Palestinian ambassador to US wants Jew-free state

[Chris]

Palestinian ambassador to US wants Jew-free state
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
09/14/2011 19:06
“After 44 years of military occupation, I think it will be in the best interests of the two peoples to be separated first,” Areikat says.

The Palestinian Ambassador to the United States Maen Rashid Areikat said on Tuesday in Washington that the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)opposes the immediate presence of Jews and gays in an independent Palestinian state, according to reports in The Daily Caller and The Weekly Standard. When asked by Jamie Weinstein, senior editor and columnist for The Daily Caller, whether a Jew could be elected Mayor of Ramallah in an independent Palestinian state, Areikat said: “But after the experience of 44 years of military occupation and all the conflict and friction, I think it will be in the best interests of the two peoples to be separated first.”

Areikat added that “Well, I personally still believe that as a first step we need to be totally separated, and we can contemplate these issues in the future.” In an e-mail to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday, Weinstein wrote that, "Similar comments coming from an Israeli official would merit worldwide condemnation. But we hear nothing from the world community when the Palestinian ambassador to the US calls for a Jew-free state. Pushing for a state for the Palestinian Arabs is well and good, but it seems like the world should spend a little bit of time pondering what sort of state it will be."

more................Palestinian ambassador to US want... JPost - Diplomacy & Politics

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PLO official: Palestinians, Israelis must be totally separated
Commenting on the subject of minority rights in the potential Palestinian state, PLO envoy to the U.S. says past experience shows the two people should be 'totally separated.'
By Haaretz Tags: Middle East peace Palestinian state

The future independent Palestinian state will not include a Jewish minority, a top Palestinian official told USA Today on Wednesday, adding that it was in the best interest of both peoples to "be separated." Maen Areikat, PLO Ambassador to the United States, made the comment just as the Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, was preparing to offer up Palestinian statehood to a vote in the United Nations General Assembly later this month. Answering a question about the legal status of a Jewish minority in the future state, Areikat apprently rejected the issue, saying: "I believe, I still believe that as a first step we need to be totally separated," adding "I think we can contemplate these issues in the future." "After the experience of the last 44 years, of military occupation and all the conflict and friction, I think it will be in the best interest that the two peoples should be separated," Areikat added.

more...............PLO official: Palestinians, Israelis must be totally separated - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

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Edelstein: PA Wants Apartheid - Latest News Briefs - Israel National News

Edelstein: PA Wants Apartheid

Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Yuli Edelstein accused the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) of advocating apartheid, in comments he made Wednesday. He was referring to statements made by Maen Areikat (or Erikat), the PLO's ambassador to the United States, who met with reporters Tuesday in Washington D.C. and confirmed that Jews would not be allowed to live in the future state of Palestine.