Tell us about your proposal for the establishment of a Supreme Council on the Holy Places of Jerusalem. Is it now possible to consider as internationally binding on the future administrator of Jerusalem principles such as the independence of the religious community vis-à-vis the political authority, the so-called status quo, or respect for the holy places and the rights of the religious community therein?
Nobody can start from zero. We have to start from the existing fact of a long-established presence of the Holy Places of the three religions, and we have to abide by the obligations traditionally binding in this respect.

Would you like to elaborate on the composition of the proposed Supreme Council?
The representatives of the different religious communities should be the members of the Council. The religious bodies representing the Christian Churches, the Waqf authorities and the representatives of the Jewish community may sit together and discuss their own problems in order to find a way to keep Jerusalem one and a single city, really unified, and open to the rest of the world.

Should the members of such a Council be responsible also for the settlement of possible disputes arising between them, such as the old Coptic-Ethiopian controversy, or the opening of a new exit from the Hasmonean Tunnel?
I think that the first task for the members of the Council representing the three religions would be to secure free access for the Christians, the Muslims and the Jews who live in the area. The second task would be to preserve its own independence, free from any influence of existing political bodies. This condition would allow it to take free, independent decisions. I assume that in this way its members will find common solutions for every single problem they would face, avoiding bloodshed between the Palesand the Israelis as happened after the opening of the new exit from the Tunnel. I have faith in the ability of truly religious people to solve their own disputes and to avoid confrontation.

So in your opinion this distinction between the spiritual and the temporal might reduce the emotional and symbolic traps of the Jerusalem question?
This is why I suggested the idea of taking the Old City and the Holy Places out of the political discussion. So, let's talk about these rights that were recognized by UN resolution 181 of 1947, let's go back to that starting point. That might be the best way of reaching a sane and lasting solution which will inspire a sense of justice in the generations to come.