AL QUDS, March 28: An Israeli official said the Saudi peace plan adopted at the Arab summit Thursday was “unacceptable” in its current form, warning that Palestinian refugees’ right of return would destroy the Jewish state.
“We cannot accept the right of return. It would mean a situation where there are two Palestinian states,” foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon told AFP.
He said the proposal to create a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as the return of millions of Palestinian refugees into Israel would lead to the decimation of the Jewish state.
Arab leaders meeting in Beirut on the closing day of their summit completed the final text of a Saudi plan for Middle East peace, which touched on the delicate issue of Palestinian refugees.
The adopted plan called “for reaching a just solution to the issue of the Palestinian refugees, agreed upon in accordance with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194.
That non-binding resolution voted in December 1948 calls for the return of Palestinian refugees who lost their homes when Israel was created in 1948, and compensation for those who do not wish to reclaim their property. Israel has always refused to recognise the rights of the Palestinian refugees.
In any case, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon already said Wednesday that accepting a withdrawal to the 1967 borders would destroy Israel, and called for discussion on details of the Saudi plan.—AFP
AL QUDS, March 28: An Israeli official said the Saudi peace plan adopted at the Arab summit Thursday was “unacceptable” in its current form, warning that Palestinian refugees’ right of return would destroy the Jewish state.
