PA Rules Out Recognizing Israel as ‘Jewish State’
Insists the Announcement Might Harm Rights of Israeli Arabs
Nabil Shaath, top negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, today ruled out complying with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand that the PA recognize Israel as an eternal “Jewish state.”
According to Shaath, such a declaration might do serious harm to Israel’s Arab minority, as well as harm the claims of a right of return by the large number of Palestinian refugees.
Israel has long declared itself a Jewish State, but its ability to maintain this as well as a claim to being a democratic nation are often seen to be at odds, particularly with a growing non-Jewish minority population that is struggling to find a political voice. It has also brought various forms of Judaism into clash over how the state should be run.
The peace talks are aimed at the creation of a Palestinian state, and Prime Minister Netanyahu insists this state must accept a number of conditions, including giving Israel virtual control over its entire borders, agreeing to have no military of its own, formally rejecting the “right of return” and accepting Israel as an eternally Jewish state.
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Walter Cole
September 8th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
In order to recognize Israel, the borders would have to be officially recognized – the PA would be stupid to do this. What is this fuse about the PA doing the official recognition? Does this mean that Israel officially recognizes the state of Palestine? Would it be willing to do so at the same time the PA recognized Israel? Of course not, because if they did they would have to define their borders.
For the very same reason Israel and the US don´t have a mutual defence treaty, Israel refuses to officially recognize its borders. What would the US being obligated to defend under the treaty?
Let Israel take the first step through the recognition of the state of Palestine to exist.
Alan T
September 9th, 2010 at 5:57 am
A nice exposé of Netanyahu's core constituency that goes a long way in explaining Palestinian reluctance to accept the aforementioned "peace" terms:
How to Kill Goyim and Influence People: Israeli Rabbis Defend Book's Shocking Religious Defense of Killing Non-Jews (with Video) http://www.alternet.org/story/148016/
donna
September 9th, 2010 at 9:36 am
Netanyahu is using the peace talks to legalize and institutionalize the occupation–that's what is intended by his demands of giving Israel virtual control over Palestinian borders, agreeing that Palestinians will have no military of its own, formally rejecting the “right of return.” Whoever heard of a state without a military or without control of its own borders? This is smoke and mirrors, and once again proves that the Israelis are not serious about a two-state solution. They are also not farsighted enough to see that a one-state solution will benefit the Palestinians more than the Jews. If this occurs, then maybe–maybe–Israel will indeed become a democratic nation, rather than a feudal theocracy.
fedupandsick
September 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
This is how the two terror states, the u.s being the other, negotiate. We go in with a set of conditions the other side can't possibly agree to and when negotiations fail we say we tried and then we bomb the shit out of them. Sometimes we skip the negotiations. We = u.s. and mother israel.
Pendulum
September 9th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
well, we do have the Vadican as a catholic state.
ernie
September 9th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
1948 2 countries were form israel &jordan the palestinians are the people of jordan