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Now a secular Palestine would welcome Jews
Palestinian Authority leaders say a future Palestinian state would be secular and open to all religions — including Jews — if they are willing to follow their laws as Palestinian citizens.

Mahmoud Habbash, the Palestinian Authority's minister of religious affairs, said, "The future Palestinian state will be open to all its citizens, regardless of their religion. We want a civil state, which in it live all the faiths, Muslim, Christian and Jews also if they agree, (and) accept to be Palestinian citizens."
"Can I get an amen?"
Habbash's comments come after the ambassador for the PLO to the United States, Maen Areikat, responded when asked Tuesday whether he could foresee a Jew being elected mayor of Ramallah: "I personally still believe that as a first step we need to be totally separated, and we can contemplate these issues in the future."

Areikat continued: "After the experience of the last 44 years of military occupation and all the conflict and friction, I think it would be in the best interest of the two people to be separated first."

This comment was widely reported, eliciting harsh reactions from Israeli members of parliament and members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Areikat later said that he never meant that Jews would not be allowed in a future state. He told the Huffington Post, "I never said that, and I never meant to say such a thing."
"Heavens no!"
Habbash said the state would protect any Jews still within the borders of a Palestinian state and accepted Palestinian citizenship, "equal with other citizens." But no one would be allowed to remain armed, as settlers are now, he said.
That should seal the deal.

Posted by: ryuge 2011-09-17
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=329930