From: Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu returns to Israel Friday having secured the support of two key European countries — France and England — against any Palestinian government that fails to renounce terror and refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist.
Speaking to the press after his meeting with Sarkozy on Thursday, Netanyahu said that the French leader “spoke of his commitment to Israel’s security and the clear principle that those who want to make peace have to abandon the goal of destroying Israel and make peace with Israel,” Netanyahu said.
He added that according to Sarkozy, that included a recognition “Israel’s right to exist as the nation state of the Jewish people. He was very clear about that,” Netanyahu said.
"Just like any fair minded person, Israel can only make peace with those who have abandoned the goal of destroying Israel,” Netanyahu said.
Hamas has not done that, he said, adding that more to the point, it continues to fire rockets at Israel.
“An enemy that wants to destroy us is not a partner for peace,” he said.
Only the day before, Sarkozy had told French news magazine L’Express that he would consider recognizing a Palestinian state in September should no progress be made in the peace process.
Until last week when Fatah announced its intention to unity with Hamas, support for a unilateral Palestinian statehood in September had been gaining steam.
But European leaders who have long wanted to see both a Palestinian state, particularly one that unifies Fatah and Hamas, are hesitant to support a Palestinian government that is composed of a group which has not renounced its goal of destroying Israel.
Netanyahu had initially planned his trip to Europe to thwart support for Palestinian unilateralism in advance of his trip later this month to the United States, during which he will meet with US President Barack Obama and address a joint session of Congress.
After the unity deal, securing that support became more critical than ever for Netanyahu and as a result of unity pact, he found a much more supportive ear.
In Britain and again in France, he received the same message, that both countries would not support a state that had failed to renounce terror.
Netanyahu said he understood that the Palestinians could sway the United Nations General Assembly to pass any resolution they wanted in support of statehood.
“Can there be an automatic majority in the UN, the answer is yes, they can say the earth is flat and they can pass it,” he said.
But Netanyahu has focused his attention on countries that could veto any UN Security Council resolution in support of Palestinian statehood, this includes, Great Britain, France and the US.
Peace, Netanyahu said, can only happen through negotiations and not through a “UN dictate.”
The words that Netanyahu heard from Sarkozy mimicked the message he received Wednesday at 10 Downing Street, when he met with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
After the meeting, Downing Street put out a statement.
"Prime Minister Cameron said that any new Palestinian government must reject violence, recognize Israel's right to exist and engage in the peace process, and that Britain would judge it by its actions,” according to the statement.
According to Downing the two leaders had a working dinner during which time Cameron assured Netanyahu his country was a staunch ally of Israel.
Cameron said in the statement he remained hopeful that progress toward peace could be made. Recent events in the Middle East had "strengthened the case for meaningful engagement in the Israeli/Palestinian peace process. Progress would help cement Israel's long-term security and reinforce prospects for democracy and moderation in the region,” he said.
On Wednesday, the United Kingdom’s Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, spoke in the House of Lords and said words similar to Netanyahu's, that peace can only happen when Hamas recognizes Israel’s right to exist.
Hamas, he said, has propagated “some of the most vicious anti-Semitic myths ever to have inflamed the hatred.”
“Until Hamas undergoes fundamental change, there may be a process but there will not be peace. Peace is more than a resting place on the road to war. “
He urged his government to be resolute in its insistence that any future Palestinian government recognize Israel’s right to exist.
No comments:
Post a Comment