EREKAT URGES PUNISHING ISRAEL AS 'RACIST REGIME'

Ramallah, 5 Rabi’ul Akhir 1435/5 February 2014 (MINA) – The Palestinian Authority’s top negotiator in the so-called peace talks with Israel says Tel Aviv is “a racist regime” and should be “punished.”

Referring to a panel discussion with his Israeli counterpart, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, at the Munich Security Conference in Germany last week, Saeb Erekat said on Tuesday “Livni accused us of not wanting peace, and I told her that Israel is racist against Palestinians in ways that did not happen in South Africa. The world should rise against this racist regime, hold it accountable and punish it.”

Erekat said on Tuesday that the Israel must be held accountable by the international community for its aggressive policies on Palestinian.

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Israel must be “held accountable by the international community, and not just condemned and denounced,” he said.

Erekat also emphasized that the Palestinians would not recognize Israel as a Jewish state, ALRAY, Palestinian Media Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

“I told her in front of the whole world that we will not change our history, our religion or our civilization. We are the lawful sons of Palestine, and we will not accept Israel as a Jewish state,” Erekat said.

He slammed Israel’s continued settlement activities and the killing of over forty Palestinians since the resumption of talks in July 2013, saying Israel has “built over 10,000 settler homes, demolished over 219 Palestinian homes and killed over 40 Palestinians.”

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The two sides of the US-brokered negotiations have failed to make significant progress due to substantial disagreements.

Israel’s settlement expansion policy is one of the sticking points in the talks. (T/E01/IR)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)