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Orthodox Jews pray at the Kotel (AP file)
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| By Israel Insider staff October 12, 2007 |
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| Jews pray at the Kotel to avert the expulsion of Jews from Gaza (AP file) |
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Adnan Husseini, aide to the Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, said Thursday that Palestinian demands for Israel to cede eastern Jerusalem includes the Western Wall.
"This is part of Islamic heritage that cannot be given up, and it must be under Muslim control," Husseini told Israel's NRG Web site and Israel Radio, demanding that all of Jerusalem's Old City be part of a future Palestinian state.
The Western Wall is a remnant of the Second Temple, razed by the Romans in 70 CE. Today it stands below the Temple Mount.
Abbas had no immediate comment on Husseini's statements, which stand in contrast to several land-for-peace proposals that would allow Israel to retain control of the Western Wall and Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem's Old City.
Husseni's demands further exacerbated the fury in Israel's right-wing opposition, including members of the government coalition like Shas and Israel Beitunu, which accused the Olmert government of inflating Palestinian territorial expectation by proposing the division of Jerusalem into two capitals for two peoples.
Olmert has said a future peace accord with the Palestinians would require Israel to surrender some of its long-standing national claims but has lacked the courage to spell out what he is willing to hand over.
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