VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -
Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson said Monday that the United States will risk God's wrath if it forces Israel to surrender part of Jerusalem to the Palestinians.
"He that touches Jerusalem touches the apple of God's eye," Robertson said on "The 700 Club," the daily religious news-and-talk television program he hosts from his Christian Broadcasting Network.
"And if we decide we're going to wrest East Jerusalem away from the Jews and give it over to the Palestinians, we're risking the wrath of God on this nation, and I think it's very dangerous," Robertson said.
Robertson made the remarks after watching a CBN news segment about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's meeting Monday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Rice said the creation of a Palestinian state is a top U.S. interest. Also Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hinted that he is ready to share control of Jerusalem, saying for the first time that Israel could do without controlling some of the holy city's outlying Arab neighborhoods.
Robertson triggered outrage last year by suggesting that former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was God's punishment for ordering Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. Robertson later apologized.
In August 2005, Robertson was criticized for suggesting that U.S. agents should assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
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