Following are excerpts from an interview with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, which aired on Palestinian Authority TV on June 2, 2011:Abbas is trying to imply that the "Jewish state" demand was initiated by Netanyahu only within the last year.
Mahmoud Abbas: With regard to [Palestinian recognition] of a Jewish state, or whatever, this has never been an issue. Throughout the negotiations between the Israeli and us, from 1993 until a year ago, we never heard the words "Jewish state." Now, they have begun to talk about it, and our response was: "Go to the UN, and call yourselves whatever you want. We are not the party to address. Not only that – we refuse to recognize a Jewish state. Try to wrest it out of the UN or anyone else."
Why does Israel insist on demanding this from us, and us alone – it did not demand this from the Arabs, from Egypt, from Jordan, or from any Arab country with which it negotiated? Only from us. We know the reason, and we say: "No, we refuse."
Was the demand to be recognized as a Jewish state only brought up in 2010?
No. Ehud Olmert actually demanded it at Annapolis in 2007, and the negotiations beforehand showed that the Israelis were pushing for that phrase to be used at Annapolis, while the Palestinian Arabs adamantly refused - and even refused to admit that there is any such thing as a "Jewish people."
Once again, Abbas is proven to be a liar. But people insist Israel to make an agreement with a congenital liar - because the alternatives are supposedly worse.
So it is better for Israel to make an agreement with someone who cannot be trusted at all?