Has Anyone Noticed That Abbas Wants ALL Of Jerusalem?

[U]nless Jerusalem will be Palestinian, as it was throughout history, the capital of the Palestinian state and the capital of the Palestinian people, the place which is the object of heartfelt longing. and which all Muslims aspire to reach; unless Jerusalem is that way, there is no peace. There is no peace without Jerusalem.
Mahmoud Habbash, the Palestinian Authority Minister of Religious Affairs

Habbash is pretty clear on the issue of Jerusalem: the Arabs want all of it. Not just "East Jerusalem". No, they want all of it.

When you watch the video of Habbash in action, you see at the very beginning that Abbas is sitting right there.




As it turns out, Abbas must have been taking notes. Last week, at an event commemorating the 6th anniversary of the terrorist Arafat, Abbas made it clear that he wants all of Jerusalem:

There will be no negotiations with settlements. The Arab city of Jerusalem, including the holy sites, is an integral part of the 1967 occupied territories.

Everybody knows that Jerusalem was occupied in 1967 and that any solution that does not include Jerusalem is not a solution.”

What Abbas is saying is neither new nor radical--it is part of Palestinian Basic Law, which is meant to function as :

...a temporary constitution for the Palestinian Authority until the establishment of an independent state and a permanent constitution for Palestine can be achieved.

The Basic Law was passed by the Palestinian Legislative Council in 1997 and ratified by President Yasser Arafat in 2002. It has subsequently been amended twice; in 2003 the political system was changed to introduce a prime minister. In 2005 it was amended to conform to the new Election Law.

And Chapter 1, Article 3 is as clear as it is concise:

Jerusalem is the Capital of Palestine.

Going back to Abbas's speech, he also said that, "since 1988 the Palestinians haven’t relinquished any of their main demands."

Now 1988 is the year that The Palestinian Declaration of Independence was approved by the Palestinian National Council (PNC) in Algiers--on November 15, 1988. The Palestinian Declaration of Independence refers to Jerusalem two times:

2. The withdrawal of Israel from all the Palestinian and Arab territories it occupied in 1967, including Arab Jerusalem.

4. Endeavouring to place the occupied Palestinian territories, including Arab Jerusalem, under the auspices of the United Nations for a limited period in order to protect our people and afford the appropriate atmosphere for the success of the proceeding of the international conference toward the attainment of a comprehensive political settlement and the attainment of peace and security for all on the basis of mutual acquiescence and consent, and to enable the Palestinian state to exercise its effective authority in these territories.

There is no reference to East Jerusalem, but rather to Arab Jerusalem. Now you can assume that by 'Arab' it means as opposed to 'Jewish' Jerusalem--or you could say that the reference is to all of Jerusalem, which happens to be Arab.

Based on the statements of Abbas and Habbash, which do interpretation do you think they are using?

Technorati Tag: Abbas and Mahmoud Habbash and Arab Jerusalem and Jerusalem.