(JNS.org) Nine Arab foreign ministers told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris on Sunday that they would not accept Israel as a Jewish state, a move they made in support of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud  Abbas’s recent statement that he would also refuse such recognition for Israel. Abbas also said that Palestinians would reject any peace deal that does not make eastern Jerusalem the capital of a Palestinian state. “We won’t recognize and accept the Jewishness of Israel,” Abbas said. Furthermore, Abbas declared that Palestinians “don’t love death, but we welcome martyrdom if it happens,” and “will march to Jerusalem in the millions, as free people and heroes,” the Jerusalem Post reported.

According to Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki, Kerry told the Arab ministers Sunday that if Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations failed, he would not hesitate to publicly name the side “which provided concessions and cooperated with his efforts and the side which refused to cooperate,” according to the Times of Israel. Abbas also announced that the negotiations with Israel would continue only through April. “After that, we are free to do what we want,” he said.