BICOM

Palestinian ambassador to the UK Professor Manuel Hassassian has said that the Palestinians should recognise Israel’s Jewish character, alongside Israeli recognition of the State of Palestine, in a paper for Fathom, the quarterly journal of BICOM.

The paper, authored jointly with UK-based Israeli academic, Professor Raphael Cohen-Almagor, argues that an agreement needs to be attractive to both sides, stating that, “The Palestinians aspire to have an independent state in the 1967 borders, with Arab Jerusalem as its capital and a substantial return of refugees to Israel. The Israelis wish to retain the Jewish character of Israel, being the only Jewish state in the world.” The paper calls for mutual recognition, whereby, “Israel shall recognise the State of Palestine. Palestine shall recognise the Jewish State of Israel.”

In discussing the fate of Palestinian refugees, the paper makes explicit that, “massive refugee return to Israel will not be allowed” as “most Israelis object to the right of return as this would mean the end of the Jewish State.”

The publication follows a similar position taken by former Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Minister Ashraf al-Ajrami at the Herzliya Conference on Tuesday. The former Palestinian minister said, “I am opposed to saying no to the recognition of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people,” whilst adding, “there has to be a precondition that the Israelis will recognise the Palestinian right to the State of Palestine.”

The paper by Hassassian and Cohen-Almagor also discussed the possibility of extensive land swaps. Though it asserts that the pre-1967 lines should be the agreed border, it suggests at the same time that, “Maaleh Adumim, Givat Zeev, Gush Etzion, Modiin Illit and Ariel – which account for approximately 70 per cent of the Jewish population in the West Bank and for less than four per cent of its territory, may be annexed to Israel.”

In an article for Fathom written in response to the paper, Fathom Deputy Editor Dr. Toby Greene said, “Though it contains much that can be challenged, the joint paper by Professor Manuel Hassassian and Professor Raphael Cohen-Almagor … is welcome for two reasons: first the support shown for the parallel recognition of Israel’s Jewish character alongside recognition of a Palestinian state; and second, the positive approach shown to breaking the deadlock through constructive dialogue, rather than mutual recrimination or boycott.”