(JTA) — The representative of the Palestinian Authority to Britain reportedly said “there is no two-state solution” to the conflict with Israel.
Manuel Hassassian made the statement Jan. 15 in an address to the British Parliament, according to a report by the British news website The Commentator.
“There is no two-state solution,” Hassassian is quoted as saying. “Democracies don’t fight each other. If Israel is a democracy, I would claim that the Palestinians are also a democracy. If democracies cannot fight each other, then why not have one state? One man, one vote.”
Hassassian spoke as a guest of lawmaker Jeremy Corbyn, a critic of Israel, before an audience of approximately 100 attending an event organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Hassassian also is reported to have remarked, “Because nobody is stopping Israel from building its messianic dream of Eretz Israel … I believe that maybe God is on their side. Maybe God is partial on this issue.”
In addition, Hassassian is said to have questioned Israel’s future by remarking upon the growing Muslim population in the world.
“The United States is not going to be Israel’s strategic ally for time immemorial," he said. "And today we have 1.5 billion Muslims. In 20 years we will have 2 billion. And those 2 billion, forget about politics, from a religious perspective will not allow Israel to continue desecrating their religious rights.”
