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Israeli PM: Jerusalem will never be divided

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-22 11:45

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Jerusalem would "never be divided" and would remain the capital of the Jewish state, drawing an angry response from the Palestinians.

Israelis wave national flags during a parade marking Jerusalem Day in Jerusalem May 21, 2009.  [Agencies]

The remarks followed talks with US President Barack Obama earlier this week in Washington where the Israeli leader said he he hoped to widen the peace process across the Arab world but stopped short of embracing the creation of a Palestinian state.

Palestinians seeking to establish their own state in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, as part of a future peace agreement with Israel, say they want their capital to be in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu's comments on Thursday, at a ceremony marking Israel's capture of Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East War, were in line with his election pledge to keep Jerusalem "united".

"A united Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Jerusalem was and will always be ours. It shall never be divided and disunited again," Netanyahu said at the ceremony.

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Netanyahu, whose right-leaning coalition took office nearly two months ago, said that only Israeli sovereignty over a united Jerusalem would ensure free religious practice and access to holy sites by the three major faiths.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Netanyahu's position on Jerusalem was a setback to the goal of a two-state solution, which is strongly supported by the Obama administration.

"Mr. Netanyahu, by saying that, he's saying the state of conflict will be eternal," Erekat said.

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