Contributed by Nadia
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Salam Fayyad, the premier of the illegitimate PA government in Ramallah, has told a Hebrew daily that the Jewish nature of Israel was an internal issue.
Fayyad told daily Ha'aretz published on Friday that the Palestinians should not identify the nature of the Hebrew state, ignoring a question on Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that Jerusalem would remain the eternal, united capital of Israel.
He also expressed sympathy with the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, equating between him and Palestinian prisoners.
Fayyad said that Israel's delay in removing roadblocks in the West Bank had negatively affected development of Palestinian economy. However, he added that he was against removing any road barrier if it would affect Israel's security.
Fayyad to Haaretz: Not our Business Whether Israel is Jewish!
Translation: Arab 48 and uprooted palestinians not Fayad's business.
14/08/2009 Israel's character is it's own business. It is not up to the Palestinians to define it, Palestinian Prime Minister in Ramallah Salam Fayyad said Thursday, when asked about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
"Israel's character is Israel's business and nobody else's," Fayyad says in an interview with Haaretz.
"The character of Israel, as the total character that Israel would like to have, is Israel's own choice. It characterizes itself in the way that it wishes to characterize itself. Why raise it now? Why would you want to settle it now when we haven't settled anything else? Needless to say, however which way Israel decides to characterize itself as a product of the political system of Israel, is [up to] Israel. This condition wasn't mentioned in the Oslo Accords, and I see no room to set new conditions or preconditions for the negotiations. Until today all we received in exchange for recognizing the two-state solution and stopping the armed struggle was your recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization as the Palestinian people's representative," he says.
Fayyad seems to prefer to talk about economic issues rather than politics. His critics say he gives tail wind to the "economic peace" touted by his Israeli counterpart, Netanyahu.
Oman, Qatar: We'll Renew Israel Ties if It Freezes Settlements
The United States told Israel last week that Gulf states Oman and Qatar are willing to renew their relations with Israel if it agrees to a moratorium on construction in the West Bank, Haaretz has learned.
The Obama administration has been pushing for a construction freeze in the West Bank settlements, which are illegal under international law. President Barack Obama's demand has been repeatedly rejected by Israel's government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to resume negotiations until Israel complies with a freeze.
As reported by Haaretz, Washington had proposed a one-year freeze to Netanyahu as a way to persuade Arab states to move toward normalizing ties with Israel. Haaretz has learned that the proposal was made by U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell in talks with Netanyahu, although the prime minister's spokesman dismisses this as "mere media speculation."
Mitchell and Netanyahu are scheduled to next meet on August 26 in London. Sources say that Netanyahu is seeking to reach an agreement with the Americans on the issue by the UN General Assembly meeting on September 22 in New York. He would give his answer to Obama then.
Israel's embassy in Oman was shut down in 2001 after the outbreak of the second intifada. Qatar had an Israeli delegation office, which was also shut down. The diplomats were told to leave due to Israel's three-week Gaza offensive that began last December.
No comments:
Post a Comment