German Chancellor Angela Merkel makes a point to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmud Abbas during talks in Berlin yesterday.
ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday after talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy that Paris wanted the new Palestinian government to recognise Israel as a Jewish state.
"What I heard from President Sarkozy is that they must recognise Israel as the state of the Jewish people," Mr Netanyahu said outside the Elysee Palace in Paris, after a meeting he described as "good, far-ranging and friendly".
"I heard from President Sarkozy ... that anyone who wants to make peace with Israel must state in the clearest manner that he is committed to peace with Israel ... to peace and not to terror. I heard similar things yesterday in Britain and I think that in Paris and in London there's an understanding that whoever wants to make peace must commit to peace and not to the complete opposite."
Mr Sarkozy's office responded to Mr Netanyahu's declaration by saying: "France's position is known. It supports the solution of two nation states living side-by-side in peace and security, within safe and recognised borders."
Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Fatah faction struck an accord with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on Wednesday, ending a four-year feud and laying the foundations of a new, unified Palestinian government.
Israel is concerned that the new Palestinian Authority includes militants it considers terrorists and those who are dedicated to denying Israel's right to exist as an independent Jewish state.
"If (Palestinian) national unity is unity for peace, then we would be the first to support it," Mr Netanyahu said. "But if it's unity to move away from peace, pursue the battle for Israel's eradication, then obviously we oppose it and so should everyone else."
A senior French presidential source said Paris was waiting for the make-up and direction of an emerging caretaker Palestinian government to become clear.
Some European leaders, including Mr Sarkozy, have warned they might recognise Palestinian statehood without waiting for a comprehensive peace deal, and would seek a UN resolution to confirm it.
Mr Netanyahu acknowledged that such a resolution, if put to the world body's General Assembly when it convenes in September, would most likely be passed.
His strategy is to try to enlist the support of Western leaders to oppose the resolution, to abstain, or at least modify it.
The Paris meeting came as Mr Abbas was in Berlin to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has said Germany will not recognise a Palestinian state before a peace deal. But speaking after talks with Mr Abbas, Ms Merkel denied a rift with France.
"Germany and France both want quick progress," Ms Merkel said. "We want a two-state solution. We want to recognise a Palestinian state. Let us ensure that negotiations begin. It is urgent."
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