Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his uncompromising stance on a united Jerusalem Tuesday night, saying he plans to authorize more building in the capital, in a speech at Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
The prime minister spoke on the eve of Jerusalem Day that commemorates Israel's liberation of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War.
Mercaz Harav, an orthodox Yeshiva located in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem was the site of a terror attack in 2008 in which a Palestinian gunman killed eight students.
Netanyahu said in his speech Tuesday that Jerusalem would never be divided, emphasizing the Jewish people's longstanding historical connection to the city.
"The rocks and archaeological artifacts found in Jerusalem expose the deep ties between the Jewish people and its capital," the prime minister said.
Netanyahu used a play on words of a 2000-year-old Jewish prayer yearning for a return to Jerusalem, saying "next year in a more built up Jerusalem," alluding to his intention to build more homes in Jerusalem, despite contention with Palestinians on the matter.
Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
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