Palestinian/ Israeli update 1/09/2016..Clerics launch 'Jerusalem Capital of the World' campaign

Israeli forces kill 2 Palestinians in West Bank

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Clerics launch ‘Jerusalem Capital of the World’ campaign

Palestinian Muslim and Christian religious clerics and officials on
Tuesday launched a campaign aimed at bolstering Muslim and Christian
claims over occupied East Jerusalem.

It is hoped the
campaign, titled “Jerusalem Capital of the World 2016,” will raise
international awareness of Palestinian Muslim and Christian heritage in
the occupied city, and also “annul” Israeli claims that Jerusalem is the
undivided capital of the state of Israel.The announcement
was made by the clerics during a news conference at the Palestinian
National Theatre (al-Hakawati) in Jerusalem. Among the
speakers at the conference were President of the Supreme Islamic Council
Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, Archbishop of Sebastia from the Orthodox
Patriarchate in Jerusalem Atallah Hanna, and former Palestinian
Authority Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Hatim Abd al-Qadir. Speakers at the conference said the campaign would also aim to strengthen values of tolerance between Muslim and Christians.”Let
the year 2016 be an international year of solidarity with Jerusalem. We
are one nation on this land, which we all love and give sacrifices
for,” said Sheikh Sabri.”The connection between Muslims
and Christians on this land is based on justice, love and tolerance and
rejection to any aspect of injustice and aggression.”The
campaign will also attempt to draw attention to “the ongoing suffering
the Israeli occupation is causing to the Arab population of Jerusalem,”
the group said in the statement, including “murder, destruction and
displacement against the indigenous residents of the city.” Archbishop
Hanna said during the conference: “We express solidarity with every
oppressed person in the world, as injustice practiced by humans to their
brothers in humanity can never be justified no matter what the pretexts
are.”Hatim Abd al-Qadir meanwhile urged Arab and Muslim
countries to support Jerusalem to their full ability, in light of
ongoing violations by Israeli authorities aimed at establishing a Jewish
majority in the occupied eastern half of the city.Palestinians
have long aimed for an independent state with East Jerusalem as its
capital, but Israel has maintained an military occupation there since
1967, in contravention of international law.The Israeli
government has since implemented policies to “Judaize” East Jerusalem,
limiting Palestinian growth while increasing the Jewish population.