国际英语新闻:Hamas says U.S. encourages racism with remarks on Jewish state

GAZA, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Islamic Hamas movement said Tuesday that the statements of United States Secretary of State that Israel is a Jewish state will encourage racism.

Sami Abu Zuhri, the Hamas spokesman in Gaza said in an emailed press statement that "such statements encourage racism and ignore all values of democracy," adding that "It eliminates the Palestinians' right of return."

The Israeli government had on Sunday overwhelmingly votes in favor of approving the Jewish state law for the state of Israel. The subject created large controversy in Israel and was scheduled to be presented before the Knesset.

Meanwhile, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said in a press statement on Tuesday that the Israeli government's approval of the law "is a unilateral annul to the 1993 document of mutual recognition signed with the PLO.

The Palestinians slammed the Israeli government's approval of the law, where the PLO said that the law is a continuation for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "to establish a racist state based on lands confiscation."

The PLO called on the United Nations and the international community "to carry out practical steps not only to halt Israeli actions, but also to put Israel under the law rather than violating it.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday told a local Radio station in the West Bank that the Israeli government's approval of the law "represents a new big obstacle before peace in the Middle East."