Liberman Claims Senior U.S. Officials Back Recognition of Palestinian State

Avigdor Liberman claimed on October 8 that all senior officials in the U.S. State Department and National Security Council, without exception, overwhelmingly supported recognition of a Palestinian state. He said Israel had so far managed to neutralize that position, which he described as dangerous. In the same statement, he predicted that the United States would recognize a Palestinian state in about two and a half years. He said that state would encompass all Judea and Samaria, the Jordan Valley, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.