Israel Worried As Support for Unilateral Declaration of Palestinian State Grows

Israeli Cabinet ministers convened Sunday morning for their weekly meeting amid stalemate in Israeli-Palestinian talks and a growing disposition to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said, “Israel is strong and deterring, and it has a strategic interest in reaching an agreement through negotiations. We must always look at the alternatives – and without an agreement, there is a change that support of the Palestinian unilateral declaration may grow, and there will be a rising demand for the establishment of a bi-national state.”

These two threats, Barak said, “Will not be realized tomorrow morning, but we must not delude ourselves about their seriousness. At the root of the weakening of international support of Israel, and things like the Goldstone Report, lies that fact that Israel has been ruling another people for 42 years. We must end this. Israel has security interests, nothing needs to be done at any price, but we must not get confused, and it is our duty to reach an agreement with the Palestinian people.”

For his part, minister Eli Yishai said, “We are making a mountain out of a molehill, There is no need to be concerned over the declaration of a Palestinian state be there is an Israeli option for a response. We must take action on the diplomatic front.”
Following reports of Palestinian plan to unilaterally declare statehood, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly plans to announce Israel rejects this notion and stress that solution lies in negotiations.

PA chief Mahmoud Abbas has said that 18 years of negotiations with the Israelis have failed to give any advance to the so called peace process. According to analysts, Netanyahu is at ease with the notion of continuing negotiations so long that they continue, like the past 18 years,  to be fruitless and give Israel

“The unilateral Palestinian move is a hostile initiative. I think it is brazen,” Minsiter Uzi Landau said. “The initiative is meant to torpedo any chance for negotiations. It must be made clear that any unilateral declaration on their part that is meant to deteriorate the chances for negotiations needs to be accompanied from our side with annexation of territories in Judea and Samaria.”

Vice Premier Silvan Shalom told Ynet, “I think the Palestinians need to know that unilateral moves will not yield the results they hope for. Every action will receive a appropriate Israeli response.”