The Arab League convened in Cairo on Sunday, 7 Adar II 5774 at which time it voted to reject Israeli demands of recognition as the Jewish state. Actually, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby turned the tables around and blamed Israel for unreasonable demands such as this which are hindrances to reaching agreement in ongoing talks between Israel and the PA. Elaraby added that Israel signed peace agreements with other Arab nations and demands of recognizing Israel were not part of the deal, citing Jordan and Egypt as examples.

The Arab League simply follow the lead of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) who remains adamant in his refusal to recognize Israel, and now they are backed by US officials, which recently have signaled recognition should not be compulsory to reaching agreement with Israel.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)