Decisive decisions expected from Jerusalem committee

Several Arab observers expect the Jerusalem Committee, which holds its 17th session in Casablanca this July 29-30, to take "decisive" resolutions to face the escalating tension in the occupied territories brought about by Israeli policy.

The Moroccan association of Support to the Struggle of the Palestinian People says the meeting is held at a time the Israeli government is continuing its policy to Judaize the city of Jerusalem by obliterating its Muslim and Christian civilizational traits.

The association calls for finding ways to translate the resolutions taken during the Jerusalem Committee's latest meeting into reality, particularly the decision to set up the "Bait Al-Mal" (Jerusalem Fund).

The Association, made up mainly of lawyers and intellectuals, stressed the need to take "urgent decisions" to face the Zionist plan to totally Judaize the city. The Association insisted on involving Christians in the struggle for the Protection of Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Committee's meetings, to convene under the chairmanship of King Hassan II, will be attended by President Yasser Arafat of Palestine in addition to the foreign ministers of the 16 member countries.

The committee, an offshoot of the Organization of Islamic Conference [OIC], seeks "to establish a global plan for the liberation" of Jerusalem and the preservation of the cultural and religious heritage of the holy city.

The committee will examine "the dangerous situation in the city of holy Jerusalem following the Israeli government decision to expand the limits of the municipality of the holy city with a view to modifying its political status."

The Jerusalem 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.