An Afghan Cabinet minister said his country is interested in establishing ties with Israel. “We are very interested in returning to the fold of the international community and be respectful of all different countries,” the country’s minister of women’s affairs, Massouda Jalal, told the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. The country is still rebuilding in the wake of the U.S.-led overthrow of the Taliban regime. She said Afghanistan supported ties with the “countries in partnership with the U.S., and Israel is one of those countries.” But Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah was quoted as saying that bilateral relations could only be established following a comprehensive peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Jalal, Afghanistan’s first female presidential candidate, credited American Jews with helping to rebuild her country. “There are many Jews in the U.S. and the U.S. is our No. 1 helper,” said Jalal. “Maybe a big part of the help comes from the Jewis! h people. We realize they are working hard in making money and they share money with us and they want us to live happily and peacefully. All this goodness we will never forget.”
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