Romney declares Jerusalem as Israel's capital, talks tough against Iran
JERUSALEM: US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Sunday declared Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state and told an Israeli audience that the United States has “a solemn duty and a moral imperative” to block Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability.
In an apparent endorsement of a position held by the Jewish state but
never accepted by the international community, Romney said: “It is a
deeply moving experience to be in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked him for his remarks,
later telling him: “I want to thank you for those very strong words of
support and friendship for Israel and for Jerusalem that we heard today.
“Jerusalem today is marking the destruction of the city thousands of
years ago. As you see it’s been rebuilt by the Jewish people, open to
all the three great faiths, vibrant, bustling,” he said, shortly after
the end of Tisha B’Av, when Jews traditionally fast to mourn the
destruction of the two Jewish Temples.
“And as you said, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and Jerusalem
will always be the capital of Israel,” he said in remarks communicated
by his office.
The status of Jerusalem is one of the most contentious issues of the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel, which occupied the largely Arab eastern sector during the 1967
Six-Day War and later annexed it, claims both halves of the city to be
its “eternal and undivided capital.”
But the Palestinians want the eastern sector as capital of their
promised state and fiercely oppose any Israeli attempt to extend
sovereignty there.
Most of the international community, including the United States, does
not formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital due to the ongoing
conflict with the Palestinians, insisting the issue can only be resolved
through final status negotiations.
All foreign embassies are located in Tel Aviv with consular representation in Jerusalem.
Read it at Arab News:
http://www.arabnews.com/romney-declares-jerusalem-israels-capital-talks-tough-against-iran
No comments:
Post a Comment