Praying for a miracle

Islamic symbolism stands on top of Jewish symbolism

By Hilary Andersson in Jerusalem

The sabbath has begun - and West Jerusalem has descended into silence.

Somewhere in the distance a dog barks. From elsewhere, far off, a child's voice can be heard.

The smell of cooking wafts throughout the air. Almost every Jewish family will soon be sitting down for their sabbath dinner.

Jews pray for God to help them rebuild Jerusalem

Candles will light up and twinkle through people's windows. The vision of a city at peace with itself.

But across a four-lane road lies another world - East Jerusalem, buzzing with life.

Already a single man's voice has broken the silence. His high wail a cry to Allah.

Divided city

The sound fills every sitting room and kitchen in the West, reminding every Jew that they are not alone here in their silence, and with their prayers.

While Jews will pray at their sabbath dinner for God to help them rebuild Jerusalem, Muslims pray that one day Jerusalem might be theirs again.

The Mount of Olives is steeped in the mysticism of the Bible

All this intensity and Jerusalem is not even a city, really. It's more like a town.

The Mount of Olives, steeped in the mysticism of the Bible, is just a little hill. There are a few houses on it - it could be anywhere in the Middle East.

And the Old City, encased in the ancient walls, is just one square kilometre of land.

How can such a small piece of land cause so many problems? How can it stop peace in the Middle East?

So much hatred

The answer is symbolism. In the Old City, there is the Temple Mount, or the Harem al-Sharif. There, a mosque, which is the third holiest site in Islam, stands almost right on top of the Wailing Wall - one of the holiest sites in Judaism.

Islamic symbolism stands on top of Jewish symbolism. For two peoples between whom there is so much hatred it's almost too much to bear.

The conflict has been long and bloody

Each side demands sovereignty.

There is a Palestinian in Jerusalem called Abdullah Boudaria, whose house must have one of the most stunning views in the world.

It stands literally right opposite the majestic golden dome which symbolises Jerusalem. Pointing to it he told me he lived in the closest place to heaven.

'Humiliation'

He was born in 1922 and has lived through all the turmoil of the city in the 20th century.

He fought in the Arab uprisings against the Jews in the 1930s. He spent seven years hiding from the British living with Bedouins.

The fate of the refugees may have been partially solved

He remembers a night back in 1948 when a huge party was held in Jerusalem. It was the night the UN announced the partition plan which divided Jerusalem between Arab and Jew.

Then, one day 19 years later, he walked into his house and Jerusalem was Arab.

When he walked out the next morning, the Jews had taken it over.

Now the 78-year-old has to walk past Israeli policemen every time he enters or exits his own house.

He feels humiliated and says his people have lost their dignity.

I asked him a simple question: "After all these years of trauma why can't Jew and Arab just live together, share the city?"

He answered emphatically thrashing the air with his arms: "We can live together," he said. "Back in the Ottoman days there were Arabs, Jews and Christians in this house together. But not now."

Political suicide

His view is the same as that of the Palestinian leaders at Camp David: that Israel wants everything, and that if Israel would only give the Palestinians sovereignty over East Jerusalem - just East Jerusalem - the matter would be solved.

But what is on offer at Camp David is not that. The Palestinians may get some kind of sovereignty in outlying parts of East Jerusalem - if there is a deal - but not in the Old City.

That is the Israeli prime minister's pledge: that Jerusalem will never be divided and that it will be Israel's eternal capital.

Promising anything less to an Israeli electorate would be political suicide.

For more than 2000 years, Jews have been praying to return to Jerusalem. Now they are here - and they are not about to give half of it up.

The issue of Jerusalem could scupper a peace deal. And if so, it would be tragic.

Tragic because religion has made it a largely symbolic issue, while the other issues are real.

From what little has leaked out of the summit, the fate of the refugees has been partially solved, and there are understandings - if not agreements - on the questions of borders and Jewish settlers.

If it is true, this is nothing short of a miracle.

Soon prison doors could fly open, refugees could rebuild their lives, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict could be declared over. The dream of peace is almost tangible.

But the Holy City - oh so holy - could ruin it all.