RAMALLAH, October 30, 2007 (WAFA) - Attallah Hanna, The Christian Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia, called on Tuesday upon the Palestinian negotiating team to place the status of Jerusalem at the top of the agenda at the upcoming Annapolis conference.

During a meeting attended by Shiekh Tayseer al Tamimi and Minister of the Interior Abdul Razaq al-Yahya, the Archbishop indicated that Jerusalem was of crucial importance in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and condemned the progressive erosion of other religious cultures in the city by the Israeli authorities, as witnessed in continued excavations in the al-Aqsa mosque compound, arguing that the administration wished to establish a purely Jewish city.

Hanna also called for Palestinian unity, arguing that the conference was doomed to fail if the Palestinians could not speak with one voice.

He also denounced the ongoing embargo on the Gaza Strip, branding the closure as a grave violation of international human rights law.