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Labor: East Jerusalem opens to negotiation
Labor party team drafts platform ahead of general elections; documents says unilateral withdrawal an option should talks fail, Jerusalem's holy sites to remain in Israel's hands, but future of Muslim neighborhoods in capital up for discussion
Attila Somfalvi
First report: Following a meeting early Friday, a Labor party team headed by Chairman Amir Peretz decided on the main points in the party's political-security platform ahead of the general elections.
The current draft still requires final approval before it becomes the party's official platform. The document's highlights include the possibility of further unilateral pullouts and a willingness to discuss the future of east Jerusalem with the Palestinians.
Participants in Friday's session were presented with a platform prepared by experts, but some of those in attendance characterized the proposal as "leftist." Former defense officials, led by Binyamin Ben Eliezer, Danny Yatom, Ephraim Sneh, Matan Vilnai and others called for introducing changes into the proposed draft in order to make it more centrist.
As a result, a clause noting that "establishing final-status borders without a Palestinian partner is an illusion," was rejected. Another clause removed from the draft read: "The disengagement proved that it is possible to evacuate settlements and that they do not constitute an obstacle on the path to reaching a final-status peace agreement."
The discussion heated up when it came to debating a clause noting that "the unilateral policy in its current format did not meet its objectives." During the debate, those in attendance discussed whether Labor should be attacking the manner in which the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip was undertaken. Ultimately, it was decided to refrain from a detailed discussion of the matter in the platform.
The final draft read: "The Labor party backs, first and foremost, the policy of negotiations, and in the absence of a possibility for negotiations, Israel reserves the right to undertake steps that would guarantee its interests."
The word "disengagement" is not explicitly mentioned in the platform, but the intention behind the words is clear and party leaders are expected to explain later that unilateral moves are a possibility should talks with the Palestinians fail.
At this time, however, there is no unequivocal decision that the Labor party clearly supports yet another pullout.
'A series of pullouts needed'
During the debate, MK Ben Eliezer said: "What are you talking about? Do you see the (Palestinian) Authority dismantling terror groups? We need to proceed to a series of disengagements."
When it comes to Jerusalem's future, the original platform noted the city is Israel's capital, but the wording was changed to indicate Jerusalem is the country's "eternal capital" and features "a solid Jewish majority."
The implication of the clause is that Muslim neighborhoods in east Jerusalem in fact constitute an economic, diplomatic, and demographic strain on Israel and should be subjected to negotiations.
However, the platform calls for Jerusalem's holy Jewish sites, including the Western Wall and the Temple Mount, to remain in Israeli hands.
Labor also decided not to engage in talks with organizations that call for the annihilation of Israel and also called for large settlement blocks to remain under Israeli sovereignty.
Senior party figures later expressed their satisfaction over their growing involvement in drafting the platform. One source noted: "The initial proposal was too leftist, and it's a good thing the discussion took place in order to move the Labor party to the Center."
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_a.jpg "Photo: Eli Elgarat")
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