President Bush has reaffirmed that Jerusalem “must never again be a divided city.” But he also maintained, in a letter to Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek, that the city’s final status “should be decided by negotiation.”
Kollek released the March 13 letter Wednesday at a news conference in London, a copy of which was obtained by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
In the letter, Bush nostalgically recalls a visit to Jerusalem and praises “Israel’s exemplary respect for the holy places,” as well as Kollek’s “farsighted leadership.”
Affirming that Jerusalem should remain united, Bush says, “We did not approve of the status quo before 1967; in no way do we advocate a return to it now.”
He adds, “Our efforts in the peace process are in no way designed to promote the division of Jerusalem. We would oppose any such effort.”
But at the same time, the president says “the final status of this most special of cities should be decided by negotiation.”
And he adds that “all sides should be taking steps to get to negotiations and avoiding steps that could prejudice the prospects for these negotiations.”
Israel considers Jerusalem the eternal capital of Israel and is not willing to consider relinquishing the eastern part of the city, which it annexed in 1967.
Bush raised deep concern in Israel and in the American Jewish community when he expressed opposition, at a March 3 news conference, to Jewish “settlement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.”
In his letter to Kollek, the president did not address the issue of whether Israel has the right to settle portions of Jerusalem that lie beyond its 1967 border.
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