TITLE: Ashrawi: Jerusalem Remains at the Core of the Conflict and the Solution

AUTHOR: Lara Saade

PUB: American Committee on Jerusalem

DATE: February 13, 2001

WASHINGTON, DC ­ "I think that any talk about moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem will be another destructive, unilateral, prejudicial, and illegal matter," Dr. Hanan Ashrawi told the attendees at today's briefing which was sponsored by the American Committee on Jerusalem (ACJ) and the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP). Dr. Hanan Mikhail-Ashrawi, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Jerusalem, and Secretary General of MIFTAH, The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy, described how the new Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon brings an "ideological approach to Jerusalem." The first thing Sharon did after being elected was to go to Jerusalem and promise, "Jerusalem would be the undivided eternal capital of Israel under Israeli sovereignty." Ashrawi reminded the audience that, "East Jerusalem remains a Palestinian city under occupation. Religious affiliation to any place has never been and never will be an excuse for forced sovereignty." She continued, "Certainly Jerusalem remains at the core of the conflict and therefore at the core of the solution. We have made a proposal. We said we are willing to accept Jerusalem as an open city, East and West, and this is what we mean by sharing even though we still own around 70% of West Jerusalem." Ashrawi emphasized, "As Palestinians, we still are willing to share the whole city of Jerusalem, East and West, by having East Jerusalem, Palestinian, and West Jerusalem, Israeli, and then it will become two capitals for two states. The Palestinians can guarantee and will guarantee an open city with full access to all holy sites, to all religions. But we can never accept any claim by one religion as a basis for the illegal exercise of sovereignty, annexation and acquisition of land." Ashrawi expressed gratitude that "the new U.S. administration is no longer talking about a peace process. We are very glad that now we're talking about peacemaking, negotiations and substance rather than about a process for its own sake which has become a very punitive process for the Palestinians." She continued, "We are quite willing to engage with the new administration on the basis of this more responsible, substantive, regional approach, on looking at the requirements for peace, on expanding the participation of peacemaking in the region to include the European Union, the United Nations, and the major Arab countries like Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia." Ashrawi concluded, "There is still a will but there is tremendous pain. The situation is extremely volatile. The new factor introduced now also threatens the region. There is an element of political irresponsibility introduced by Sharon that might lead the whole region to the brink of war if not actual war. This is something that we must guard against." She continued, "I think the time for reassessment, for courageous decisions and for a new and qualitatively different phase is needed. We need to make sure that Sharon with whatever government he puts together must not do an irreparable damage to the whole region." Contact: Lara Saade (202) 237-0215 American Committee on Jerusalem * 4201 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 302 Washington, D.C. 20008 Tel: (202) 237-0215 * Fax: (202) 244-3196 * e-mail: acj@acj.org END top