PM, Peres deny report of ‘Palestinian state plan’
According to the plan, Israel would maintain settlement blocs totaling five percent of the West Bank and compensate the Palestinians with land inside pre-1967 Israel from blocs of Arab communities, with the residents’ acquiescence. The paper said Peres presented the plan to Olmert after he became president.
I don’t trust the disavowals at all but Lieberman had an interesting comment,
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“I welcome the acceptance of my idea of population exchanges, because there is no other solution,” Lieberman said. “The solution must include all of the settlement blocs and leave Jerusalem united under Israeli sovereignty. But there is no sense in talking about a Palestinian state until the PA proves itself.”
This suggests to me that the GoI wants to conclude a deal before the PA and its security forces are ready. Thus implementation would have to wait. By so doing it hopes to commit Israel to the plan so the next government can’t alter it.
But according to Haaretz Peres’ aides confirm plan for PA state on land equal to 100% of West Bank
It is important to point out the the 5% Israel keeps includes land around Jerusalem, Accordingly over 100,000 Jews would have to be removed.
I can’t imagine such a deal going forward without a general referendum, although the arrogance of these deal makers beggers the imagination. Can a government with approval ratings below 10% cut such a deal without even a referendum? Only in Israel.
The notion of a deal involving the equivalent of 100% or even 95% of the WB is relatively new and can be credited to Bill Clinton who fabricated it out of thin air in contravention to all previous Israeli proposals and governments (including Rabin) which never contemplated surrendering the Jordan Valley.
I was just reading Dore Gold’s excellent piece from 2006:
Control of the Jordan Valley enables Israel to deal with any likely eventuality to the east. Should Israel withdraw from the Jordan Valley to the line of the security fence, it would not be able to stop the flow of insurgents and equipment into the West Bank to the terrain dominating Ben-Gurion Airport and other vital parts of Israel’s national infrastructure along its coastal plain. While some have misinterpreted Sharon’s ultimate map of withdrawal in the West Bank, asserting that he planned to pull back to the line of the security fence or even to the line that President Clinton had proposed in 2000, all evidence indicates that Sharon was determined to retain the Jordan Valley and many other vital areas beyond the security fence.
Olmert wanted to get rid of Peres as a possible relacement to him as PM, therefore supported Peres for the presidency. Now peres is acting Like Peres and carrying out his own personal agenda. a few years ago if the President of the State were to infringe on the perogatives of the legitimate elected govt. the whole media and the right wold be down on him. All I can hear today on this matter is silence. It seems everybody is waiting for something to happen but nobody is stepping up to take charge and quicken the hoped for outcome.