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Photo: Yaron Brener
Labor MK Ami Ayalon
Photo: Yaron Brener
Photo: Reuters
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
Photo: Reuters

MK Ayalon: Abbas ultimatum could foster talks

MK Ayalon: Abbas' ultimatum for Hamas to accept peace talks could force Israel to abandon unilateral realignment plan

Labor MK Ami Ayalon said Saturday that should the Palestinians endorse a proposal for establishing a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders in a referendum, Israel would have to consider holding negotiations with President Mahmoud Abbas rather than demarcating its borders unilaterally.

 

"If in two months we have a situation where Abu Mazen has a mandate from the Palestinian public to hold peace negotiations based on the prisoners' plan, and maybe have a Hamas-Fatah national unity government, I believe … this will be the end of the age of unilateral policies," Ayalon told Ynet after talks with President Mahmoud Abbas and senior Fatah officials in Ramallah.

 

Abbas gave Hamas and other Palestinian factions a 10-day deadline to accept a plan approved by faction leaders jailed in Israel to set up a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and recognize Israel implicitly.

 

The Palestinian leader said he will call for a referendum on the proposal if Palestinian factions fail to accept the plan.

 

Hamas and Islamic Jihad rejected the ultimatum, which Abbas issued on Thursday at the opening of a two-day 'national dialogue' aimed at bridging differences between Hamas and Fatah.

 

"My impression is that the public, but mainly the Palestinian leadership, wants to ensure the success of the 'national dialogue' which is based on the prisoners' proposal. This dialogue is an internal Palestinian problem," said Ayalon, who will brief Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on the talks.

 

"I believe this dialogue will determine the future of the Palestinians, whether the Palestinians are heading for dialogue, and the level of violence and terror we will witness over the coming months, but more importantly it will determine Israel's political agenda. At the end of the day, it is impossible to separate the Palestinian dialogue from the Israeli dialogue," Ayalon said.

 

The former Shin Bet chief said the referendum will be a test for Abbas' popularity among the Palestinians, and should the prisoners' proposal be backed the Palestinian leader will be given enough leverage to discuss peace with Israel based on the US-backed road map.

 

Ayalon cited a recent opinion poll pointing that 80 percent of the Palestinian public are in favor of the prisoners' plan to negotiate a final peace deal with Israel should it withdraw from the West Bank and Arab east Jerusalem.

 

Ayalon added that Abbas' ultimatum puts Hamas in a difficult situation as the group will find it difficult to oppose a plan popular among Palestinians and signed by jailed Palestinian leaders, among them members of its ranks.

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.27.06, 19:09
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