ISRAELI ARABS BLAST PLAN FOR PA TO CEDE TEMPLE MOUNT SOVEREIGNTY
Ha’aretz
May 21 2009
Israel
The northern branch of the Islamic Movement blasted Thursday a proposal
for the Palestinian Authority to relinquish sovereignty over the
Temple Mount in exchange for international Islamic control of the site.
"The proposal to transfer sovereignty to a third state stems from the
attempted to internationalize the Al Aqsa Mosque, and actually this is
a proposal whose significance is the continuation of the occupation;
therefore, such a proposal must be aggressively rejected," the Israeli
Arab group said in a statement.
Palestinian sources have said the PA would accept the management of the
site by the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Conference, whose 57
member states include Iran, as part of a final-status peace agreement.
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Sheikh Ra’ad Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement, has called for
in the past an intifada to "save" the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which sits atop
the Temple Mount.
The movement’s statement continued: "No one has the right to
determine the future of the Al Aqsa Mosque, which has Islamic, Arab
and Palestinian implications, and full Islamic sovereignty over the
mosque will only be implemented when the occupation of Jerusalem and
the mosque is lifted,"
The OIC is signatory to the Arab Peace plan, a initiative that would
provide the Palestinians with backing from all Muslim states toward
a historic compromise with Israel in a peace agreement.
According to the Temple Mount proposal, the Western Wall and the Jewish
Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City will be under Israeli sovereignty,
while the Muslim, Christian and Armenian quarters would be transfered
to Palestinian sovereignty. Israel objects to Palestinian sovereignty
over the Armenian Quarter.
There is also a dispute building over the Western Wall; the PA plans
to demand that Israeli sovereignty applies only to part of the wall.
Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas,
said that if Israel opts for peace and has a leader who is willing to
make genuine compromises, a peace agreement could be reached within
three to six months.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced Wednesday that
he was canceling his planned visit to Washington next week due to
the death of his grandson.
Abbas is expected to meet U.S. President Barack Obama next week. Abu
Rudeina said Abbas will ask for clarifications on the U.S. stance on
negotiations with Israel.
"During the meetings with U.S. special envoy George Mitchell, we made
it clear that there must be an Israeli recognition of the principle
of two states for two peoples and a freezing of construction in the
settlements," Abu Rudeina said.
"We will hear what happened during the meeting between [Prime Minister
Benjamin] Netanyahu and Obama on the Palestinian question and what
the American plans are for the coming months. Abu Mazen [Abbas] will
consult with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan to formulate a position
ahead of the meeting. In any case, the result of the negotiations
between Israel and the PA must be clear: the establishment of a
Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, whose capital is East
Jerusalem," the senior PA official said.
‘Israel must accept responsibility for creation of refugee problem’
With regards to the right of return, the Palestinians reiterated
their traditional position: Israel must acknowledge responsibility
for the creation of the refugee problem.
Abu Rudeina says the Palestinian position on the issue is identical
to that of the Arab Peace Initiative: a just and agreed solution to
the refugee question, on the basis of UN Resolution 194.
But other Palestinian sources say the PA will probably agree to an
arrangement under which refugees will have the right of return to
the Palestinian state, with Israel agreeing to absorb up to 100,000
Palestinians within its borders under family reunification.
Regarding borders, Abu Rudeina said that the principle of territorial
exchange was agreed, although there are disagreements over the exact
areas. He said that in the most recent talks the Palestinians agreed
to an exchange involving 1.2 percent of West Bank land, while then
prime minister Ehud Olmert demanded 6.5 percent.
"But the issue also depends on quality. If [Israel] receives land in
the Jerusalem area or Bethlehem we will not agree to receive desert
land in exchange," Abu Rudeina said.
He told Haaretz that the Arab states are willing to agree to
peace. "The problem is that now Israel is unwilling. They used to tell
us that with Olmert involved in corruption the negotiations can’t be
completed with him. Now they say Netanyahu will be restricted because
of his coalition problems. Every time it’s a different story. Perhaps
that’s why 15 years have passed and we haven’t seen peace."