http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?ID=205183&R=R1Irish sources says Palestinian mission not upgraded to embassy status; expectations that other EU countries will follow suit.
Israel harshly criticized Ireland on Tuesday for upgrading the Palestinian delegation in Dublin to the status of a mission, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor saying this was in line with the country's "long-time" bias in the Middle East.
An Irish diplomatic source confirmed that Dublin intended to upgrade the mission, but stressed that contrary to some reports, it was not being upgraded to the status of an embassy.
At the same time, the source said that the head of the delegation will now be referred to as Ambassador-Head of Mission, and will present credentials to the country's president.
The source said this move was completely in step with what a number of other countries have done recently in the EU, such as Portugal, France and Spain. He said this was not a precursor to recognizing a Palestinian state, and that according to Irish laws, states can only be recognized if they exist.
A number of other EU countries are expected to take similar steps in the coming weeks, but – according to EU officials – are unlikely to grant recognition to a Palestinian state.
Palmor said Israel regretted the Irish decision, "though it comes as no surprise as it is line with Ireland's long time biased policy in the Middle East." Palmor said this step will "only strengthen Palestinian rejection of returning to direct dialogue and peace talks." The move came a day after Peru joined a growing list of South American countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile, in recognizing a Palestinian state.
But the decision announced by Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde does not recognize the 1967 lines as the border of the Palestinian state, with Peru – like Chile – saying this must be worked out between the sides.
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon reacted to both the Irish and Peruvian moves by saying they were "largely meaningless on the ground," but were "destructive for negotiations." He said they "contribute to the bubble of expectation that is growing among the Palestinian leadership However, we all know that bubbles eventually burst and it is negligent to contribute to this unsustainable policy."
Ayalon said "every free gift the Palestinians receive from the international community contributes to their recalcitrance and maximalist strategy. We can see an obvious connection to the recent spate of recognition and a hardening of the Palestinian position."
Turning to the Palestinians, Ayalon said that "if the Palestinians would expend one tenth of the effort towards meaningful negotiations that they use to push for largely meaningless one-sided declarations and political warfare in multilateral forums, then we could have actually moved a long way in negotiations."
Topic: Ireland upgrades PA delegation without recognition (Read 348 times)