PLO official: Retract recognition of Israel
Saeb Erekat issues report recommending that Palestinians should rescind acceptance of Israel's existence until it is reciprocated.
PLO official Saeb Erekat on Thursday called on the Palestinian leadership to consider retracting its recognition of Israel until the Jewish state agrees to recognize a Palestinian state, according to the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency.
The PLO recognized Israel as a state in 1988 under Yasser Arafat's leadership.
According to Ma'an, Erekat made the recommendation in a 56-page report on Palestinian-Israeli relations.
The news agency said that Erekat urged the Palestinian Authority to refuse recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, reject placement of Israeli troops in the Jordan Valley as part of a peace deal, and rebuff efforts to compromise over the PA's sovereignty in East Jerusalem.
Erekat also said, according to Ma'an, that steps should be taken to allow Hamas and Islamic Jihad to join the PLO's Executive Committee, and that Palestinian leaders make greater efforts in aiding Palestinians in Lebanon and Syria.
The official also reportedly urged all Palestinian factions to support boycotts of goods produced in West Bank settlements.
The report came a day after Wednesday's announcement that the Palestinian unity government was disbanding.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly tasked Rami Hamdallah, the Palestinian prime minister, with forming a new government.
