Netanyahu
Photo: Uri Madmon
Netanyahu: I won't carry out an Olmert-Abbas peace deal if elected
Opposition leader favored by polls to sweep elections if held today rejects proposal to divide Jerusalem, says would toss out agreement between current PM, Palestinians
Opposition Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu has said if he is elected prime minister, he won't carry out any peace deal with the Palestinians reached by the current Israeli leader, Ehud Olmert, the Makor Rishon daily reported on Thursday.
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Netanyahu told the paper that he would regard the election as a referendum on any such accord.
If Olmert doesn't win, ''then you cannot cynically and manipulatively force upon the people a move they do not want,'' Netanyahu said.
Polls show that if elections were held today, Netanyahu would handily beat both Olmert and the Labor Party's chairman, Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Netanyahu, leader of the Likud Party, also rejected the notion of sharing sovereignty over disputed Jerusalem with the Palestinians. ''I can say categorically that I will not divide Jerusalem,'' he said.
Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas relaunched peace negotiations in November after a seven-year breakdown, and promised US President George W. Bush to try to reach a deal by December. Both sides have suggested that goal is overly ambitious.
On Thursday, Olmert told Israeli TV stations that his goal in peace negotiations is creation of a Palestinian state next to Israel.
Israeli elections are not scheduled until late 2010. But Olmert's hold on power is shaky, and elections could be moved up, largely because some members of his coalition oppose sweeping territorial concessions to the Palestinians
