(Haaretz).Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting U.S. envoy George Mitchell
on Thursday that his government would condition talks over Palestinian
statehood on the Palestinians first recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.
"Israel expects the Palestinians to first recognize Israel as a Jewish state
before talking about two states for two peoples," a senior official in
Netanyahu's office quoted the new prime minister as telling Mitchell, U.S.
President Barack Obama's special envoy to the Middle East.
Another Israeli official said Netanyahu saw Palestinian acceptance of Israel
as a Jewish state as "a crucial element in moving forward with the political
dialogue".
The Associated Press quoted an official in Netanyahu's office as saying the
prime minister expressed misgivings about creating a Palestinian state in
the West Bank because of concern that the militant Hamas group could take it
over, as it overran Gaza in 2007.
