Israel’s Cabinet firmly rejects E.U. stance regarding Jerusalem

JERUSALEM, March 14 (JTA) — Israeli officials are up in arms regarding a statement from the current leadership of the European Union that questions Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem. During its weekly meeting Sunday, the Cabinet rejected what it said was a challenge by the European Union to Israeli control over all of Jerusalem. The E.U. stand questions long-established facts on the ground, the ministers agreed during the meeting, adding that they oppose any partition or internationalization of the city. The issue erupted after Germany’s ambassador to Israel, Theodor Wallau, last week wrote a letter to the Israeli Foreign Ministry about the status of the city. Wallau, whose country currently holds the rotating E.U. presidency, stated that the European Union considers Jerusalem a separate entity from Israel under the terms of the 1947 partition plan. Because of this position, he added, E.U. diplomats are not forced to comply with Israeli directives in the city. Wallau was responding to a letter issued last month by the Foreign Ministry requesting that foreign diplomats not meet with Palestinian Authority officials in the capital. That letter reminded the diplomats that the future of Jerusalem is to be determined in final-status negotiations, and that the Oslo accords bar the Palestinian Authority from conducting business in Jerusalem. In recent years, Israel has repeatedly called on foreign envoys not to meet with Palestinian representatives at Orient House, the Palestinians’ de facto headquarters in eastern Jerusalem. Netanyahu met with Wallau on Sunday to express Israel’s displeasure with the E.U. stand. Netanyahu told the ambassador that the “clock would not be turned back” and that Jerusalem would never be partitioned again. Officials at the German Embassy later said the ambassador was merely reiterating the E.U. position on Jerusalem, which has long been known to Israel. The dispute comes against the backdrop of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat’s plans to declare an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestine Liberation Organization’s governing bodies are expected to meet next month in the self-rule areas to decide whether Arafat should declare Palestinian statehood in May. The 125-member Central Committee and the 18-member Executive Committee are expected to review the recommendations from American and European leaders that Arafat postpone the declaration past May 4, the end of the interim period in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations under the terms of the Oslo accords. Netanyahu has stated that Israel would annex portions of the West Bank if Arafat unilaterally declares statehood. Speaking to students in Beit Shemesh on Sunday, Netanyahu again warned the Palestinian leader against such a move. “If you act unilaterally, we will respond unilaterally,” he said.