Erekat: “Israel can define itself as it likes”

Saturday November 17, 2007 10:55 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

After being harangued by the world press for a statement that was somewhat unclear in its support for Israel, Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, clarified his position on Friday in an interview with the Jerusalem Post.  He stated that the Palestinian Authority, without question, recognized the state of Israel -- whether or not Israel were to define itself as a 'Jewish state'.

Saeb Erekat

The state of Israel, since its creation in 1948, has always been unclear on the issue, stating alternately that it is a 'Jewish state' and a 'democracy'.  As a Jewish state, it necessarily favors one part of its populace over others, so could not be considered a democracy in which all are equal.  Indeed, Israeli law clearly favors Jewish Israelis over non-Jews holding Israeli citizenship, so the mutual exclusivity of the 'Jewish state' and 'democracy' has long been established. 

However, a statement made by Saeb Erekat last week, though never quoted directly in the international press, was reported variously as a “lack of recognition of Israel” and a “refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.”  He was widely criticized by the world press for 'challenging Israel', though it appears now that he may never have made such a statement to begin with.

Erekat clarified to the Jerusalem Post that "Israel has rights in the Middle East and the majority of Israelis are Jews. And when we recognized Israel, we recognized the composition of the state."

He added that it is up to Israel to define itself as it likes, adding, “Like the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said, "if you change your name to 'the Jewish state of Israel,' we'll call you that.”

Israel has a population of five million people, one million of whom are non-Jewish Arabs who managed to remain when Israel was created out of historic Palestine in 1948.  The Israeli military, since 1967, has maintained a military occupation over the remainder of historic Palestine, known as the West Bank and Gaza, since 1967.  The West Bank and Gaza are home to over 5 million Palestinians, many of them refugees from what is now Israel, pushed out when Israel was created in 1948.

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