'Jerusalem is ours for eternity'
2005-06-06 22:05
Jerusalem - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pledged on Monday that Israel would forever retain sovereignty over Jerusalem, in a speech to mark the 38th anniversary of the capture of the eastern part of the holy city.
Sharon said: "Jerusalem is ours for eternity and will never pass into foreign hands."
The prime minister was speaking at a ceremony on ammunition hill, a one-time bastion of the Jordanian army, which was captured by Israeli paratroopers during the 1967 six-day war.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem after the conflict, passing a law in 1980, which declared the whole city as its undivided capital, but the move was not recognised by the international community.
The Palestinians wanted to have the capital of their promised future state in east Jerusalem.