Hamdallah: Jerusalem top priority for PA cabinet

Jerusalem and its holy sites are a top priority for the Palestinian Authority cabinet, newly appointed Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said Sunday while visiting the city. Hamdallah told Ma'an that the PA is going to implement a number of projects in Jerusalem to support Palestinians, without providing further details. The newly-appointed prime minister visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the Al-Makassed Islamic Charitable Society Hospital, and was accompanied by the governor of Jerusalem, Adnan al-Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Hussein, PA health minister Jawad Awwad and several other officials. Hamdallah said the PA is trying to build support for Jerusalem in Arab and international conventions, and was briefed about Israeli violations around the Al-Aqsa compound. Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community. Eight out of 10 Palestinians in East Jerusalem live below the poverty line, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said in May, calling it the "worst rate of all time."