Arab ministers to reject recognition of Israel at meeting with Kerry

Arab League's ministers will inform U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at a meeting with him that they are against recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riad al-Maliki said Sunday. An Arab League's ministerial delegation will meet Kerry in Paris later Sunday, the fifth meeting of its kind since Washington brokered the resumption of the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in July. "The delegation will tell Kerry that there is a unified Arab stance rejecting the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state," Maliki was quoted by Voice of Palestine radio as saying. According to Maliki, the Arab ministers will inform Kerry of their support for the Palestinians' demand that east Jerusalem be the capital of the future Palestinian state and that no Israeli military be present on the Palestinian state's eastern border with Jordan. Meanwhile, Islamic Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, urged the Arab ministers not to comply with Kerry's ideas or give them any cover. "Kerry is determined to promote his framework agreement, which is dangerous and disastrous on our people's unity and rights," said Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesperson for Hamas. Kerry is pushing for a framework agreement between the two sides by spring.