Israel’s worst nightmare

The decision of the Likud not to recognise the State of Palestine spells a message of troubled times ahead in Israel and in the region.

The right-wing Likud party (Conservatives) approved a resolution on Sunday raised by ex-Prime Minister and chief internal rival of Ariel Sharon, Binyamin Netanyahu, to not recognise the State of Palestine.

This does not augur well for Sharon, at a time when he is under increasing international pressure to sign a peace deal which will result in the Palestinian Authority recognising the State of Israel and a withdrawal from the occupied territories, as stipulated in UN Resolutions.

However, Sharon’s message was clear to the Palestinians: there will be no peace talks until suicide bombings have ceased. The decision not to send the IDF into the Gaza Strip will have opened a door for dialogue, one which seemed firmly closed after the atrocities committed in Jenin and during the IDF incursion on the West Bank.

The decision of the Likud goes against the grain of international politics at this moment in time and as such, will only lead towards the isolation of Israel from the international community.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru