Premier Golda Meir offered yesterday to recognize King Hussein of Jordan as the custodian of Moslem holy places in East Jerusalem but declared that Israel will never give Jordan any sovereignty in Jerusalem or permit any new partition of the city.
The Premier spoke at the Eilat high school where she was made an honorary citizen of the town at ceremonies marking its 24th anniversary. Her offer to Hussein was the first concession proposed to the Jordanian ruler by an Israeli leader. Hussein has insisted on the return of the Arab sectors of Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.
The principal Moslem holy places in Jerusalem are the Mosque of Omar and the El Aksa Mosque. Both are on the Temple Mount, behind the Western Wall. Moslems revere the two mosques as their most holy shrines after the Kaaba in Mecca and the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina, both in Saudi Arabia.
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