If Jerusalem is divided, it could lead to Iran gaining a foothold
Published by Avi Green on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at 8:39 AM.
Benjamin Netanyahu warns about the possibility that Iran could gain a base:
Update: the UK Telegraph has another detail he's spoken about (via Hot Air Headlines).
An Israeli withdrawal from east Jerusalem will lead to the creation of an Iranian terror base in the city, Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.If Olmert's in favor of that, then he's clearly tolerant of what's likely to happen, when an "international body" fails to maintain any order.
"If we leave sections of Jerusalem, Hamas will enter and set up an Iranian-backed terror center," Netanayhu said in an address at the sixth annual Jerusalem Conference.
He added that one had to be "totally blind" to assume that a division of Jerusalem as part of a peace agreement with the Palestinians will lead to stability in the city.
Netanyahu, who is the front-runner in next month's elections, said that any Israeli withdrawal from parts of the city would only serve to bring terror to the heart of Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem.
"Anybody who yearns for the peace of Jerusalem will support Israeli sovereignty over all the city," he said.
"As the English saying goes, if it ain't broke don't fix it," Netanyahu concluded.
Palestinians claim all of east Jerusalem - as well as the city's holy sites - for the capital of their future state.
More than 250,000 Arabs live in Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has voiced readiness to cede Arab section of east Jerusalem to the Palestinians, while control over the holy sites - dubbed "the holy basin" - would be shared under an international body.
Update: the UK Telegraph has another detail he's spoken about (via Hot Air Headlines).
