Obama condemns Palestinian claim on Western Wall
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration on Tuesday strongly condemned a Palestinian official’s claim that the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem has no religious significance for Jews and is actually Muslim property.
The State Department said the U.S. rejects the claim as “factually incorrect, insensitive and highly provocative.” Spokesman P.J. Crowley said statements of that kind damage U.S. efforts to revive stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and could incite violence.
“We have repeatedly raised with the Palestinian Authority leadership the need to consistently combat all forms of delegitimization of Israel, including denying historic Jewish connections to the land,” he told reporters.