As Israel and the Palestinians negotiate on the future of Jerusalem, the Vatican has requested "internationally guaranteed" access for traditional holy sites.
After a two-day conference on Jerusalem, Vatican foreign minister Monsignor Jean Louis Tauran told reporters, "... We ask that the uniqueness and the sacredness of the most holy places of Jerusalem be internationally guaranteed."
Israelis and Palestinians are deeply divided on the future status of the city. Palestinians want the Arab-populated east Jerusalem, location of most of the holy sites, as capital of a possible future Palestinian state. Israel, which captured all of Jerusalem in the 1967 war, has made Jerusalem its own capital and repeatedly stated that it will not allow the city to be divided again. (Source: Associated Press )
