(JTA) — Dubai’s head of general security said Palestinians should give up on establishing an independent state because such a state would have no chance of succeeding.
On Monday, Lt. Gen. Dhahi Khalfan Tamil said on Twitter that the Palestinians should instead create a binational state in partnership with Israel, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Tamim said, according to the Post’s translation: “I suggest relinquishing the idea of a Palestinian state and being satisfied with an Israeli state that would include both Israelis and Palestinians and join the Arab League.
“Today, the Jews are heading the world’s economy. Without the Jews, you Arabs would not have known how to deposit your money in the bank.”
Tamim said that such a state would ultimately become Arab majority and Arabs would “rule the state, just like it happened in South Africa.”
He also tweeted, according to the Post: “We should not treat Jews as our enemies. We should treat them as cousins with whom we have a controversy over land inheritance.”
Dubai, like the other Gulf Arab states, does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
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