Trampling International Accords

Brazil, Argentina, Others Recognize Palestinian State

Anna Mahjar-Barducci
Hudson New York
14 December '10

In direct violation of the Oslo Accords, which call for settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute by direct negotiations, Brazil and Argentina have formally recognized the state of Palestine as a free and independent within 1967 borders. This includes the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Uruguay has already announced that it also will proceed with a similar recognition in the coming month of January. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said that he expects Paraguay to recognize Palestinian statehood in the next few days, followed by Bolivia and Ecuador.

The decision of the two South American States provoked harsh reactions in the US and in Israel. The United States. Officials said that direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians are still "the only way" to reach peace in the Middle East. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor commented: "They [Brazil and Argentina] never made any contribution to it [the peace process]… and now they are making a decision that is completely contrary to everything that has been agreed so far; it is absurd." Palmor said that such a disappointment would be conveyed by Israel to the concerned governments.

When two of the major stakeholders in the peace process, Israel and the US, seem to be so deeply against the idea of having recognition separated from direct negotiations, why has the Palestinian Authority launched a worldwide campaign to have more and more countries recognize the "State of Palestine"? US papers are calling it the "Palestinian Plan B" -- an alternative to the peace deal with Israel. The idea is to convince as many countries as possible to recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, and use that to lobby the United States not to veto recognition by the U.N. Security Council.

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