Israel has instructed its diplomatic representatives all over the world on how to respond to the expected proclamation of an independent Palestinian state by the Palestine National Council, which is scheduled to meet in Algiers this Saturday.
Israel also has plans to block any move at the United Nations to recognize such a state.
The PNC, often described as the Palestinian parliament in exile, is considered by Israel to be a branch of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
While Israeli leaders dismiss a declaration of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as meaningless rhetoric, there seems to be concern at high government levels over its possible impact abroad.
Haaretz reported Thursday that the Foreign Ministry sent information bulletins to missions overseas instructing Israeli diplomats to reject anything that may emerge from the PNC session.
They warned that the PNC might use U.N. General Assembly Resolution 181 to seek legitimacy for its claim of Palestinian independence.
Adopted on Nov. 29, 1947, it called for the partition of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states.
The resolution became irrelevant when Arab armies attacked Israel in May 1948, the Foreign Ministry’s document states. The PLO’s recognition of 181 therefore does not constitute a forward step in the direction of peace.
The document, according to Haaretz, was introduced at a meeting of the Inner Cabinet Wednesday by Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.
It stresses further that U.N. Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 are the only resolutions pertinent to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Those resolutions are accepted by the international community, including Arab countries but not by the PLO. Its adherence to Resolution 181 only confirms its intention to dismantle Israel by “states,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The ministry has set up a special team to foil an expected attempt by Arab countries and non-aligned states to secure a U.N. initiative recognizing a Palestinian state, Haaretz reported.
Meanwhile, Daoud Koutab, a Palestinian journalist who holds dual American-Israeli citizenship, will be allowed to cover the PNC meeting for Arab residents of the administered territories, Haaretz reported.
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