Karzai: Israelis are people like we are
Photo: AP
Karzai wishes Sharon long life
Afghan president says his country will recognize Israel once Palestinian state is established
Afghan President Hamid Karzai sent get-well wishes to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adding that his country was ready to initiate diplomatic ties with Israel for the first time in history.
"Israelis are people like we are," he added.
"May God give him (Sharon) a longer life," Karzai told the Associated Press, adding that "If a Palestinian state is recognized, we will recognize Israel, we will have relations with Israel. We will have trade with Israel."
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"If I have the right to live, and have a home, and have a country, Israel has the right to live and have a country. The only question here is Palestine, because we want the Palestinians to have a home and have a country," added Karzai.
Karzai's comments on the possibility of official Afghan-Israeli relations came two months after Afghan diplomats made similar statements during an interview with a Pakistani newspaper.
Earlier this year, Karzai spoke to Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's leading newspaper, and discussed the establishment of diplomatic ties with Israel, after progress was made on the Palestinian diplomatic track.
Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem responded by saying that patience was needed, but that "there was no doubt that Israel would welcome such a step."
Karzai's wishes for a Sharon recovery join those of other Arab leaders, such as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, as opposed to the hateful comments heard from other leaders, such as the Iranian president, who said he wished Sharon would die.
Afghanistan and Israel have never held official diplomatic relations, but following the rise of the pro-Western Karzai to power, it seems a path to relations between the two states is being paved.
