Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed al Isa’ee, Chairman of the Majlis Ash’shura and current Chairman of the Arab Parliamentary Union (APU), noted that Al Quds, or Jerusalem, had remained the capital of Palestine and its people for 30 centuries until Israel occupied it in 1967.
“The Al Quds cause has been and is still the pivot in the Palestinian issue because this holy city, Al Aqsa Mosque and Al Quds shrine have their special status in the hearts of all Arabs and Muslims. They have also played a role in unifying Arabs and Muslims all over the world throughout the different epochs of history,” Shaikh Ahmed said.
He was speaking at a special event in Cairo to mark ‘Al Quds and Al Aqsa Mosque Day’ organised by the APU. He said that Al Quds needed support “to enhance its resistance to the eviction and impoverishing processes by the Israelis”.
“In particular, the city needs support from the world media to raise awareness about its religious and cultural components, as well as its pioneering role in human culture in general and Arab and Islamic culture in particular,” Shaikh Ahmed said. The world, he added, had realised that Israel was hampering peace by not being compliant to international resolutions which called on it to withdraw from all occupied Arab lands and recognise the Palestinian people’s right to decide their destiny and establish an independent state with Al Quds as its capital.
Tel Aviv also obstructed peace by rejecting Arab peace initiatives “and insisting on expanding settlements in all occupied Palestinian lands,” he said, adding: “This policy is rejected and condemned by most of the international community, as well as free and honourable individuals in all parts of the world.”
