Palestininan Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas won't recognize Israel as a Jewish state. This statement comes as peace talks continue between Abbas and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Abbas states that his position is the same as Yasser Arafat's, his predecessor.
Netanyahu has said that peace remains difficult and there are no guarantees that peace will be any closer by year's end. Nevertheless, he was not completely pessimistic. He stated, "There are many obstacles, there are many doubters, there are many reasons for doubt; however, it is a necessity that we attempt to obtain peace, and we are trying, sincerely but not naively."
Netanyahu emphasized, ""The second thing, of course, is recognition of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people. We are being asked to recognize a Palestinian state and it is only proper and natural that we ask the other side to recognize the Jewish state."
This seems entierly reasonable, but Palestinians are not known for placing reasonableness at the forefront of their negotiation tactics. Despite the hopes for peace, the real threat remains to Israel of Iran with nuclear weapons. Peace between Israel and the PA will mean little if Iran gets the bomb. Don't hold your breath over Obama doing anything to stop that however.
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