"Moderate" Abbas: I Don't Accept Israel as a Jewish State

[Yala]

Published: 04.27.09, 14:44 / Israel News
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Monday that he will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state, as demanded by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"A Jewish state, what is that supposed to mean?" Abbas asked in a speech in the West Bank's political capital of Ramallah. "You can call yourselves as you like, but I don't accept it and I say so publicly."

Abbas said that the topic was "extensively discussed" and rejected by the Palestinians during the November 2007 international conference in Annapolis, Maryland during which the two sides relaunched their negotiations.

Netanyahu has demanded that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state as part of an eventual peace deal.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...707501,00.html

[baggi]

fatah is hamas with suit and a tie

[Reffo]

OK then, we understand him. He wants recognition of Palestine as a state for the Palestinian Arab people but he does not want to recognize Israel as a state for the Jewish people.

Seems fair to me, but only if one is a pro-Palestinian apologist with double standards... But he won't get what he wants till he gives others what they want, end of story.

[Mediocrates]

None of this is new. Abbas has always said one thing to the 'west' and quite another in Arabic. Frankly, what is the difference either way. They should be negotiating borders not philosophy.

[bararallu]

None of this is new. Abbas has always said one thing to the 'west' and quite another in Arabic. Frankly, what is the difference either way. They should be negotiating borders not philosophy.

Borders are already negotiated. There was Jordan, Syria and Egypt. They attacked, they lost. End of story. Now they did a bit of philosophy and voila we have new borders to contest. Once they have the WB, there will be yet another self determination effort inside of Israel.

There is really one option, not the trap Begin fell into in 79: Peace means every single Arab Muslim, including Bedouin that do not conscript into the IDF, must be repatriated into "Palestine", which ever one they want, east or west.

[Yala]

None of this is new. Abbas has always said one thing to the 'west' and quite another in Arabic. Frankly, what is the difference either way. They should be negotiating borders not philosophy.

This is all part of a plan so in the future they can claim Palestine as an Arab Muslim state as soon as the Israeli Arabs reach 30-40%.

[Reffo]

Interesting..... it seems George Mitchell disagrees with Abbas. This is what he said on April 16, 2009:

Special Envoy George Mitchell (Apr. 16): "Policy of the United States under President Obama is clear. Beyond any doubt it is in the United States national interest that there be a comprehensive peace settlement in the middle east which would include settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a two-state solution involving a Palestinian state living side by side alongside the Jewish state of Israel in peace and hopefully stability and prosperity.”

Working Toward a Comprehensive Peace Settlement in the Middle East

[Reffo]

Moreover, in 1947 the UN voted for a TWO state solution, NOT a ONE state solution. Why? Because one state was for the Jewish people and the other state was for the Arab people. Had that not been the intention of the UN, then they would have voted for a bi-national state (a ONE state solution for BOTH peoples). But that's NOT what the UN did ...

So why is Abbas rejecting that? Could it be because he is opting for a two state solution BOTH of which would be for the Arab people?