Comments by French FM on Recognition of Palestinian State Rebuked by Israel

The suggestion by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner that nations will recognize a Palestinian state outside the parameters of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel has drawn an angry Israeli response. Kouchner said on Saturday that he could envision international recognition before the state even has borders. The French news agency AFP then quoted an unnamed “senior Israeli official” as warning that such a move will “add fuel to the fire. This would only push the Palestinians to be even more intransigent and thus make any compromise impossible." Kouchner’s comment was representative of those being heard in the international community since Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Faya’d introduced a plan to perfect infrastructure and institutions needed as the foundation for a viable state and then declare statehood regardless of the current status of talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The Israelis vehemently reject the idea, which continues to resonate among Palestinians and within the international community.