Скачать или смотреть Fayyad comments on heritage sites row with Israel

(1 Mar 2010)
1. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad walking out after Palestinian cabinet meeting
2. Cutaway of cameraman
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Salam Fayyad, Palestinian Prime Minister:
"This is a highly delicate matter and clearly, in its political dimension represents a clear violation of international law. It deals with sites that are clearly located in the territories occupied by Israel in 1967 and as such, actions taken by the government of Israel by Israel, the occupying power, under international law, to this effect are completely illegal."
4. Cutaway of photographer
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Salam Fayyad, Palestinian Prime Minister:
"We are not going to be drawn into a cycle of violence, we are fully determined and we count on our people understanding fully well, that the best response to this, in the face of this adversity, in the face of adversity that is connected with the occupation and its practices in all of the areas that I have mentioned and in others as well the best response is to stay focused, stay focused on the substance of what this project is about. This is about getting to the point where we Palestinians enjoy that which is an absolute right for all people around the world to live as free people."
6. Pan from Fayyad to media
7. Security outside building
STORYLINE:
The Palestinian Cabinet moved its weekly meeting to Hebron on Monday, in a symbolic protest against Israel''s addition of a contested site in this volatile West Bank city to its national heritage list.
Israel''s decision last week drew widespread international criticism and heightened Palestinian suspicions of Israel at a time when the US is trying to restart peace talks.
Israelis and Palestinians have clashed frequently in the past over two West Bank sites added to the heritage list: the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel''s Tomb in Bethlehem.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced Israel''s move as an "attack on the holy places," and his Islamic militant Hamas rivals in Gaza called for a new uprising. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision was not about politics, but preserving culture.
Emerging from the cabinet meeting the Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad described the Israeli move as "completely illegal", however he insisted that Palestinians would not be drawn "into a cycle of violence".
Over the past week, Palestinian stone-throwers have clashed almost daily with Israeli troops in Hebron, a divided city where 500 Jewish settlers live amid 170,000 Palestinians.
The Cabinet session comes a day after Israeli police forces dispersed masked Palestinian rioters at Jerusalem''s most contentious holy site. And early Monday, gunmen opened fire at an Israeli security vehicle in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan, lightly injuring a security guard, police said.
Netanyahu has tried to calm the recent tensions, saying that Israel''s plan was to protect the holy sites and had no intention of infringing on Muslim freedom of worship.
A Netanyahu aide said the list is not meant to delineate future borders, and that it''s premature to talk about concrete renovation plans.
However, Palestinians fear the decision is another sign that Netanyahu wants to hang on to significant parts of the West Bank, a territory they want for their future Palestinian state, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem.
The disputed site in Hebron is a 2,000-year-old fortress-like structure built where tradition says Abraham and other biblical patriarchs are buried. Muslims call it the Ibrahimi Mosque.

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