Subscribe to our RSS feed.
Follow Us on TwitterPLO chief says we will recognize Israel in return for 1967 borders 13Oct10 October 14, 2010
by Avi Issacharoff - Haaretz - 13 October 2010
Senior Palestine Liberation Organization official Yasser Abed Rabbo said on Wednesday that the Palestinians will be willing to recognize the State of Israel in any way that it desires, if the Americans would only present a map of the future Palestinian state that includes all of the territories captured in 1967, including East Jerusalem.
In response to U.S. State Department Spokesman Phillip Crowley’s statement on Tuesday night that the Palestinians should respond to the Israeli demand, Abed Rabbo told Haaretz, “We want to receive a map of the State of Israel which Israel wants us to accept.”
“If the map will be based on the 1967 borders and will not include our land, our houses and East Jerusalem, we will be willing to recognize Israel according to the formulation of the government within the hour,” added Rabbo.
Abed Rabbo continued, “It is important for us to know where are the borders of Israel and where are the borders of Palestine. Any formulation the Americans present – even asking us to call Israel the ‘Chinese State’ – we will agree to it, as long as we receive the 1967 borders. We have recognized Israel in the past, but Israel has not recognized the Palestinian state.”
PLO says show us a map before making demands
Ma’an News Agency 13 October 2010
PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo called on Israel and the US to provide a map of Israel’s borders for “asking anything else” on Wednesday.
Abed Rabbo told Ma’an that “Israel is an unknown entity in terms of borders [so] how does it suggest to recognize it as a Jewish state? Israel and the US should first set out Israel’s borders.”
The PLO official further denied speaking with Israeli daily Haaretz on Wednesday, where he reportedly said “If the map will be based on the 1967 borders and will not include our land, our houses and East Jerusalem, we will be willing to recognize Israel according to the formulation of the government within the hour.”
According to the daily, Abed Rabbo said “Any formulation the Americans present – even asking us to call Israel the ‘Chinese State’ – we will agree to it, as long as we receive the 1967 borders. We have recognized Israel in the past, but Israel has not recognized the Palestinian state.”
However, Abed Rabbo said he had only spoken with Agence France-Presse over the issue.
On Monday, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu asked the Palestinian Authority to recognize Israel as a Jewish state in exchange for a settlement freeze extension, which was rejected.
A day later, the US State Department said it backed Israel’s aspirations to be recognized by the region as a Jewish state. Palestinian negotiators have recognized Israel’s right to exist, but have said how the country labels itself is irrelevant. There are fears, however, that a Jewish state would jeopardize the right of return of Palestinian refugees and place non-Jewish citizens of Israel at risk of discrimination.
Thank You.
