Israel halts press conference about Jerusalem held in the city

Israeli occupation forces yesterday prevented a press conference from being held about the situation in Jerusalem which was due to be held in the occupied holy city, Quds Press reported. A number of journalists were arrested at the scene.

According to Adnan Gheith, the Fatah official in charge of the Jerusalem committee, the press conference was planned to be held in Al-Dar Hotel and over than 500 members of the media were invited to cover it but occupation forces stormed the hotel.

When the venue was changed, occupation forces stormed the new location and arrested a number of journalists, Gheith told Quds Press.

He also said that the Mufti of Al-Aqsa Mosque Sheikh Ekrema Sabri and Bishop Attalah Hanna were due to attend the conference but were prevented from attending and so Sheikh Sabri read a statement from his office in Jerusalem.

Sabri said Jerusalem “is not for sale” and the decision of US President Donald Trump about the holy city is “void and his plan will not be achieved as long as there are people to defend the city”.

Read: Pope reiterates call to respect status of Jerusalem

He called on the international community to “stand firmly against Trump’s decision, and against any country that moves its embassy to Jerusalem.”

Arab and Islamic countries must boycott any country that takes any move against Jerusalem, “impose economic sanctions on the United States and withdraw their investments in American banks”, he added.

On 6 December, US President Donald Trump announced his decision to formally recognise a united Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and plans to move the American embassy to the occupied city. The decision was severely condemned by numerous foreign and Arab countries around the world.  It has also sparked angry demonstrations across the occupied Palestinian territories and in several Muslim countries.