Mahmoud Abbas being interviewed on RT. Photo: Screenshot.

PLO Central Committee member, Nabil Amru, said that the PA is inclined to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, Israeli daily Ma’ariv reported.

“Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] is ready to agree to the demand for recognition of Israel as a Jewish state,” Amru said. His comments were made in an interview broadcast Wednesday on the Palestinian-Arab Al-Watan network.

At the moment, Amru added, “Abu Mazen [Abbas] is waiting for either the United States or Europe to propose a creative solution that will enable him to make a deal that will not require him to comply with every single condition demanded by Israel.”

Amru also said that he believes the current framework agreement talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority will be extended past the current April, 2014 deadline.

However, several PLO officials were quick to reject Amru’s comments.

“Just this Sunday did Palestinian Authority President Abu Mazen [Abbas] declare that he does not intend to recognize Israel as a Jewish state,” they said, according to Ma’ariv.

“Abbas maintains that Israel’s demand to be recognized as a Jewish state is meant to thwart the peace process,” the sources claimed.

The PLO officials went on to say that such statements made to the media should be taken with a grain of salt. “Quite often, deals are made behind closed doors that are only revealed at a much later stage [to the media],” they said.

Recognition of a Jewish Israel has long been a sticking point in the talks between Israel and the PA. Israel maintains that such recognition is crucial for a peace deal to be signed, while the PA has repeatedly rejected the possibility.