Shaath denies willingness to reconsider recognition of Israel as Jewish state

Nabil Shaath, a member of Fatah’s central committee, has denied the media reports about a recent statement he made regarding the Palestinian leadership’s willingness to reconsider the Israeli demand to recognise Israel as a Jewish state at the end of the peace negotiations.

In a telephone conversation with Wafa news agency, Shaath recounted how a discussion took place during his meeting on Monday with a student delegation from Harvard University, in which he informed them about the Palestinian position rejecting any recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, as any such recognition would mean justifying the rape of Palestine. He explained to the students that the Palestinian leadership believes that any such recognition would constitute a justification for taking the West Bank over, let alone the dangers that Palestinians inside the 1948 territories, who make up 21 per cent of Israel’s population, would face and the threat posed to the right of return.

The member of Fatah’s central committee also said that during the meeting he had replied to a question about the possibility of recognising Israel as a Jewish state at the end of the negotiations if the latter agreed to withdraw to the 1967 borders, empty the prisons and resolve all the contentious issues. He told the students that the leadership would then discuss this issue with the Israelis along with the feasibility of Israel’s recognition of the state of Palestine as an Islamic or Christian state, asking why they want the Palestinians to recognise Israel as a Jewish state when they had already recognised an Israeli state.