Face The Press
With
Mr. Faisal Al-Husseini

Al-Husseini:

      The US Congress decision to transfer the US Embassy to Jerusalem is repugnant and rejected at all levels. He added the peace process is vulnerable to collapse had the US Administration insisted to enforce the congress decision.

     Faisal Husseini, member of the PLO’s Executive Committee and in charge of Jerusalem portfolio, announced in a statement given to the Ministry of Information’s weekly program “Face The Press”, yesterday that the US Congress decision issued June 10, 1997, to transfer the US Embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem and to appropriate $100 million for this purpose, is rejected by the Palestinians on all levels.

      In his statement given before some ambassadors, representatives of the Arab states to the PNA, and a big number of local, Arab, and international news reporters, Husseini denunciated the adoption of such decision by any state regardless of its might, adding that the US Congress has no right whatsoever to take a decision on Jerusalem for its explicit violation to international legitimacy resolutions, the UN Security Council resolutions - particularly resolution 242, and its contradiction with the main principles of the peace process and the American letter of Guarantees.

      He elaborated “The peace process has been initiated on the basis of UN Security Council resolution 242 which involves the 1967 border and talks about the Palestinian capital in Jerusalem, which we have accepted as an international resolution.

      The Jerusalem issue is the main focal point of the political process to whom the US position should be neutral and not biased, and furthermore to keep committed to the main principles upon which the peace process has been established.

      He also appealed to the Clinton Administration to abide by its declared policy and to refrain from passing the US Congress to avert a further deterioration in the peace process.

      He said the future of Arab East Jerusalem has been entirely decided by resolution 242 and that negotiations on Jerusalem with its Arab and Jewish sectors has not been resolved yet and nobody attains the right to initiate preemptive steps.

      Husseini accused Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition government with assassinating the peace process and we do not want to be an accomplice in this crime. He predicted an imminent explosion which will involve the entire region, had Israel continued to insist on its policy of building more Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territory, and showed negative response to materialize the peace talks.

      He said there is an Arab and Islamic awareness and understanding to the Jerusalem issue and that the Palestinian side is working to nurture this tendency.

      He described land brokers who are engaged in liquidating the Palestinian property for the benefit of Israel, as recruited units, motivated to kill the Palestinian individual and usurp its rights.

      Husseini also indicated to the present financial requirements for Jerusalem which he put at over $250 million to resolve the problems of housing and infrastructure development services.

      He blamed the Israeli government of laying obstacles before building “Sheikh Zayed residential neighborhood” in East Jerusalem comprising 15,000 housing units at an estimated cost of $600 million.

      He hailed all contributions provided to support Palestinian Jerusalemites particularly by the Islamic Development Bank, which has recently approved to funnel funds for individual housing projects to build 600 housing units at the cost of $19 million, and Beit Al-Mall, and the Qatari TV project.

      He also called on the Israeli government to implement all outstanding issues of the interim agreement particularly to pullout from area B, open the safe passage linking Gaza with the West Bank, transfer of jurisdictions at the crossing points, and to materialize the economic protocol.

He added we can not commence negotiations on final status issues unless the above pending issues from the interim agreement have not been resolved. Concerning the Egyptian proposal, he said “we are willing to discuss the concept of freezing settlement building for six months.

Ministry of Information
June 24,1997.