Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed on Monday calls by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, an issue emerging as a main obstacle to peacemaking.
"I do not accept it," the Western-backed Abbas said. "It is not my job to give a description of the state. Name yourself the Hebrew Socialist Republic - it is none of my business."
Netanyahu said in a statement last week it would be impossible to make progress on the diplomatic track and reach a peace agreement without Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.
