Res. No. 1570 Title Resolution calling upon the President of the United States and the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to take a firm position that Jerusalem should remain unequivocally united under Israeli sovereignty, that no part of Jerusalem should be divided, and that the Temple Mount is a holy site that belongs to Jerusalem and the people of Israel. Body By Council Members Dear, The Speaker (Council Member Vallone) also Council Members Berman, Rivera, DiBrienza, Koslowitz, McCaffrey, Michels, Nelson, Abel and Stabile; also Council Members Lasher, Leffler, O'Donovan, Povman Whereas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has recently stated that any peace settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may involve the division of the current city of Jerusalem into two separate entities under divided sovereignty: Jerusalem and Al-Quds; and Whereas, Such a dissection would effectively destroy the holiest city of the Jewish people and eternal capital of the state of Israel, and potentially deny Israeli access to the newly-created Al-Quds; and Whereas, Previous attempts to negotiate on the basis of "Land for Peace" have not resolved the fundamental issues underlying the Arab-Israeli Conflict, and have in many ways aggravated those problems; and Whereas, Severing any substantial portion of the city and placing it under independent sovereignty may inflict upon the Jewish population of Jerusalem, tremendous risks to their safety and security; and Whereas, Any dismantling of the city of Jerusalem may open the discussion to divide the sovereignty and control of the Temple Mount; and Whereas, The Temple Mount encompasses the Western Wall, the holiest site in all of Judaism, and has historically been under the control of Jews, who hold the only legitimate claim to ownership and control over the area; and Whereas, No single head of state has the mandate or the moral authority to vivisect the living city and culture of Jerusalem, as Barak proposes to do over the protests of the vast majority of his constituents; and Whereas, Israel has traditionally been America's closest ally in the Middle East, and that it is therefore the duty of the United States government to do all it can to ensure the future security of Israel and the survival of the Jewish people; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the President of the United States and the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to take a firm position that Jerusalem should remain unequivocally united under Israeli sovereignty, that no part of Jerusalem should be divided, and that the Temple Mount is a holy site that belongs to Jerusalem and the people of Israel.