Palestinian cause undergoing 'difficult circumstances'

By Yassine Aydi and Hacer Baser

ISTANBUL (AA) - A consortium of Muslim theologians on Sunday said the Palestinian cause is "undergoing difficult circumstances".

In a statement on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) asked Palestinians to abandon differences.

Secretary General Ali Qaradaghi said: "The Palestinian people have been abandoned by the closest who signed normalization deals with the Occupiers of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem and Palestine."

He added that "it is still to be hoped on the unity of the Palestinian people, and the Palestinian brothers must unite their position".

In 1977, the UN General Assembly called for the annual observance of Nov. 29 as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might eventually serve as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara