Thank You, Shtayyeh

Thanks for this:-

Dr. Muhammad Shtayyeh...reiterated Thursday the Palestinian position that they would not recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
In a meeting with journalists in the Palestinian town of Beit Jala, not far from Bethlehem in the West Bank, Shtayyeh stated that the Israeli insistence on Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state is a new demand that was not raised in the initial talks and interim agreements between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
According to Shtayyeh the declaration of Israel as a Jewish state implies the prevention of Palestinian refugees from returning to their homeland...

Shtayyeh was one of the two "peace" negotiators for the Palestinian Authority's team.

Why?

Well, since the "Jewish state" as a concept was at the basis of the international recognition of Israel - The League of Nations Mandate reads "Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed...in favor of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine...recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country" and the UN 1947 recommendation reads "...The mandatory Power shall use its best endeavours to ensure than an area situated in the territory of the Jewish State...Independent Arab and Jewish States and the Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem, set forth in part III of this plan, shall come into existence...the Commission shall proceed to carry out measures for the establishment of the frontiers of the Arab and Jewish States..." - then obviously, "settlements" per se aren't the problem but Israel as a polity in any shape or form or content.  

Arabs can't tolerate anything "Jewish".

^