iiOs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFibDNqaHVjBHBvcwM1MwRzZWMDYWNjb3JkaW9uX3dvcmxkBHNsawNpc3JhZWxyZWplY3Q-

http://www.unnindia.com/english/story.php?Id=6381

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