Arabs turned down Palestinian statehood
I want to refer to the letter "Talk of Jewish state unacceptable" as well as to several other letters and articles published lately on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and try to present some historical facts that are forgotten or mixed-up in the heat of
1. The Resolution 181 of the United Nations of November 29, 1947 established unequivocally the Partition of Palestine (The Land of Israel) into two States, one Arab and one Jewish.
2. The Arabs refused to accept the resolution and in fact avoided the establishment of a Palestinian independent state. They kept this position even after the end of the war (Which we call the War of Independence) and even when they controlled the Territories from 1949 to 1967 never allowed the Palestinians to establish their state.
3. As for freedom of religion, may I quote the Declaration of Independence of Israel of May 14, 1948: “The State of Israel … will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the holy places of all religions.”
4. Millions of citizens, residents and pilgrims, worshipers of all faiths, are witnesses of this commitment.
Itzhak Shoham
Ambassador of the State of Israel
