American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris has urged Irish Foreign Minister Chares Flanagan to not recognize a Palestinian state.

“I am actively keeping under consideration, on a continuous basis, the question of whether recognition by Ireland in the near future of a state of Palestine might be a helpful step in relation to the Middle East peace process,” Foreign Minister Charles Flanagan said last week.

In a statement, the Irish foreign ministry said ‘’Ireland consistently ponders the question of recognizing Palestine as a state,’’ in response to media reports that Israel fears such a step could be imminent.

‘’As a long-time proponent of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the search for a viable two-state agreement, I urge you not to do so,’’ writes David Harris in a blog published in The Huffington Post and The Times of Israel.

He added : ‘’I fully realize that Ireland, despite a fairly strong bilateral relationship with Israel, has been one of the Palestinians’ strongest advocates in the European Union, generally aligning itself with those member nations most critical of the Jewish state.

And I am aware—having heard it directly from Irish diplomats—that Ireland tends to superimpose its own political situation, i.e., the relationship between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Island, on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, viewing Israel as the "British" and the Palestinians as the "Irish."

Apart from the fact that the two issues are not analogous – unlike Israel’s precarious situation, the very existence of Ireland is not at stake, nor is its right to exist questioned – a decision to recognize Palestinian statehood outside the framework of a negotiated deal between the parties themselves could do real damage to the cause you profess to champion.’’

''What is to be gained by Irish unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood?,'' he asks.

‘’Will it actually increase the chances of bringing the parties back to the negotiating table and hammering out a final settlement? To the contrary, it is far more likely to make it still more difficult, setting back the very goal you profess to seek,’’ writes David Harris.

‘’Once again, as when Sweden did the same thing in 2014, the Palestinians would be given a political gift they did not earn. They would get full recognition from a respected member of the international community, while their president serves the 12th year of his four-year term, there is no provision for peaceful succession, the entity he professes to preside over is divided between two irreconcilable areas (West Bank and Gaza), he remains AWOL from face-to-face peace talks, and he resorts to incitement and glorification of "martyrdom" against Israel.’’