Israel Outlines West Bank Border Plans
Israel will impose a West Bank border largely along the route of its current separation barrier and move all Jewish settlers to the Israeli side, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in interviews Friday.
The plan presented by the front-runner in March 28 elections — the clearest blueprint yet for ending the conflict with the Palestinians — would involve uprooting some Jewish areas but beefing up major settlements in parts of the West Bank that Israel would retain.
In the past, candidates for prime minister have been vague about the fate of the West Bank, for fear of losing voter support.
The Palestinians said they oppose unilateral steps and called for an immediate resumption of peace talks, an unlikely event since the Islamic militant group Hamas is poised to form the next Palestinian government. Hamas opposes peace talks with Israel and Olmert said he would have no dealings with a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.
In other related developments:
Olmert said Israel would retain control over Jerusalem, including areas of the city claimed by the Palestinians for a future capital, and build another large West Bank settlement near the city. However, he also indicated he was ready to give up some Arab neighborhoods.
Olmert said he still hopes to reach a settlement, but the chances of a deal have dimmed with Hamas' victory in Palestinian legislative elections. Hamas rejects Israeli demands to renounces violence and its calls for destruction of the Jewish state.
Olmert threatened to assassinate the incoming Palestinian prime minister, Hamas lawmaker Ismail Haniyeh, if he is involved in terrorism, reports Berger (audio).
Olmert told Yediot that if the Palestinians "prefer to be dragged into the axis of evil of Iran," then Israel will draw its own border in the West Bank based on its security needs.
"At the end of the process we will reach a complete separation from the vast majority of the Palestinian population," he told the Maariv daily.
Abbas and Haniyeh said they agreed to extend the deadline for forming a new government by two weeks, until the end of March.
Haniyeh said Hamas wants to carry out its vision. "God willing, it will be a vision that constitutes a common denominator and a platform for understanding between us and the president." he said.
Abbas said Friday's meeting was positive. "He informed us of the consultations to form the government," he said.
Hamas lawmaker Mahmoud Zahar reacted angrily to the EU's demand to seek peace with Israel "by peaceful means."
"What are the peaceful means? Do they want us to respect Israel's decision to kill and detain our children?" he said.
"We first want a response from the EU to get their opinion on the killing of our sons, the building of the wall, and the detainees, the occupation and the incursions. They shouldn't just talk about the Palestinians, but also about Israel," he said.