Meretz leader Yossi Beilin
Photo: Yoav Galai
Meretz head says might back unilateral steps
Yossi Beilin says he might back military operations, unilateral steps like disengagement should he reach conclusion there is no Palestinian peace partner
The leader of the dovish Meretz faction Yossi Beilin said Friday that he might back unilateral steps and military operations sanctioned by the government should he come to the conclusion that Israel has no peace partner among the Palestinians.
Reacting to news that the Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have agreed to form a national unity government, Beilin said the new government's real test will be its resolve to curb violence against Israel.
"If there will be no partner on the Palestinian side, I rule out neither military action nor unilateral steps," he said. "If … we reach a conclusion that there is no chance for talks with someone I will support realignment plans and unilateral steps."
Last summer Prime Minister Ehud Olmert shelved a realignment plan under which he intended to evacuate thousands of settlers from the West Bank and carve permanent borders unilaterally following the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier near the Gaza Strip in June and a 34-day war with Hizbullah a month later.
Beilin said he had so far opposed Israeli unilateralism, notably former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, because he believed President Mahmoud Abbas was a credible peace partner.
Abbas, chairman of the US-backed Fatah faction, and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal agreed to form a unity government during key talks in Mecca on Thursday. Although the unity agreement fails to mention Israel, it stipulates that past agreements signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization will be respected.
Saudi Arabi, which hosted the talks, hopes the formation of a unity government will end an economic siege imposed on the Hamas government following its shock election victory in January 2006.
Israel and the United States said they are cautiously studying the agreement, with Israel saying recognizing Israel is a precondition for talks with any Palestinian government.
The Quartet group of international peace brokers – the US, UN, the EU and Russia – has demanded that the Hamas government recognize Israel, renounce violence and respect past agreements, as preconditions for gaining international legitimacy.
US States Department spokesperson Tom Casey said Friday: "The international community has made it clear that in order to be able to have a broader relationship with the Palestinian Authority government, that those principles are going to have to be met."
