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USA: Netanyahu reaffirms "right to build" in Jerusalem
WASHINGTON, (Xinhua): Despite Washington's criticism on Jewish settlement activities in East Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said here on Monday that Jerusalem was not a settlement, but the eternal capital of Israel.
"The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3,000 year ago and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today. Jerusalem is not a settlement. It's our capital," Netanyahu told the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the most influential America's bi-partisan pro-Israel lobby group.
Prime Minister Netanyahu arrived here on Monday afternoon, in an effort to relief tensions with the Obama administration, who was angered by Israel's plan for building more houses for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem.
Jewish "neighborhoods" in East Jerusalem which was captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War are considered by the international community as Jewish settlements.
In 1980, the Israeli parliament, or the Knesset, passed the basic law of "Jerusalem, capital of Israel," claiming the complete and united Jerusalem is Israel's eternal capital.
The status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem has not been internationally recognized, and the Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state.
WASHINGTON, (Xinhua): Despite Washington's criticism on Jewish settlement activities in East Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said here on Monday that Jerusalem was not a settlement, but the eternal capital of Israel.
"The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3,000 year ago and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today. Jerusalem is not a settlement. It's our capital," Netanyahu told the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the most influential America's bi-partisan pro-Israel lobby group.
Prime Minister Netanyahu arrived here on Monday afternoon, in an effort to relief tensions with the Obama administration, who was angered by Israel's plan for building more houses for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem.
Jewish "neighborhoods" in East Jerusalem which was captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War are considered by the international community as Jewish settlements.
In 1980, the Israeli parliament, or the Knesset, passed the basic law of "Jerusalem, capital of Israel," claiming the complete and united Jerusalem is Israel's eternal capital.
The status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem has not been internationally recognized, and the Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state.