(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - The French Foreign Ministry on Wednesday circulated comments made by Foreign Minister Alain Juppe last week saying that any solution to the Middle East conflict would need to recognize Israel as the nation-state for the Jewish people. Juppe said: "There will be no solution to the conflict in the Middle East without recognition of two nation-states for two peoples. The nation-state of Israel for the Jewish people, and the nation-state of Palestine for the Palestinian people. There is no getting away from this." Israeli diplomatic officials said Juppe's statement was an indication that the Europeans were moving in the direction of Prime Minister Netanyahu's position that recognition of Israel as the state of the Jewish people must be part of the parameters for future negotiations with the Palestinians. For weeks, diplomatic discussions have been quietly taking place regarding a formula for a return to negotiations that would be acceptable to both Israel and the Palestinians, and which could keep the PA from pressing the statehood issue at the UN.
2011-07-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive