Arabs, Muslims urge world action on Jerusalem
Regional, Politics, 7/2/1997

Arab and Muslim officials on June 30 slammed Israel for its policies on occupied Jerusalem, which they said were driving away dozens of Palestinian inhabitants and endangering the Middle East peace process.

They were speaking at "Day of Unity with Jerusalem" event organized by the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Conference to commemorate Israel's annexation of Arab East Jerusalem on June 28, 1970, three years after the occupation.

In a speech read by the Palestinian representative to the Arab league, Palestinian president Yasser Arafat sent a message saying that there would never be peace unless the status of Jerusalem was resolved.

"Peace begins in Jerusalem, the land of peace. There will be no peace without Jerusalem, the land of religions," Arafat said.

Officials at the event urged Israel to heed a non-building UN general assembly resolution that urged them to stop building settlements on occupied Arab land.

"The occupying Israeli authorities do not realize what goes on in the heart of every Arab and Moslem of this and other generations," said a speech by OIC secretary general Ezzedine Al-Iraqi, read by an OIC official.

"Any peace that does not restore Jerusalem will continue to be rejected because the love of Jerusalem, connection to it and the wish to defend it is a deeply rooted article of faith that is born and develops with each Moslem. This eternal connection will not be affected by Israeli resolutions or practices."

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