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European Parliament to Vote on Recognizing Palestinian State

(Ha'aretz) Mose Apelblat - The European Parliament is expected to vote on a proposal this month to recognize the state of Palestine. But to the European Union, this is a political issue that needs careful consideration. All final-status issues remain unresolved: the future Palestinian state's borders, security arrangements, the status of Jerusalem, water allocation and the right of return of Palestinian refugees. These are all difficult issues that require mutually acceptable and agreed-upon solutions. That's why the official EU position until now has been that recognizing Palestine now would be premature. The European Council has often declared that the EU will only recognize those borders that have been agreed upon by the parties to the conflict as the result of direct peace negotiations. The Palestinian government obviously believes that it can achieve statehood without having to negotiate with Israel and will no doubt feel encouraged in its misconception if the European Parliament recognizes Palestine as a state. I have the feeling that those who favor recognition of Palestine now, preempting any negotiations, do it because they think that a solution to the conflict is an easy fix. But no, it isn't. Solving the conflict is complicated - if it weren't, we would already have peace. The writer, from Sweden, is a former official at the European Commission in Brussels.
2014-12-05 00:00:00
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