Israel Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert: Israel must separate from the Palestinians and draw Israel`s final borders
By Aluf Benn and Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondents08/02/2006
Israel "will separate from most of the Palestinian population that lives in the West Bank, and that will obligate us to separate as well from territories where the State of Israel currently is," Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday in his first media interview since taking on the job of acting premier.
"We will gather ourselves into the main settlement blocs and preserve united Jerusalem... Ma`aleh Adumim, Gush Etzion and Ariel will be part of the state of Israel," Olmert told Channel 2 television.
Asked by interviewer Nissim Mishal what he intended to do with the Jordan Valley, Olmert responded: "It is impossible to give up control over Israel`s eastern border."
"The direction is clear," he continued. "We are moving toward separation from the Palestinians, toward setting Israel`s permanent border."
However, he declined to offer any further details, and in particular failed to mention settlements such as Hebron, Beit El and Ofra, which Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had viewed as part of the settlement blocs that Israel would retain.
"The Olmert plan for further unreciprocated withdrawals was exposed last night despite his efforts to camouflage it, fudge it and not say anything," said Likud MK Gilad Erdan in response to Olmert`s interview.
"After the head of the Shin Bet [Yuval Diskin] warned against giving additional territory to Palestinian terror without any quid pro quo, Olmert continues to speak in a way that is detached from reality."
"The public certainly notices that in the same day in which Olmert approves a negative, personal campaign against Netanyahu, he dares speak out against `a culture of personal insult`, by means of which he reached the pinnacle," Erdan said.
Olmert also reiterated that the road map peace plan would remain the basis for any diplomatic negotiations with the Palestinians.
Regarding Iran, Olmert said: "The less we talk about Iran, and the more we coordinate international action as we have done with the United States and Europe, the better." He also thanked U.S. President George Bush for pledging to defend Israel against any attack by Iran, terming this "the closest thing to an announcement of a military alliance with Israel."
Earlier Tuesday, Olmert toured the separation fence around Jerusalem and Gush Etzion, and pledged that "we will make an enormous effort this year to finish the fence as quickly as possible."
One of the tour`s main purposes was to enable Olmert to get a close-up view of two high points near Gush Etzion, where a decision on the fence`s route has yet to be made. Following the tour, Olmert decided to move the fence inside the Green Line at one of these points in order to avoid harming the quality of life of Palestinian residents in the nearby village of Batir.
The Israel Defense Forces supported the decision, which will place the fence along the route of a pre-1967 army patrol road.
The fence planners originally had wanted to include the archaeological site of ancient Batir inside the fence, since it was the last stronghold of Simon Bar Kochba, who led the second-century Jewish revolt against Rome. However, doing so would mean building the fence at the top of the hill, which would cut Batir residents off from their agricultural lands.
Olmert also rejected an alternative favored by the police - building the fence in the middle of the hillside on the grounds that it would destroy the view.
On the second issue - whether to include the Palestinian village of Jabeh on the Israeli side of the fence - Olmert postponed a decision, saying he needed to study the issue further. If Jabeh were left outside the fence, Israel would have to move the Emek Ha`ela Road connecting Gush Etzion to the center of the country, as the road abuts the village. However, because of the difficult topography of the area, moving the road would be difficult.
Olmert also used the interview with Mishal to attack former finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu`s economic policies, accusing him of "failing to deal courageously with the problem of poverty."
Nevertheless, he told Mishal that he did not rule out appointing the Likud chairman to serve as finance minister once again should his Kadima party win the elections and then form a coalition with Likud.
Olmert also accused Likud of being "an extreme right-wing party that offers no horizon for a chance for change, but a forecast of endless war, of endless diplomatic isolation."
