RAMALLAH, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Thursday slammed Israel for shutting down Palestinian media and educational institutions in East Jerusalem in breach of the Oslo Accords.

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said Israeli claims that the recent closure of Palestinian media offices in Jerusalem was in line with the Oslo Accords are baseless.

The Oslo Accords are a set of agreements between the PLO and Israel: the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C. in 1993 and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt in 1995, which envisioned the establishment of a Palestinian interim self-government in the Palestinian territories.

According to Erekat, a letter that was sent by then Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres to his Norwegian counterpart Johan Holst on Oct. 11, 1993 said, "The Palestinian institutions of East Jerusalem and the interest and well-being of the Palestinians of East Jerusalem are of great importance and will be preserved."

"All the Palestinian institutions of East Jerusalem, including the economic, social, educational and cultural, and the holy Christian and Muslim places, are performing an essential task for the Palestinian population," the letter added.

On Wednesday, Israeli police closed the offices of Palestine TV and the Education and Higher Education Directorate in East Jerusalem for six months, purportedly for organizing activities under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority.

Meanwhile, dozens of Palestinian journalists on Thursday held a sit-in in front of the Palestine Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), home to the official Palestine TV, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, protesting the Israeli move against their colleagues in East Jerusalem.

Ahmad Assaf, head of the PBC, said the television will continue to work in East Jerusalem and will not comply with the Israeli decision.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel wants all Jerusalem to be its eternal capital.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967 and declared all Jerusalem as its eternal capital in 1980, but the move has never been recognized by most of the international community. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)