国际英语新闻：Netanyahu vows to keep Jerusalem undivided amid Arab residents protest

JERUSALEM, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Thursday that all of Jerusalem would always remain under Israeli sovereignty, but hundreds of east Jerusalem Arabs protested the occupation.

    "United Jerusalem is Israel's capital. Jerusalem was always ours and will always be ours. It will never again be partitioned and divided," Netanyahu was quoted by local daily Ha'aretz as saying at a state ceremony marking Jerusalem Day, which was held at the Ammunition Hill in east Jerusalem.

    The prime minister said he had made the same declaration during his visit to Washington, where he met Monday with U.S. President Barack Obama over the Middle East peace process and Iran's nuclear program.

Israeli President Shimon Peres (C) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) attend a state ceremony marking Jerusalem Day, which celebrates the conquest of East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War, in east Jerusalem, May 21, 2009. Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War and declared the whole city as its "eternal and undivided capital" in 1980 in a move not recognized by the international community, while the Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state

    Jerusalem Day celebrates the conquest of the city during the 1967 Six Day War, before which Jordan controlled east Jerusalem, while Israel had the western section. Shortly after the war, Israel annexed east Jerusalem.

    "Only under Israeli sovereignty will united Jerusalem ensure the freedom of religion and freedom of access for the three religions to the holy places," Netanyahu said, without referring to Palestinian demands to declare east Jerusalem the capital of the state they want to establish.

    Netanyahu's speech echoed remarks of Israeli President Shimon Peres, who said earlier at the ceremony that "Israel will never have another capital other than Jerusalem, and Jerusalem will never be the capital of another people."

    In response to Netanyahu's words, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the Israeli prime minister's position on Jerusalem was a setback to the goal of a two-state solution, which is strongly supported by the Obama administration.

    "Netanyahu, by saying that, he is saying the state of conflict will be eternal," Erekat said.

    Also on Thursday, hundreds of east Jerusalem Arabs protested against Jerusalem Day celebrations in the city, according to local daily The Jerusalem Post.

    Demonstrators waving flags of the Palestinian National Authority shouted slogans to condemn the Jewish occupation.

    Participants lambasted "the myth of the city's unity" and said Israel must "awaken from the fantasy of unity" of Jerusalem. They said east Jerusalem's annexation to Israel in the wake of the Six Day War was illegal.

    Protestor Inad Muhammad Surhi from the Jabal Mukaber neighborhood, told local news service Ynet that "We are here to say one thing: Jerusalem has never been united. Look at the difference between west Jerusalem and the east, you will see that there is no equality in the city."

    "We are here to say that we want Jerusalem to be the capital of two states and that's all. Only then will there be peace for both us and you," said Surhi.

    Jerusalem City Council member Meir Margalit, who is from the left-wing Meretz party, was present at the protest, saying that "I am here because I feel that there is a big lie that has been going on for 42 years, and it is called the unification of the city."

    "Someone must burst this bubble. The city is not united; on the contrary, it is more divided than ever," he said, adding that Jerusalem Day is not a holiday for all the city's residents.

    "Calling it 'Jerusalem Day', as if all the residents are happy with the situation, is a big lie. It could be called 'Jerusalem Day for the Jews'," said Margalit.