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Arafat Asserts Palestinian Rights to East Jerusalem
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat told the world leaders on Wednesday that he is committed to establishing a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Speaking at the U.N. Millennium Summit which opened this morning at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Arafat said "We remain committed to our national rights over East Jerusalem, capital of our state and shelter of our sacred sites, as well as our rights on the Christian and Islamic holy sites."
Arafat said Palestinians had already made painful compromises for peace by agreeing to establish a state "on less than a quarter of the historical territory of Palestine."
"We have made a strategic decision committing ourselves to the peace process, offering significant and painful concessions in order to arrive at a reasonable compromise acceptable to both sides," he said.
"The Palestinian Central Council will determine this matter within the next few days, taking into account U.N. resolutions and our people's right to self-determination through the establishment of its independent state," Arafat said.
"We shall be cooperating with the U.N. and the other parties involved at present in the 55th session of the General Assembly," he added.
The fate of Jerusalem is thought to be the biggest stumbling block in the peace process. Palestinians want East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War and regards as its eternal capital, as the capital of a state they say they will establish was early as September 13.
Also addressing the summit, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak urged world leaders to oppose a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state which he said could "obliterate the prospects of
peace."
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