Israel as a Jewish state would have to ensure equality, EU stresses

Oct 12, 2010, 13:48 GMT

Brussels - Israel will have to guarantee the equality of all citizens regardless of religion, even if Palestinians recognize it as a Jewish state, a European Union spokeswoman said Tuesday.

On Monday, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu said he would be willing to extend a freeze on West Bank settlement building if Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

The comment is controversial because some 20 per cent of Israel's population is non-Jewish. In particular, Arab citizens of Israel, whether Muslim or Christian, are unfavourable to Netanyahu's idea.

The EU's position is that 'The future states of Palestine and Israel will need to fully guarantee equality to all their citizens: basically, in the case of Israel, this means whether they are Jewish or not,' EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said.

Palestinian leaders rejected Netanyahu's demand to recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people even before a peace agreement.

President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, noted the Palestinians had already recognized Israel's right to exist, without defining the state's religious character. It was up to Israel, not to the Palestinians, to define itself as it wished, he said.

Netanyahu made his comments following a wave of international criticism of his government's decision not to extend a freeze on settlement building on the West Bank.

The EU has repeatedly labelled such construction illegal and demanded that it be stopped.

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