19 מרץ, 2008

Israel to courts: Do not treat Palestinian Authority as a state

State of Israel to courts: Do not treat Palestinian Authority as a state
 
Israel's second largest daily, Maariv, reported on Sunday that Israel has decided not to treat the Palestinian Authority as a state. An un-named "senior political source" said that Israel would not afford the Palestinian Authority the immunity that states enjoy, against  civil suits claiming compensation for terror attacks. Documents to this effect, signed by Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs in person, are slated to be submitted shortly to the Jerusalem District Court.
 
Israel's decision was welcomed by Maxim and Reuven Lifkin, attornies representing dozens of young victims maimed or killed in the infamous Dolphinarium terror attack in Tel Aviv in 2001.
 
Mattot Arim, an Israeli citizens' group which opposes the notion of a Palestinian state, noted that the decision underscores the impossibility of setting up a hostile Palestinian state just a bikeride away from all of Israel's population centers and its sole international airport. Now that it is apparent that a  Palestinian state would not only engage in terror, but would also be immune to the legal consequences thereof, the idea of a Palestinian state must leave the stage, the organization said.
 
Susie Dym, spokesperson
Mattot Arim, Israel
Fast Response: sddym@bezeqint.net
97289471273