The emblem of the Arab League.

(Washington,  D.C.) — “Arab foreign ministers met at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the obstacles facing the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace talks,” reports Israel Hayom. “Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby slammed Israel’s demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish state, calling it an inappropriate caveat to bring up during the current round of negotiations.”

“The council of the Arab League confirms its support for the Palestinian leadership in its effort to end the Israeli occupation over Palestinian lands, and emphasizes its rejection of recognizing Israel as a ‘Jewish state’,” Arab foreign ministers said in a statement in Cairo.

“Elaraby also said that demanding Palestinian recognition of the Jewish state was Israel’s latest attempt to derail the peace talks, especially because the same demand was not made of other Arab countries that signed peace accords with Israel,” the article noted. “Abbas complained on Saturday that Palestinians were being asked for something that had not been demanded of Arab countries that have previously signed peace treaties with Israel.”

“We recognized Israel in mutual recognition in the (1993) Oslo agreement — why do they now ask us to recognize the Jewishness of the state?” Abbas asked. “Why didn’t they present this demand to Jordan or Egypt when they signed a peace agreement with them?”

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