Palestinians protest French statements on Jerusalem

By Hani al-Shaer

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Palestinians staged a rally in the Gaza Strip on Monday to protest statements by French Prime Minister Jean Castex in which he declared Jerusalem as "the eternal capital of the Jewish people."

“Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Palestine,” reads a banner waved by protesters during the rally organized by the Palestinian group Hamas in the western city of Khan Younis.

“Castex’s remarks were part of the continuing bias of French and Western decision-makers to the Israeli occupation,” Hamas leader Mushir al-Masri told Anadolu Agency.

“The Western policy can’t give Israel legitimacy on the land of Palestine,” he said.

On Friday, Castex claimed during a gala dinner hosted by the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF) that "Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people."

"That does not stop anyone from recognizing and respecting the attachment of other religions to this city," he said.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping East Jerusalem, now occupied by Israel, might eventually serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

*Writing by Bassel Barakat in Ankara