Sharon: We will never
give up Jerusalem

Despite recent calls by his deputy prime minister to give the PLO parts of Israel's capital, Ariel Sharon pledged yesterday that his government would never relinquish control over Jerusalem.

"Jerusalem will remain the undivided, eternal capital of the Jewish people," said Sharon at a dinner and dedication ceremony for Jerusalem's new Menachem Begin Heritage Center, just one week after Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, a close political ally of Sharon, said he is willing to cede Israeli control over at least six Arab neighborhoods that lie on the periphery of Jerusalem.

"Jerusalem is dear to me, but one must not lose sight of proportions over peripheral areas we do not need," Olmert said at the time.

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Olmert's statements caused a fury in Israel and abroad, with Sharon supporters and detractors demanding to know whether the government would follow its Gaza withdrawal plan with a new proposal for turning over parts of Jerusalem to Palestinian sovereignty.

Olmert's policy statements are often coordinated with Sharon to "test the waters" of potential future Israeli government initiatives, and there was concern, particularly among Likud members, that Sharon would next advocate for dividing Jerusalem.

The traditional Likud platform has always stood against concessions regarding any part of Jerusalem.

Sharon now rules by a slim coalition of only 59 out of 120 Knesset seats. Observers believe Olmert's Jerusalem remarks may have been a tactic to pressure Israel's National Union Party, which is unhappy about the Gaza disengagement plan, from bolting the government, hinting that their departure would force Sharon to create a unity government with the dovish Labor Party and be forced into more concessions, perhaps even on Jerusalem.

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Jerusalem was first divided into eastern and western sections when Jordan invaded and occupied East Jerusalem and the Old City in 1947, expelling all Jewish inhabitants. Israel built its capital in the western part of the city. East Jerusalem remained under Jordanian control until Israel captured it, along with the Old City, in 1967 after Jordan's King Hussein ignored Israeli pleas for his country to stay out of the Six Day War.

During the 19 years of Arab sovereignty, the ancient Jewish Quarter of the Old City was ravaged, 58 synagogues – some centuries old – were destroyed and slum dwellings were built abutting the Western Wall. Jews were not allowed to visit their holy places and Israeli Christians were subjected to many restrictions, with only limited numbers allowed to visit the Old City and Bethlehem at Christmas and Easter.