More recognize Palestinian state
ARGENTINA: Argentina and Uruguay said Monday they were joining Brazil
in recognizing an independent Palestinian state, earning praise from
Palestinian officials but an immediate sharp rebuke from Israel.
Israel called the announcement by Buenos Aires "regrettable" and said
it went against an Israeli-Palestinian agreement that such a state
should only be recognized with Israeli approval.
The comments echoed criticism Israel made after Brazil started the
South American movement on Friday by saying it recognized a Palestinian
state based on 1967 borders, before the Six Day War in which Israel
seized Gaza and the West Bank.
But Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, on a visit to Turkey, expressed
his "pride" over the decision by Buenos Aires, according to an official
statement.
His foreign minister, Riad al-Malki, told AFP the Palestinians had
expected that Paraguay and other Latin American countries will make
"similar decisions."
"The Argentine government recognizes Palestine as a free and
independent state within the borders defined in 1967," Argentine Foreign
Minister Hector Timerman said, reading a letter sent by President
Cristina Kirchner to Abbas.
Timerman said the move reflected a general consensus among members of
Mercosur, the South American trade bloc.
Uruguay announced soon afterward it will recognize a Palestinian
state next year.
"Uruguay will surely follow the same path as Argentina in 2011,"
deputy foreign minister Roberto Conde told AFP. "We are working toward
opening a diplomatic representation in Palestine, most likely in
Ramallah." Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay all make up Mercosur.
Venezuela's membership is pending.
The decision to recognize a Palestinian state stems from a "deep
desire to see a definitive advance in the negotiation process leading to
the establishment of a just and durable peace in the Middle East,"
Timerman said.
But Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor scolded: "This
regrettable decision will not help at all to change the situation
between Israel and the Palestinians."
Israel has already reacted with "sadness and disappointment" to
Brazil's declaration on the issue, saying it breached a 1995 agreement
it had with the Palestinian Authority that any Palestinian state should
only come about through mutual negotiations.
US lawmakers have also condemned Brazil's decision as "severely
misguided" and "regrettable."
Western countries have agreed that any definition of a Palestinian
state required Israeli approval. AFP
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