Hanan Ashrawi: If We Don’t Accept an Islamic State, Why Should We Accept a Jewish State?

ASHRAWI:  “He [Mahmoud Abbas] has always accepted the two-state solution. He has actually withstood tremendous pressure from his own constituency in order to maintain a steady course on the basis of the two-state solution on the '67 lines. The issue is that Netanyahu keeps introducing new preconditions. We recognized the state of Israel officially in 1991 with an exchange of letters, and that was fine. Suddenly, Netanyahu pulls out a new precondition: that we all have to become Zionists and accept the Jewishness of the state.

If we don't accept an Islamic state, why should we accept a Jewish state or a Christian state? Exclusivity isn't part of our ideology. We want a pluralistic, inclusive Palestine. And so the issue is not whether President Abbas changed his mind. He never did. He has never wavered in his commitment. It is Netanyahu that is pulling out every possible precondition in order, as usual, to blame the other, avoid any kind of accountability and persist in this dangerous policy.”