Hanan Ashrawi rejects Kerry's speech because he didn't give PA rights in Israel
Hanan Ashrawi rejects Kerry's speech
because he didn't give PA rights in Israel
Ashrawi:
- rejects Israel as a Jewish state
- rejects Jerusalem as Israel's capital
- claims "refugees" have "right" to go to Israel
Itamar Marcus
According to senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi, US Secretary of State John Kerry in his recent speech on Middle East peace didn't go far enough for the Palestinians. While he designated the disputed West Bank for the Palestinians, he included "undeniable Zionist principles" because he left Israel for the Israelis.
As Palestinian Media Watch has documented numerous times, one of the fundemental impediments to peace is PA rejection of Israel in any borders, and Ashrawi's statement reflects this.
Ashrawi stated that Kerry gave Israel "a great prize" because he referred to "a Jewish state" - something the Palestinians "have refused and still refuse" to accept. In addition, Ashrawi interpreted Kerry's speech as denying the Palestinian "refugees" the "right of return." The two things are interconnected. The PA knows that were significant numbers of refugees to enter Israel they would turn it into a binational state, which is why the PA refuses to accept Israel as a Jewish state.
PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi: "The six principles that [US Secretary of State John] Kerry presented are undeniable Zionist principles that serve Israeli interests. For example, he spoke about Jerusalem - a capital of two states. He didn't say that East Jerusalem is occupied, but rather that Jerusalem is a capital of two states... Secondly, he said 'a Jewish state,' giving them [Israel] a great prize. We have refused and still refuse to say that Israel is a Jewish state... Even on the issue of the refugees, he [Kerry] automatically denied them the right of return, and said that it is necessary to reach a just solution of compensation and resettling and the like. In other words, there is no right of return."
[Official PA TV, State of Politics, Jan. 3, 2017]