Afghanistan to recognise Israel

A spokesman for President Hamid Karzai said Sunday that the Afghan leader would recognize Israel's government if an independent Palestinian state was established.

Citing Afghan diplomatic sources, Pakistan’s Daily Times reported that "Afghanistan will announce it is officially recognizing Israel in the next few days”.

Analysts expect that the move will encourage other Muslim states to follow the suit. It’s noteworthy that Afghanistan has never had diplomatic relations with Israel.

President Hamid Karzai says Israel must recognize the legitimacy of a Palestinian state before Afghanistan starts building diplomatic ties with it.

"We will establish relations with Israel after our Palestinian brothers have an independent and free state," Karim Rahimi quoted the president as saying.

Israeli officials confirmed the report Sunday.

"If there ever was a suitable time for this in terms of the public opinion's readiness in the Arab and Muslim world, it is clear that now is the best time," one official said, apparently referring to the disengagement plan.

Commenting on earlier reports in Afghan media, Israeli political sources said that Israel views this as "another important step on the road to recognition of Israel by the Muslim world."

"Muslim countries understand this is the right time to initiate contact with Israel, because anyone who wants to be involved in the peace process must have contact also with Israel and not only with the Palestinians," Israeli sources said.

According to officials in Jerusalem, waming diplomatic ties with Israel could earn Muslim leaders points in the United States.

"There is no doubt that the move of getting closer to Israel expresses the desire to get close to the U.S.," Political sources said.