U.S. House's Beit-ul-Moqaddas resolution 'unacceptable': Egypt
The resolution "not only contradicts international law and (UN) Security Council resolutions on Beit-ul-Moqaddas, but also the position of the U.S. administration itself over east Beit-ul-Moqaddas," Hadidi said in a statement.
The resolution was passed this month on the 40th anniversary of the Six Day War, which saw Arab armies defeated and the rise of Israel as a major power in the region. It states that Congress "congratulates the residents of Beit-ul-Moqaddas and the people of Israel on the 40th anniversary of the reunification of that historic city."
The resolution urges U.S. President George W. Bush to move the U.S. embassy to Beit-ul-Moqaddas. It also "commends those former combatant states of the Six Day War, Egypt and Jordan, who in subsequent years had the wisdom and courage to embrace a vision of peace and coexistence with Israel." Hadidi said international principles, embodied in UN Security Council resolutions, state that there is "no room for arguing against east Beit-ul-Moqaddas as being occupied Arab land." He called on "all parties to refrain from taking positions that further complicate the situation and that do not serve peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people."
Israel captured Arab east Beit-ul-Moqaddas on June 7, 1967, the third day of the war, and unilaterally annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community.
In 1980, Israel passed a law declaring Beit-ul-Moqaddas "the unified and eternal capital of Israel," but the Palestinians want occupied east Beit-ul-Moqaddas to be the capital of their future sovereign state.
Israel's unilateral moves in Beit-ul-Moqaddas have been condemned by UN Security Council Resolutions, including one in 1980 that resulted in 13 Beit-ul-Moqaddas-based foreign embassies being moved to Tel Aviv.
The U.S. House resolution has yet to be adopted by the Senate. Such resolutions as these are generally used to express the sentiment of Congress.