Rep. Allen West Calls Obama's Palestinian Plan Beginning of End for Israel

U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, called President Barack Obama's endorsement of a Hamas-led Palestinian state "the most egregious foreign policy decision his administration has made to date, and could be the beginning of the end" of Israel.

West, who represents a heavily Jewish district straddling Palm Beach and Broward counties, said in a statement responding to Obama's Thursday speech:

"From the moment the modern-day state of Israel declared statehood in 1948, to the end of the 1967 Six Day War, Jews were forbidden access to their holiest site, the Western Wall in Jerusalems Old City, controlled by Jordans Arab army.

"The pre-1967 borders endorsed by President Obama would deny millions of the worlds Jews access to their holiest site and force Israel to return the strategically important Golan Heights to Syria, a known state-sponsor of terrorism.

"Resorting to the pre-1967 borders would mean a full withdrawal by the Israelis from the West Bank and the Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.Make no mistake, there has always been a nation of Israel and Jerusalem has been and must always be recognized as its rightful capital.

"In short, the Hamas-run Palestinian state envisioned by President Obama would be devastating to Israel and the worlds 13.3 million Jews. It would be a Pavlovian-style reward to a declaredIslamic terrorist organization, and an unacceptable policy initiative."

Calling Palestine "a region, not a people or a modern state," West, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, added:

"America should never negotiate with the PalestinianAuthority -- which has aligned itselfwith Hamas. It's time for the American people to stand by our strongest ally, the Jewish State of Israel,andrejectthis foreign policyblunder of epic proportions."

Addressing the shifting sands in Egypt and the so-called "Arab Spring" in the Mideast, the congressman declared:

"While the winds of democracy may blow strong in the Middle East, history has demonstrated that gaps in leadership can lead to despotic regimes.

"Ihave questions for President Obama:'Who will now lead in Egypt?' and 'Why should American taxpayers provideforeign aid to a nation where the next chapter in their history may be the emergence of another radical Islamic state?'"