Recognising Palestine will push Israel to make unilateral decisions: Israeli FM

New Delhi, September 7: Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has said at a press conference that any plans to recognise Palestine by Western countries at UN General Assembly will push Israel to take requisite actions in that regard.

“It will push Israel also to have unilateral decisions, and that would be a grave mistake. We still have time to prevent it. Recognition of Palestine will not bring us closer to peace or security and will destabilize the region,” says Sa’ar.

Several western countries including France, UK, Australia, Canada and Belgium have announced plans to recognise Palestine. On the other side Israel and United States of America have criticised the plans for recognition of Palestine. 

During the press conference, Sa’ar declined to directly answer whether Israel plans to apply sovereignty to parts of the West Bank, but said the prospect is under discussion. “We are having discussions on this issue with PM Benjamin Netanyahu. There will be a decision. I think I do not have to elaborate,” said Sa’ar.

Whereas US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee has slightly signalled that Washington has not come out against a potential Israeli decision to apply sovereignty in the West Bank.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates back to the end of the nineteenth century. In 1947, the United Nations adopted Resolution 181, known as the Partition Plan, which sought to divide the British Mandate of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states.

On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was created, sparking the first Arab-Israeli War. The war ended in 1949 with Israel’s victory, but 750,000 Palestinians were displaced, and the territory was divided into 3 parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River), and the Gaza Strip.