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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Israel says S.American "Palestine" nods hurt peace |
| 2010-12-07 |
| Israel assailed Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay on Tuesday for declaring recognition of a Palestinian state, calling it "highly damaging interference" by countries that were never part of the Middle East peace process. "They never made any contribution to it ... and now they're making a decision that is completely contrary to everything that has been agreed so far," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor. "It is absurd." Palmor said Israel would convey its disappointment to the governments concerned and warn "any country that will follow suit" they risked creating more confusion about peace prospects. Argentina announced on Monday it was recognising "Palestine as a free and independent state" and said the decision followed Uruguay and Brazil, which last month recognised "the state of Palestine based on its pre-1967 borders." Israel disputes the Palestinian claim on all the West Bank and East Jerusalem, land it captured from Jordan in the 1967 war and has since extensively settled. "Such a declaration today only harms the peace process, because it merely encourages the Palestinians to keep digging in and hoping the miracle will somehow descend from the heavens or from the international community, that will impose some kind of accord on Israel," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said. "And what is important is that the Americans don't accept this either," he told Israel's Army Radio. Most of the world ignored the declaration of a Palestinian state by Yasser Arafat in 1988. But as the peace process withers, Abbas has said other options could include seeking recognition at the United Nations -- though he has acknowledged it would unlikely ever get American support. |
| Posted by:tipper |