Ghanaian-Israeli group against recognition of Palestine State

Accra, Oct. 7, GNA - The premature recognition of a Palestinian State will serve only to deepen and intensify the historic conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, not to resolve it, a Ghanaian-Israeli group claimed on Friday.

It said a unilateral declaration of statehood would undermine existing agreed international frameworks for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and binding bilateral agreements between the parties. "(All these) call for the parties to work together, side-by-side, to resolve the conflict and settle all permanent status issues (borders, Jerusalem, settlements, refugees, security, water) in a mutually agreed upon manner, and bar unilateral actions," said the statement issued by The Reverend Kofi Prempeh, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana-Israel Chamber of Commerce and National Director, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.

It said US President Barack Obama's recent speech also echoed this sentiment and stressed that lasting peace would only be achieved by a negotiated and mutually-agreed upon approach, not by unilateral political maneuvers.

"The premature recognition of a Palestinian state will leave all, if not most, of the permanent status issues as set forth above unresolved.

"It will also serve to undermine all existing arrangements between Israel and the Palestinians that are currently the basis for cooperation between the two parties in 40 spheres of civil activity. Thus, premature recognition of a Palestinian state could threaten the current state of economic stability and growth in the area, not to mention the improved security and relative quiet. Moreover, premature recognition could bring about a snowball effect in other regional conflicts."

The group claimed that in this context, at present, the Palestinian Authority had failed to meet the traditional legal test for statehood, particularly when it came to the test of effective government throughout the areas that the Palestinians wished to claim as their state.