Fayyad having second thoughts on unilateral 'state' delaration
Asked by Israel's Channel 2 television to disavow any intention of unilaterally declaring a 'state,' 'Palestinian Prime Minister' Salam Fayyad seemingly backed off by saying that his 'people' don't want a Mickey Mouse state.
Ramallah's premier has said a unilateral declaration of independence by his people would only lead to a "Mickey Mouse state" as long as Israel remains the occupying power.
In an interview with Israel's Channel Two television, recorded in Washington and broadcast Saturday, Salam Fayyad was asked to pledge that Palestinians would not unilaterally declare independence in 2011, the year he has set as a target, even if they do not reach a peace deal with Israel.
"What we're looking for ... is a state of Palestine, we're not looking for yet another declaration of statehood," he said.
...
"The reality of the state may be there in terms of the functional institutions of the state, but if the Israeli army is still in our territory that's not a sovereign state, that's a Mickey Mouse state," he said.
"We're not looking for a Mickey Mouse state, we're not looking for some form of self-rule, we're looking for a sovereign state of Palestine where we Palestinians can live as free people," Fayyad added.
Well, if they're not looking for a Mickey Mouse state, they're going to have to 'negotiate.'
On Wednesday night I reported that Hamas, under pressure due to worldwide outrage over its use of Mickey Mouse lookalike Farfour to incite anti-Semitism among 'Palestinian' children, had pulled Farfour off the air. As I am sure many of you have heard already, Hamas backtracked from the show's 'review' and it ran again on Friday afternoon. Palestinian Media Watch posted the following excerpt. It should not need any commentary.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com