Israel gives Palestians peace deadline
Israel will move ahead with plans to unilaterally draw its final borders by 2010 if Hamas does not recognise Israel and renounce violence within six months, a senior Israeli Cabinet minister said today.
The minister, Haim Ramon, a close associate of prime minister Ehud Olmert, spoke just hours after US president George Bush referred in surprisingly warm tones to the Israeli leader’s plan to unilaterally withdraw from chunks of the West Bank.
In recent weeks, Israeli officials apparently suspected Bush would give the idea a cold welcome during Olmert’s first meeting as prime minister with the US president. As a result, they were spare on details, refusing to attach a timeline to the broad pullout.
But yesterday, during his meeting with Olmert, Bush called the idea an “important step” toward peace.
Today, Israeli officials emphasised that Hamas must recognise Israel, accept past peace agreements and renounce violence before peace talks can begin.
“If these things don’t happen, we won’t wait for years, but rather we will wait until the end of this year,” Ramon told Israel Radio. “This will be a year of diplomacy.”
“First negotiations, and after the negotiations, if it doesn’t succeed and it becomes clear that there is no (Palestinian) partner, we will move ahead with the consolidation plan,” Ramon said, calling the withdrawal by the name given to it by the Israeli government.
Israel – backed by the international community – has cut all ties with the Palestinian Authority and slapped debilitating sanctions on the Hamas-led government. Hamas has so far rejected the three conditions that are supported by the United States and other Western countries.
If the conditions are not accepted, Israel will have contact with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas – the Fatah leader who was elected separately from Hamas - but will not hold peace talks, Dov Weisglass, one of Olmert’s most senior advisers, told Israel Radio.
“There can be other talks, co-ordinating different issues, regarding daily coexistence between us and the Palestinians and there are many such issues. Something like this will certainly occur,” Weisglass said, speaking to Israel Radio from Washington, where he accompanied Olmert on his White House visit.
“Peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority or any of its authorised organs ... can only occur when the Palestinian Authority is no longer a Hamas authority,” Weisglass added.
