Key Egyptian cleric urges Palestinian sovereignty over East Jerusalem

Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria has stressed the importance of the restoration of Palestinian sovereignty over the occupied Arab East Jerusalem as a precondition for just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

In an interview with the BBC Monday, the eminent Egyptian Christian clergyman recalled that Palestinian had sovereignty over East Jerusalem before 1967 and had even sovereignty over the whole city before that date.

He approved allowing Jews to visit their holy sites in East Jerusalem, differentiating, at the same time, between performing religious rituals in East Jerusalem and claiming sovereignty over the area.

Pope Shenouda, currently visiting London, expressed his opposition to the idea of internationalizing the status of Jerusalem, asserting that it would only mean relinquishing Arab rights in the holy city.

On the US proposal to divide Jerusalem into four areas, he deemed it "very complicated and hard to implement".

He highlighted solidarity with Arabs and Muslims on the status of Jerusalem, reiterating a ban on making pilgrimage by Christians to the holy city until it is freed from Israeli occupation.

Asked if he could visit Iraq, Pope Shenouda said: "I do not object to visiting Iraq at all".