Our Oath

The Jerusalem Conference–Declaration and Oath

We believe in

• A Jerusalem united by Muslims and Christians and in making every effort, regardless of the cost, to end the Israeli military occupation of the holy city of Jerusalem.
• Jerusalem is a city of peace, a meeting place of civilizations and the Holy Land as well as the spiritual and national capital of the independent Palestinian state, and must remain a model for culture and humanitarianism, as well as remaining symbolic of the highest meaning of tolerance, justice and coexistence in the context of its Arab identity, and that Arab rights within it are inalienable.
• Jerusalem, an ancient city built by the Jebusites more than five thousand years ago was then inhabited by the Arab Canaanites and Palestinians without interruption who had given Jerusalem its indisputable Arab identity to which are attached Arab rights.
• Jerusalem is now occupied territory and we are committed to the cause of its liberation by all means feasible, legitimate and in accordance with International law and natural rights. Furthermore, we are dedicated to preventing her from being a Jewish only city. Sovereignty over Jerusalem is the national right of all Palestinian Arabs, Muslim and Christian alike. The rights of Palestinian people and their possessions in Jerusalem is an integral part of the inalienable rights and other interests and benefits and rights which are unwaivable and inalienable.
• The Jerusalem issue is national, Arab and humanitarian in its scope as well as being an issue of faith and therefore enjoys the qualities of holiness on the basis of that faith. We affirm and retain our right to access, communicate, work, organize and mobilize with all Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, Christians, friends and supporters from around the world in order to save this holy city and rid her from the clutches of the occupation and its oppression.
• We affirm that the occupation of Jerusalem is a racist, apartheid occupation of a racial supremacist/colonial-settler movement terrorizing the indigenous people of Palestine, and that said movement is not only protected by the Israeli State and its military and security apparatus, but supported and funded as well.
• We reject the serious and dangerous attacks on Islamic and Christian sanctuaries, especially the Al-Aqsa Mosque as well as the ongoing diversion of endowments of Christianity and consider it a dangerous policy and part of the ongoing Israeli government’s efforts to change the character of Jerusalem into ONLY Jewish.
• We affirm that the decisions of UNESCO, which characterizes Jerusalem as being part of human culture and that the prejudice and attacks on holy sites is a crime and a flagrant violation of international laws, norms and practices.
• We call for action to protect and promote the presence of the Palestinian Arabs in Jerusalem whose own survival is threatened. We are committed to the protection of the intellectual and cultural heritage and civilization of Jerusalem, and the preservation of the national Palestinian identity and the reopening of Palestinian institutions that have been closed or removed from the city and the protection of Arab property, Islamic and Christian.
• We reject the annexation of Jerusalem and the continuous removal of its Arab identity and emphasize the lack of Israel’s legitimacy and legality, the removal of the city from its Arab environment, its isolation and blockade by a series of settlements and the wall of apartheid with its harmful consequences on its people, its nature and its surroundings.
• We categorically condemn the suffering of the prisoners from Jerusalem and the continuation of their imprisonment, and the hardship that it creates on their families. We condemn the imprisonment of all Palestinians in Israeli jails
• We note that the most important tool in fighting the occupation in Jerusalem is to provide work programs and support in insuring the availability of resources from national, Arab and Islamic humanitarian and international organizations. We consider the economy of Jerusalem to be an integral part of the Palestinian economy. We affirm the importance of Palestinian national institutions in Jerusalem and must work to support such institutions financially and morally. We encourage the support and development of programs to help the needy, the wounded and prisoners.
• We call for freedom of worship and access to religious places in Jerusalem. We call to conserve peace, security, and tranquility, and the preservation of religious tolerance and the maintenance of Islamic and Christian sanctities and the coexistence of religions in Jerusalem.
• We hold the decision-makers of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim thinkers and community leaders responsible for protecting Jerusalem and its holy sites before God, the nation and history.