Leftists’ Declaration of PA State Disrupted by Rightists

[Spiraling Leopard]

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143667

A group of right-wing activists disrupted on Thursday afternoon a ceremony which took place in Tel Aviv, during which radical leftists declared the "establishment" of a Palestinian state. A clash ensued and police on scene had to separate the sides.

 

 
Several dozen,including radical left professors and several Israel Prize winners, such as  former Education Minister Shulamit Aloni, Sefi Rechelvsky, Prof. Yehuda Bauer, and Prof. Ze’ev Shternhal, took part in the ceremony, which was held on Rothschild Blvd. in Tel Aviv, near the building in which Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, declared Israel’s independence in May of 1948.

The participants invited the public to join them in signing a proclamation that begins with the words: “In the Land of Israel arose the Jewish Nation, where its character was formed. In Palestine arose the Palestinian nation, where its character was formed.”

In response to the leftist ceremony, MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) said: “If there was a need to prove that the left in Israel has befriended our worst enemy, these people whose hatred of Israel guides them give us just that. These are mentally ill people who hug the murderers of children and from whom the Israel Prize should be taken.”

MK Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) said that “the initiative to declare a Palestinian state shows the isolation of the far-left intellectuals from the down to earth people. Irresponsible statements of this kind are the source of international pressure on Israel. With these things they are bringing a national disaster on Israel and are not deserving of a prize that bears its name. The hypocrite left has not yet understood that to the Palestinians, there is no difference between the  'occupation' of 1948 and the 'occupation' of 1967".

Deputy Foreign Minister, Danny Ayalon, also responded to the ceremony and said that “such measures only ... create false hopes among the Palestinians that they could establish a state with one-sided steps and without negotiations with Israel. It would have been better if the protesters would convince the Palestinian leaders to return to the negotiating table.”

Upon learning of the clashes between right and left during the ceremony, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said: “I call on all of us to show responsibility. The state is facing fateful decisions and we want a strong and secure Israel.”

Barak added that “there are controversies. There have always been and always will be controversies, but there need to be solved using a moderate and responsible public discourse, without using the word betrayal and without violence. There are difficult challenges ahead, but we must remember that we are all brothers at the end of the day.”

[Spiraling Leopard]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4059643,00.html

Europe considering recognition of Palestine

France says European states considering recognizing Palestine; Britain echoes sentiment, says 'nothing is off table with regard to recognition in September.' Israel's UN envoy: Peace cannot be imposed from outside.

France said Thursday that European nations are considering recognizing a Palestinian state, heightening pressure on the United States and Israel to re-launch the Middle East peace process.

"Recognition of the state of Palestine is one of the options which France is considering, with its European partners, in a bid to re-launch the peace process," French ambassador Gerard Araud told a Security Council debate on the Middle East.

Britain also indicated that state recognition could be considered.

"Nothing is off the table with regard to recognition in September," said a British spokesman. "But nor are we specifying what conditions would be necessary, or sufficient, to recognize, or indeed not to recognize - we'll have to look at all relevant factors at the time."

Pressure has mounted on US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to break the deadlock in the peace process. Obama will soon make a speech on the Middle East conflict, diplomats said.

"We expect that in a couple of weeks the president will have an opportunity to talk in more depth about the Middle East and North Africa," a senior US official said ahead of Thursday's UN Security Council debate.
 
'Talks remain only path'

At the meeting, US ambassador Susan Rice reinforced US calls for the Palestinian leadership to return to direct talks, frozen since last September amid recriminations over Israeli settlement building.

"Negotiations between the parties remain the only path to a solution that resolves all issues and establishes a sovereign state of Palestine alongside a secure state of Israel," Rice told the Security Council, without mentioning Obama's plans.
      
Israel's ambassador Meron Reuben insisted there could only be peace through face-to-face talks.

"It cannot be imposed from the outside," Reuben said. "And any lasting peace agreement must be built on the core principles of mutual recognition and security."

Obama last year set a target of September 2011 for an accord to set up a Palestinian state. But talks between the rivals ended within weeks after Israel refused to extend a moratorium on settlements.