Senior Palestinian officials revealed this week that the Palestinian Authority has resumed administrative activity in Jerusalem with the quiet approval of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In an interview with WorldNetDaily, PA spokesman Dmitri Ziliani said the Palestinian government had opened several offices in Jerusalem in recent months and had resumed regular meetings there. He reiterated that the Palestinians will not make peace with Israel unless they gain full control over the entire eastern half of the city.
According to the report, the government of US President Barack Obama is helping the Palestinians reestablish their foothold in Jerusalem by financing Palestinian infrastructure projects there.
Previous Israeli governments had allowed the Palestinian Authority to operate in Jerusalem, despite it being a violation of Israeli law. But the PA headquarters in the holy city, dubbed "Orient House," was shut down in 2001 as escalating Palestinian terrorism was directly linked to the operations there.
Netanyahu's spokesman, Mark Regev, released a statement on Wednesday denying that Israel had again permitted the Palestinian Authority to operate in Jerusalem, and insisting that the city will remain undivided under Israeli sovereignty.