RYE, N.Y. — The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America has sharply criticized a draft U.N. resolution that refers to Jerusalem as “occupied Palestinian territory.”
The resolution “brings us back to the sorry era of utterly unrealistic and poisonous rhetoric that so characterized the United Nations for too many years,” said an O.U. statement adopted by the group’s officers Friday of last week.
The statement was adopted during the O.U.’s convention held here over the Thanksgiving weekend.
“The news that Egypt has joined in co-sponsoring this outrageous draft raises serious questions as to [President Hosni] Mubarak regime’s continued commitment to the spirit of Camp David,” said the statement, referring to the 1978 Camp David Accords that became the basis for Egyptian-Israeli peace.
The resolution is co-sponsored by Egypt and other Muslim countries, including Bangladesh, Malaysia, Mauritania, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
The resolution, which is expected to be submitted shortly to the U.N. General Assembly, calls for “restitution and full compensation” to the Palestinian people for the “exploitation by Israel, the occupying Power, of the natural resources of the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967.”
The General Assembly recently opened its annual debate on the Middle East and is expected to vote this week on a resolution concerning the “Question of Palestine.”