Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas answered a demand by Israel to recognize it as a Jewish state somewhat sardonically, saying that as far as he was concerned, 'Israel can call itself… the Jewish-Zionist Empire'. Abbas spoke just before meeting President Shimon Peres in New York.
In an interview with the Palestinian Maan news agency Abbas said the state's character was 'not interesting', adding that 'if Israel wants negotiations in which the Palestinians recognize it, then it must also recognize a Palestinian state'."
