The Arab League warned Israel today of the dangerous ramifications of its most recent announcement in which it said it did not intend to allow residents of Jerusalem to participate in the Palestinian Legislative Election elections scheduled for January 25, 2006.
In a statement, the League said such a move represented yet another Israeli attempt to influence the fate of Jerusalem and to hijack any negotiations in this regard.
The leaflet, which quoted deputy secretary general for Palestinian affairs, Mohammed Sbeih, said the secretary general’s office is closely following the Israeli measures aimed at suppressing the Arab identity of Jerusalem, surrounding it with illegal settlements and isolating it from the West Bank by the separation wall.
The statement said the move is a blatant challenge to the International Court of Justice ruling of July 9, 2004, which stipulates that the wall being built by Israel in the West Bank, including Jerusalem is illegal according to international law.
It said the Arab League’s secretary general ascertains the danger of these Israeli measures and reaffirms that the final status of Jerusalem should be decided according to international resolutions, which regard it as an integral part of the occupied West Bank.
The statement also stressed that discussing the final status of Jerusalem should be carried out in the context of a fair and effective process to establish a just and lasting peace. The statement also highlighted the resolutions of Arab summits regarding Jerusalem, reaffirming its complete support for the position of the Palestinian leadership in this regard.
Sbeih called on the international community, namely the Quartet Committee, to move quickly in halting these illegal Israeli measures, which only help to destroy the chances of Arab-Israeli peace.
