HH the Emir to open the International Conference for Defense of Jerusalem Wednesday, 22 February 2012 09:43

Doha, February 21: HH the Emir  Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani will open  the International Conference for the Defense of Jerusalem, to be hosted by the State of Qatar  from 26 to 27 February,  pursuant to the decision of the Supreme Council of the League of Arab States Resolution No. 503 in  Sirte,  March 2010.

The conference will be addressed by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Arab League Secretary-General Dr. Nabil Arabi, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)  Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the United Nations Coordinator for the peace process in the Middle East Robert Serry, on behalf of the UN  Secretary-General.

Participating in the conference also are 350 figures concerned with the Jerusalem question from Arab, Islamic and foreign countries.

The conference will feature issues of Jerusalem and international law, history of Jerusalem, Jerusalem and settlements, Israeli violations, Jerusalem, and civil society organizations.

The first axis deals with the legal status of Jerusalem before and after the Israeli occupation,  the reality and the future of Jerusalem under occupation, and  the status of the  holy places under international law.

The importance of highlighting the legal status of Jerusalem comes to prove the illegality of the Israeli practices and violations in the holy city, and its violation of all related  international norms and conventions  which therefore do not result in legal effect, does not create the policy of fait accompli, pursuant to the provisions of international law and the Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Hague Convention of 1907.

This requires a detailed explanation of the related  international legitimacy resolutions , and to highlight the most important decisions of various bodies including the UN Security Council,  the UN General Assembly,  and UNESCO concerning the City of Jerusalem in particular, and how to activate them.

There are other dimensions regarding the political and economic development to enhance the Arab presence in Jerusalem, where adherence to international law alone is not enough.

The second axis will highlight  the most important aspects of the  Jerusalem issue , including  historic dimension which  returns to the pre-period of  the Romanian era, as well as its position in the three monotheistic religions, and the Arab identity of the holy city, despite the  counterfeiting archaeological counterfeiting  meant to prove the Israeli weak narrative  regarding the historic right of Jews in Jerusalem, which requires to be  addressed by highlighting what Jerusalem represents  in Islamic and Christian thoughts .

The third one deals with procedures for the systematic intensification of settlement and land confiscation in East Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, as well as the demographic changes from 1967 to 2020, by which Israel  aims to the establish the Greater Jerusalem by  expulsion and the displacement of  the Arab population from  East Jerusalem.

The Conference will tackle ways to rescue Jerusalem, the Arab vision against  the Israeli plan - for the future of Jerusalem in  2020, which will depend on the development plans for various sectors to strengthen the steadfastness of Jerusalemites, and to emphasize the central role of Jerusalem in the Palestinian political, economic, and cultural life  besides protecting  the religious, cultural and architectural characteristics.

The fourth axis will discuss the role of institutions in the holy city and the extent of its representation to the National Authority, and to find appropriate mechanisms to activate the contribution of civil society organizations in maintaining the Arab identity in the city to strengthen the resistance against the Israeli occupation, and to assist in implementing development projects in Jerusalem.

QNA

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