U.S. State Department says spokeswoman says
that while U.S. recognizes Israel as a Jewish state, the Palestinians do
not have to do so in a peace agreement • Abbas: Israeli pressure does
not concern me.
U.S. President Barack Obama
with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah in March 2013 [Archive]
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Photo credit: AP  |
Recognition of Israel as a Jewish state
remains one of the most contentious issues in the ongoing
Israel-Palestinian peace negotiations, and on Friday, Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his stance against giving
such recognition.
A week ahead of his departure for Washington
to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama, Abbas told a gathering of
Palestinian officials that, "We will not recognize Israel as a Jewish
state."
"I recognize Israel just as they recognized
the Palestine Liberation Organization," Abbas said. "Israeli pressure
does not concern me. Let them continue to say that there will be no
peace without recognition of Israel as the state of the Jewish people."
Meanwhile, U.S. State Department spokeswoman
Jen Psaki said over the weekend that despite Washington's position of
recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, that does not constitute a
precondition for talks.
"The American position is clear, Israel is a
Jewish state," Psaki said. "However, we do not see a need that both
sides recognize this position as part of the final agreement."
Psaki said the current focus is on reaching a framework agreement that would allow for the continuation of the peace talks.
"The parties have to agree to what will be in a
framework and what will be a part of the path forward for
negotiations," she said.
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