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Editor-in-Chief of official PA daily after US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital: “Interference with its history or attempt to change its status… will lead to violence and an explosion of the region... this will open the gates of Hell”

Official PA TV program Palestine This Morning, on the PA media campaign for Jerusalem, hosting official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida Editor in Chief Mahmoud Abu Al-Haija

Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida Editor in Chief Mahmoud Abu Al-Haija: “There is a very important slogan and we adhere to it: ‘If the ominous Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration) passed, the Trump promise [recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital] will not pass.’ We will act on this basis in the official and private Palestinian media and Arab media… The future of Jerusalem is the future of the peace and stability in the region. Any interference with its history or attempt to change its status in any way other than the negotiation table will lead to violence and an explosion of the region in a way whose end will be bad. Simply, the message is: Jerusalem is the gate to peace in the region and the world; and at the same time, Jerusalem is the gate to war, and to violence and terror, if it does not achieve its freedom and its historical status regarding Palestine as the capital of the State of Palestine, and as a great city of tolerance and peace for the whole world…
It cannot be that we will be dragged into the matter of religious struggle, as this will open the gates of Hell in the region. When faiths clash with each other, there is much bloodshed… It is foolishness to think of changing the history and identity of Jerusalem… Jerusalem is a great city of all of the religions, not only of Islam and Christianity; it is a great city of all of the religions.”

The Balfour Declaration of Nov. 2, 1917 was a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Baron Rothschild stating that “His Majesty's government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” In 1922, the League of Nations adopted this and made the British Mandate “responsible for putting into effect the declaration,” which led to the UN vote in 1947 and the establishment of the State of Israel.

US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel - On Dec. 6, 2017, US President Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and instructed the State Department to begin preparations to transfer the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump added that the final borders of Jerusalem will be determined during negotiations.

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