The League of Arab States affirmed that occupied Jerusalem represents the essence of the Palestinian cause, and that targeting it aims to change its Arab, Islamic, and Christian identity and obliterate its historical and legal character, in violation of international law and UN resolutions. This came in a speech by the Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Sector at the Arab League, Ambassador Dr. Faid Mustafa, during the international conference on Jerusalem, held today in Cairo under the title 'Jerusalem: The Front Line of Displacement and Annexation and the Key to Just and Lasting Peace.' He explained that Jerusalem is going through a dangerous phase due to the continuation of Israeli occupation policies represented by annexation, settlement, forced displacement, demolition of homes, confiscation of land, attacks on holy sites, and imposing restrictions on freedom of worship, stressing that these policies undermine opportunities for achieving peace and stability. He called on the international community to take practical steps to stop settlement, annexation, and displacement policies, and to provide protection for the Palestinian people, affirming that just peace can only be achieved by ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.