Arab League "emphasizes its rejection of
recognizing Israel as a 'Jewish state'" • Secretary-General Nabil
Elaraby says Israel trying to derail peace talks demanding Palestinians
recognize Jewish state.
Arab foreign ministers meet
at the Arab League building in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday
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Photo credit: AP  |
Arab foreign ministers met at the Arab League
headquarters in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the obstacles facing the
ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby
slammed Israel's demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as the
Jewish state, calling it an inappropriate caveat to bring up during the
current round of negotiations.
"The council of the Arab League confirms its
support for the Palestinian leadership in its effort to end the Israeli
occupation over Palestinian lands, and emphasizes its rejection of
recognizing Israel as a 'Jewish state'," Arab foreign ministers said in a
statement in Cairo.
Elaraby also said that demanding Palestinian
recognition of the Jewish state was Israel's latest attempt to derail
the peace talks, especially because the same demand was not made of
other Arab countries that signed peace accords with Israel.
Abbas complained on Saturday that Palestinians
were being asked for something that had not been demanded of Arab
countries that have previously signed peace treaties with Israel.
"We recognized Israel in mutual recognition in
the (1993) Oslo agreement -- why do they now ask us to recognise the
Jewishness of the state?" he asked.
"Why didn't they present this demand to Jordan or Egypt when they signed a peace agreement with them?" Abbas added.
Arab foreign ministers blamed Israel for
trying to obstruct the talks, by increasing settlement construction
while using the peace negotiations to create facts on the ground.
Additionally, they accused Israel of stealing Palestinian land and
laying siege to Palestinian towns in the West Bank.
They also discussed what they called Israel's "Judaization" of Jerusalem while taking control of Islamic holy places.
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