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Settlers, rabbis and officials celebrate 'Jerusalem Day'

May 28, 2014 at 10:23 am

Dozens of extremist Israeli settlers wandered throughout the streets of Jerusalem on Tuesday night escorted by occupation soldiers while raising Israeli flags to mark the 47th anniversary of what they call Jerusalem Day—the day Israeli forces illegally occupied the eastern part of the holy city.

Also coinciding with the anniversary, Israeli officials laid down the cornerstone for a new synagogue near Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

Media reports and eyewitnesses reported that the settlers were chanting anti-Arab and Muslim slogans. Israelis celebrate the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967 claiming this to be the day that they reunited the city; however, the international community has always viewed East Jerusalem as occupied territory.

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took part in one of the celebration events the day before, during which he said: “Jerusalem is the heart of our nation and we will never divide our heart.”

The racist chants by extremist Jewish settlers and strong remarks by the prime minister prove that Israel is not interesting in seeking to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians, who demand that East Jerusalem be the capital of any future Palestinian state, a position in line with international law.

Meanwhile, As-Sabeel newspaper reported that Israeli officials continued their Judaisation project in occupied East Jerusalem by laying down the cornerstone for a new Jewish synagogue called the Jewel of Israel, which was approved to be built back in 2012.

The synagogue will be located only 200 metres away from Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in the world for Muslims. When the plan was announced in 2012, head of the PLO’s Jerusalem Affairs Committee Ahmed Qurei described it “a disaster threatening the future of Al-Aqsa Mosque”.

A large number of Israeli officials attended the synagogue event, including Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and head of the right-wing Temple Institute Rabbi Yisrael Ariel. As-Sabeel quoted the latter as saying: “Today, we laid down another brick in the construction of Jerusalem. It is a symbolic step towards achieving our great goal.”

Ariel continued: “We are standing before the Temple Mount at a time when we have not achieved real domination over it. Therefore, we are seeking full sovereignty over Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

He added: “We will continue building everywhere, especially in Jerusalem, which is our eternal holy city,” echoing the remarks of Netanyahu.