Netanyahu Calls On Abbas to Address Israeli Parliament and Hollande Says Jerusalem Must Be Capital of 2 States
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday invited Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to address the Israeli parliament and publicly recognize Jewish links to the land of Israel.
"I call on him from here: let's break the deadlock. Come to the Israeli Knesset and I'll come to Ramallah," the Palestinian leader's West Bank headquarters.
"Get up on this platform and recognize the historical truth: the Jews have a nearly 4,000-year-old link to the land of Israel," he said in an address to parliament.
Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande told the Israeli parliament that Jerusalem must be the capital of both Israel and the future state of Palestine.
"France's position is known: a negotiated settlement, with the state of Israel and (the state) of Palestine both having Jerusalem as capital, coexisting in peace and security," he said.
Israel seized the mostly Arab eastern sector of the Holy City during the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
It considers all of Jerusalem to be its "eternal and indivisible capital" and has vowed never to let the city be re-divided.
The Palestinians have insisted east Jerusalem be the capital of their future state, making the city's fate one of the thorniest issues of the decades-long conflict.
Hollande also assured during hisspeech that France is using "all its might" to battle anti-Semitism.
"France is fighting with all its might against anti-Semitism in all its forms," he said.
"I confirm in this house the French Republic's commitment to watch over at all times the security and safety of the Jews of France."
Source: Agence France Presse
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