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U.S. to Stop Calling Arab Residents of Jerusalem "Palestinians"


(Israel Hayom) Ariel Kahana - In a new human rights report released by the State Department on Wednesday, the U.S. refers to the Arab residents of Israel's capital as "non-Israeli residents who live in Jerusalem." U.S. officials told Israel Hayom that the new definition reflects reality: the Arab residents are not Israeli citizens, but there is no Palestinian state, so they cannot be considered Palestinian citizens. A senior U.S. official said "the goal of this report is to maximize accuracy....Peace can only be built on a foundation of truth, anything else will crumble and fail." One official said the administration was surprised by the strong disavowal by Israeli Arabs of the U.S. peace plan and its call for land swaps that would have some Israeli Arabs live in a new Palestinian state. For dozens of years, Arabs in Israel have called themselves Palestinians and, therefore, the U.S. can't understand why they are so vehemently against becoming citizens of a Palestinian state.
2020-03-12 00:00:00
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