PLO spells out its positions on Jerusalem

For those who naively think that the PA "only" wants Israel to withdraw to the Green Line and then peace will reign supreme, the new "PLO Mission to the United States" website spells out otherwise.

This website is meant to portray a moderate front to Western audiences, but it is filled with half-lies and outright lies that would take a month of fisking to flesh out. Here is just what they say about Jerusalem:

Israel has no legal right to any part of East Jerusalem since East Jerusalem was part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967. East Jerusalem is part of the territory over which the indigenous Palestinian population shall exercise sovereignty upon Israeli withdrawal.

In 1967, there were no legally recognized "Palestinian territories" and Israel's acquisition of them in a defensive war with Jordan is not a legal "occupation" according to the only definition of occupation listed in international law, the 1907 Hague Conventions.

In conformity with international law and as stated in the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, all of Jerusalem (and not merely East Jerusalem) is the subject of permanent status negotiations.

The PLO here is formally stating that they want to go beyond the Green Line and claim a stake in the western part of Jerusalem as well. When Oslo says in 1993 that "Jerusalem" will be a part of the permanent status negotiations, the PLO is interpreting that as if all of Jerusalem is on the table - a gross misintepretation of the 1993 agreement, which is only saying that Jerusalem will be discussed at a later time, not that the western part is up for negotiations.

Jerusalem should be an open city. Within Jerusalem, irrespective of the resolution of the question of sovereignty, there should be no physical partition that would prevent the free circulation of persons within it.

Here is where they are solidifying their claim above - saying that they want full rights to allow terrorists to freely enter Jewish areas of the city, and beyond.

Palestine and Israel shall be committed to guaranteeing freedom of worship at and access to religious sites within Jerusalem. Both states will take all possible measures to protect such sites and preserve their dignity.

This is a joke meant as a sop to the West. The PLO officially does not want any Jewish access to Jewish holy sites in Hebron, Nablus and Bethlehem, and the only reason there is any access today is because of Israel's "illegal occupation," not because of any liberal thinking on the PLO's part. Jerusalem would be the same in short order if the PLO would convince the West of its "peaceful intentions." Moreover, the idea that the PLO would ever allow Jewish free access to the Temple Mount is beyond absurd.

The PLO is who Israel is officially negotiating with, not the PA, so this is not an extreme, splinter position. This is what the "moderate" Palestinian wing is demanding, in English.

In Arabic, you will still be hard-pressed to find a map of "Palestine" that shows Israel at all.