'Bi-national state if settlements continue'
Arab League Chairman tells London lecture his organization would only support a two-state solution if settlements and security fence are dropped by Israel
Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa said his organization would call for a “bi-national Israeli-Palestinian state” if Israel continues work on settlement expansion and the West Bank security fence, according to the London-based Arabic-language daily al-Quds al-Arabi.
In a lecture entitled "The Middle East: Expectations for the future” at the London’ Imperial College, under Musa presented his forecasts for the region.
Asked by one participant about his stance on a bi-national state, Musa told listeners, “If Israel agrees to give the Palestinians a state, ends settlements, and gives up on the security fence which paralyzes the West Bank, we will support the two-state solution. If, however, Israel continues with its current policy, without applying the road map and international decisions, and stops with the Gaza withdrawal, our second option will be a state in which Palestinians and Israelis will have equal rights, despite objections by the Israeli government.”
Musa was asked by a journalist whether “Arab states will deal with Syria, currently under a direct American threat, with the same passivity that they showed towards Iraq.”
The Arab League Chairman replied by saying that “Syria was under a real threat,” adding, “Any military operations against (Syria) would be a very big mistake. The situation is very tense in this area. The Arab League has invested major efforts to avoid an attack on Syria, and to assure her freedom.
"We must not let those interested in attacking Syria to carry on with the excuses, like the claims that Syria is helping to escalate violence in Iraq, to begin a new war. We are sure the logic will rule and that a military attack on Syria is a dangerous thing that will light up the whole region,” he said.
No religion, no nationality
Musa also told the audience he condemned terrorism, describing it as “a plague that has no religion or nationality.”
He then proceeded to dispute the definition of terror, saying that the “most accurate definition is violence against innocent civilians in every place with no exception.”
He also condemned “the terror used by some states in the world during this time,” a thinly-veiled reference to Israel.
When asked by a member of the audience why the oil weapon was not “exploited against the powerful countries that exhibit bad attitudes towards the Arab world,” Musa said he would prefer to use different policies.
