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Arabs Oppose Israeli Control of Islamic Sites in Jerusalem: Mubarak
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has reiterated that the Arab people will never accept Israeli control of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem and that this unanimity will not be compromised, Egypt's Middle East News Agency reported on Thursday.
The Arabs are opposed to Israeli sovereignty over religious symbols in Jerusalem, especially Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest site, and this position was not open for negotiation, Mubarak told Samir Ragab, editor-in-chief of Al-Gomhuria daily, in an interview.
He asserted that the Arab people categorically reject any sort of concessions on the religious symbols of Islam in Jerusalem, holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians.
The Egyptian leader stressed that the issue of Jerusalem is "very sensitive and must be dealt with carefully to avoid potential setbacks" in the peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel.
The peace process has been stuck over Jerusalem. Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War and later declared the whole city its "eternal and indivisible capital," a claim never recognized internationally. The Palestinians want the eastern sector of the city as the capital of their future independent state.
Mubarak called on Israel to seize opportunity and hammer out a peace agreement with the Palestinians to put an end to the 52-year-long conflict in the Middle East.
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