November 30, 2011 – New York – AJC regrets Iceland’s recognition of a Palestinian state that does not yet exist.

 

“The Icelandic Parliament’s resolution was symbolically adopted on an anniversary day the Palestinians call the “catastrophe,” because the UN recommended, on November 29, 1947, the creation of two states, one Jewish, the other Arab. The Arabs categorically rejected the UN proposal for any Jewish state,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. ”The Icelandic step not only undermines the peace process, but also calls into question the island nation’s support for Israel.”

 

Icelandic Foreign Minister Össur Skarphedinsson, pointing out that his country is the first West European country to take this step, said, "I now have the formal authority to declare our recognition of Palestine."

 

The resolution adopted yesterday calls on the government “to recognize Palestine as an independent and sovereign state within the pre-1967 Six Day War borders.” Those borders were nothing more than the 1949 armistice lines, after the Arab world’s unsuccessful effort to destroy the fledgling Jewish state. “By doing so, what Iceland has done, among other things,” Harris added, “is cede Israeli jurisdiction of the holiest sites of Judaism in Jerusalem to Palestinian control. How irresponsible, not to mention unhelpful to the quest for peace!”

 

The parliament also recognized the so-called Palestinian right of return to original homes in Israel. “The right of return, let’s be clear, is a recipe for the very end of Israel,” said Harris, adding that Palestinian refugees and their descendants should be welcomed in the new Palestinian state, when it actually comes into being, or resettled in countries where they live now. Iceland has steered sharply away from the broad consensus in Europe and North America on this key issue.”

 

“Sadly, Iceland’s action does not help persuade the Palestinians to return to the negotiations they abandoned with Israel,” said Harris. “To the contrary, it encourages them to pursue their goals unilaterally. As a long-time friend of Iceland, who has visited on three separate occasions, I can’t understand how a parliamentary majority there, urged on by the foreign minister, could in one step seek to challenge Israel’s very right to exist and, of course, any chance for advancing peace.”