BICOM

Yesterday, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who is currently visiting Israel, reiterated his government’s opposition to a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood. While Germany supports a two-state solution and the right of the Palestinian people to build their own state, “the German government believes unilateral steps could be counter productive,” he told reporters in Ramallah. “We think negotiations are the right way,” he added. Earlier this week, speaking after a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Rome, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also reiterated Italy’s previously stated position opposing a Palestinian motion in the United Nations General Assembly.

Meanwhile, yesterday, the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, whilst speaking in Ramallah, warned the Palestinians that unilateral steps could be “dangerous” and that progress should be made through negotiations. Earlier in the day, in a meting in Jerusalem, Buzek called on Netanyahu to renew the negotiation process with the Palestinians. Netanyahu urged Buzek, to oppose the planned Palestinian push for UN recognition of a unilaterally declared state. Netanyahu also asked Buzek to help assemble a bloc of up to 50 states that would oppose the Palestinian declaration. He said that if the UN accepts the Palestinian declaration it would make it much harder to subsequently obtain the compromises necessary for peace between the sides.