The mayor of Jerusalem has vowed that the city would never be divided to allow the eastern side to become the capital of a future Palestinian state.
“It’s not going to happen, it’s not natural, it’s the wrong thing to do from any perspective,” mayor Nir Barkat said during a recent visit to New York. “Not only for the Jewish people, but for the world, it would be a big mistake to go that route, in advance we know that there is not one example of a working model of a split city. Therefore it is not on the table.”
Barkat also joined government rejections of international criticism for the demolition on Sunday of the derelict Shepherds hotel in eastern Jerusalem’s Sheik Jarrah neighborhood. The property is owned by American developer Irving Moskowitz who spent years in court for the right to demolish it to make way for a new housing complex.
UN leader Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have both strongly condemned the demolition of the Shepherd’s Hotel, and a spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said the demolition of the hotel had “ended any possibility of a return to (peace) negotiations.”
Source; AFP
My comments;
Mayor Barkat is taking a very brave position, basically standing up to the entire world for what’s right and what’s legal. Mahmoud Abbas has been looking for an excuse to end the current round of negotiations with Israel since before they got started, and if he hadn’t taken this pretext he would have found something else.
As I have said before on this blog, the Arab/Muslim world never cared about Jerusalem until it became the capital of a Jewish State in 1948. The Palestinians are only insisting on it as the capital of their future state because they are being paid to do so by the other Arab governments, who are doing it to placate their own religious populations.
Psalm 122:6 says;
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
Pray for Mayor Nir Barkat too, for he has been appointed by God to be the custodian of His special city in this season.
Written by Aaron
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I absolutely agree with you on this. Both Jerushalayim and Barkat needs our prayers.
But I am afraid that,
the days of the heathens have not yet come to pass.
Dear Lars-Toralf.
Shalom.
Its amazing that Jerusalem seems to speak with two radical opposite voices. Nir Barkat and Ehud Barak do not have much in common . And in the middle, is Bibi Netanyahu. I would not like to be in Bibi’s shoes. More than Barkat, who is a man of visions and principles, the Prime Minister need our prayers.
Both Barkat and Bibi needs our prayers. Bibi because he will be under a tremendous pressure.
Some years ago (15+) there was a prophecy that Bibi would be PM when the Anti-Messiah comes. I was there when it was delivered by a co-worker at ICEJ.