Session on Israeli Judaization policy in Jerusalem begins
Regional, Politics, 7/30/1998

The Jerusalem Committee opened Wednesday in Casablanca its 17th session, under the chairmanship of king Hassan II of Morocco, to examine means to counter the Israeli plans to Judaize the holy city of Jerusalem (Al-Quds) and erase its Arab and Islamic character.

King Hassan II, who chairs the committee, proposed in an opening address the creation of a commission to draft a final resolution. The king proposed that the commission be made up of Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Senegal.

"If you adhere to this move, we shall be able to elaborate an accurate political statement, that is adapted to the current juncture and requirements," King Hassan II said, pointing out that the current juncture requires decision-making at the Islamic level without overshadowing however the Arab level.

The Jerusalem Committee, an offshoot of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), seeks to "devise a global plan for the liberation" of the holy city and the preservation of the Arab and Islamic cultural and religious heritage of the city.

The committee, which was set up in 1975, gathers Morocco as chairman, Palestine, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Senegal, Guinea, Niger and Mauritania.

King Hassan II then gave the floor to President Yasser Arafat of Palestine, who warned that the Israeli Judaization policy in Jerusalem will inevitably lead to the failure of the Middle-East peace process and trigger violence in the region.

"The continuation of the Israeli Judaization policy will inevitably lead to the failure of the peace process, the explosion of the situation and the resumption of the violence and destruction cycle in the region," Arafat said.

The present meeting of the Jerusalem Committee takes place at the most delicate and decisive juncture concerning the holy city, he said, adding, "We are facing a dangerous turning point and major challenges."

The Palestinian President renewed on the occasion his determination to continue to struggle against the Israeli settlement policy and for the preservation of Jerusalem.

"The preservation of holy Jerusalem against the dangers of Judaization and settlements is a responsibility that everybody should shoulder. We will continue our struggle against the settlement plans," he said.

The Israeli government decision to expand the limits of the municipality of the holy city with a view to modifying its political status triggered wrath and anger throughout the Arab and Islamic world.

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa described the situation by saying that Israeli policy seeks "to make of the Arab Jerusalem a mere district in a greater Jewish Jerusalem."

President Arafat decried the Israeli policy as a "flagrant violation" of international legality and of the accords already concluded between the Palestinians and Israelis.

The Oslo peace accords stipulate that the two parties (Israelis and Palestinians) should abstain from any action likely to obliterate the characteristics of the city of Jerusalem, which would be one subject of negotiations in the final status stage.

The Foreign Ministers of Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Niger, Senegal, Iraq and Guinea who took the floor before the Jerusalem Committee's 17th session on Wednesday, unanimously stressed the need to unify Islamic ranks to counter the Israeli plans to obliterate the characteristics of the holy city.

They all renewed their backing of the struggle of the Palestinian people to achieve statehood, with Jerusalem as capital.

In a report to the Jerusalem Committee meeting, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) urged the United Nations Security Council to take a "firm position" to face Israeli violations of international law and the accords concluded as part of the Middle East peace process.

"The Security Council, which is in charge of preserving peace and security in the World, should take a firm position to face the serious violations to the international law and the accords concluded as part of the Middle East peace process," Said Azeddine Laraki, OIC Secretary General, in the report.

The OIC report also calls for a unified and firm Islamic position at the official and popular levels to counter the serious dangers threatening Jerusalem. Such a situation requires the mobilization of moral and material backing to the Palestinian people in its struggle against the Israeli settlement plans, the Pan-Islamic body said.

The committee is to hold its closing session this Thursday afternoon.

Previous Stories:
  Arab states express views on Jerusalem as meeting begins   (7/29/1998)
  Pan-Islamic organization terms Jerusalem committee meeting as timely   (7/27/1998)
  Three-way Cairo summit warns against Judaizing Jerusalem   (7/6/1998)

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