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Israel to Review Status of Orient House in 6 Months: Peres
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said on Tuesday that the government will review the status of the Orient House in half a year when the closure order for the house expires.
Peres made the remarks at the Knesset (Parliament) Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Israel Radio reported.
Israel Radio also said that Peres told a Dubai-based television that the seizure of Orient House, the unofficial headquarters of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in East Jerusalem, was temporary and the building was private property and it will soon be returned.
Peres added that none of the agreements signed between Israel and the PLO granted the Palestinians permission to operate in East Jerusalem.
Israeli forces raided the house and the governor's compound in Abu Dis on the edge of East Jerusalem last Friday morning, in retaliation for a Palestinian suicide bombing attack in central Jerusalem a day earlier, which killed 15 Israelis and injured about 100 others.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was also quoted as saying by the radio that the Orient House is a privately-owned building, adding that Israel has acted to prevent "illegal activities" in the building.
Jerusalem police chief Miki Levy said on Monday that the closure order for the house is for half a year and therefore, there is no basis for the Palestinian claim that Israel will hold on to the building forever.
Palestinian officials have said that they would not negotiate with Israel about a ceasefire until the Orient House and other Palestinian offices in Abu Dis are returned.
Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War and later annexed it in a move unrecognized by the international community.
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