US Backs PM: Israel is Jewish State (Yitzhak Benhorin)

U.S. State Department spokesman says region must 'accept existence of Israel as homeland of Jewish people' after Netanyahu tells Knesset he is willing to extend settlement freeze in exchange for Palestinian recognition of Israel as Jewish

Oct. 13, 2010 -- WASHINGTON (YNet) -- The US State Department said Tuesday it supports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state

"I'm not making any news here," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told a press conference. "It is a state for the Jewish people. It is a state for other citizens of other faiths as well."

Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would agree to extend a freeze in West Bank settlement construction if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.

"What Prime Minister Netanyahu said yesterday is, in essence a core demand of the Israeli government, which we support," Crowley said. "The recognition that Israel is a part of the region – acceptance by the region of the existence of the state of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people – is what they want to see through this negotiation."

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