Israel sets four year deadline to draw final borders

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Chris McGreal in Jerusalem
Friday March 10, 2006

Israel's acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has said the country will draw its final borders within four years without consulting the Palestinians if Hamas does not recognise the Jewish state.

Mr Olmert, who is strongly favoured to win a general election in three weeks, told the Jerusalem Post that by 2010 he intended to "get to Israel's permanent borders, whereby we will completely separate from the majority of the Palestinian population and preserve a large and stable Jewish majority in Israel".

He did not specify the route of the new frontier, which he said would be decided after an "internal dialogue inside Israel" and consultations with Israel's foreign allies. But he repeated his intention to annex the main settlement blocks in the West Bank and retain control of the Jordan river area "as a security border", resulting in a Palestinian state entirely surrounded by territory under Israeli control.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1727892,00.html

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1. This is doomed as was the Bantustan strategy of White S. Africa

If the international community won't recognize Israel's new "borders", Israel risks its own legitimacy by persisting with this.

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2. A fig-leaf for continued war, it is.

That's the trouble with not having a "peace process" anymore, it makes the true situation clear and the utter failure of the policy of the Israeli state these last 35 years or so evident. The Palestinians remain obstinately in the way, there is no one with any legitimacy on the Palestinian side willing to negotiate, the Middle East sits on the brink of chaos, and the mullahs in Iran - emboldened and empowered by Bushite and Israeli state policies that border on cretinism - are eating their Wheaties(tm) every day and throwing their weight around.

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3. Mashaal: Olmert's border plan is a 'declaration of war'

Hamas leader abroad, Khaled Mashaal, said Friday that Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's plan to create Israel's permanent borders by 2010 is "a declaration of war" on the Palestinian people.

According to Mashaal, "this is not a peace plan, rather a declaration of war that would enable Israel to hold on to a large portion of the West Bank and Jerusalem, keep the wall, the settlements, and delay the right of return. Olmert is in the process of committing the same mistakes as Ariel Sharon."

Olmert told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday that Israel's permanent borders will be set within the next four years, a period during which construction will also begin in the controversial E1 section between Ma'aleh Adumim.

The acting prime minister said he intended within the next four years to "get to Israel's permanent borders, whereby we will completely separate from the majority of the Palestinian population and preserve a large and stable Jewish majority in Israel."

JPost

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4. Dangerous parallels to 73-74 right now.

A weakened, distracted, paranoid US President facing removal from office. An Administration that's divided and the Government being run as feuding feifdoms, a US public that is at odds with itself over a disasterous war, a failing economy . . .

As in the early 1970s, the Europeans and Asians are seeking international order that is less US-centric. The Russians are in transition, and less interventionist than previously. The Arab world remains fragmented along many axes.

This would seem to present a tempting opportunity for a preemptive strike to solidify gains. Yet, somehow, I think the strategic picture has changed, and Israel is actually weaker now than it was, and stands to lose more that it could passibly gain in the event of another war.

This is dangerous and unsettled, and could go either way.

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5. Yes, we live in interesting times ...

I am still hoping that the dogs of war will not be unleashed once again (and I don't mean the pissant little things we've had since WWII) but it's looking more like everybody is painting themselves into a corner all the time.

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6. I'm still hoping this is just a big psywar fake-out, and that the

Generals have maintained their sanity. I suspect that there is a lot of back-channel reassurance going on, right now.

I still don't see any real signs of a massive build-up of forces -- even air squadrons -- that would have to take place before a large-scale bombing operation. Expect the troops inside Iraq would also go into some sort of defensive posture, as well.

Until that happens, nothing is imminent.

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7. Yeah, it tells you where we are in a way, that you anticipate a military

coup in hopes of restoring sanity. I'm more worried about a WWI sort of scenario, where they all just sort of stumble into war expecting to be home by Christmas (or Ramadan, or whatever), and then get so locked in by the wastage resulting that it becomes a fight to the finish. It's the artsy-fartsy insulation from reality that one sees in the ruling elites almost anywhere one goes that worries ...

[leveymg]

8. There are lots of different types of coup d'etat.

They range from tank attacks on the Presidential palace -- VERY UNLIKELY here -- to the military leading other elites to remove El Presidente from office by constitutional means, such as impeachment, prosecution, pursuasion, blackmail, etc.

I think the second alternative is the more likely, and may be an ongoing event started two and half years ago when the DoD and CIA IGs got the go-ahead to seek prosecution in the (interrelated) Plame and OSP-AIPAC cases. The Pentagon and intelligence agency heads knew that such an investigation would lead to the removal of this Administration. In effect, that's a constitutional coup.

As for bombing Iran -- that's crazy. The Iranians, unlike Iraq, have effective means of delivering chemical and bio warheads against US forces and Israel. They can also effectively interrupt passage through the Straights of Hormuz. It is almost universally acknowledged that would lead to uncontrollable escalation with outcomes that would be VERY damaging to US interests.

[Name removed]

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[Englander]

10. Olmert vows to settlers Ariel will remain part of Israel proper

By Aluf Benn

Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited the West Bank settlement city of Ariel Tuesday, making a pledge to designate it a part of Israel proper.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I want to be clear on this, the Ariel block will be an inseparable part of the state of Israel under any situation," Olmert told settlers and reporters.

Official sources said he wished to bring a "message of conciliation" to the settlers, and a commitment to the settlement blocs. Olmert was also expected to call on West Bank settlers to join his "internal dialogue" on fixing a border between Israel and the Palestinians.

Olmert was scheduled to inaugurate a new water pipe to the town, which will pass near the new Highway 5 route, replacing the existing pipe in the Palestinian village of Bidia. The pipe's inauguration will illustrate Olmert's intention to continue investing state funds in the infrastructure of the settlement blocs slated to be annexed to Israel.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/693774.html

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11. Ezra: U.S. didn't object to E1 construction

Bulldozers start work ahead of construction of police headquarters in disputed area connecting Jerusalem and settlement of Maale Adumim; Minister Ezra: We informed the Americans, they didn't voice firm objection
Ronny Sofer

The United States did not voice firm objection to the beginning of construction work in the disputed E1 area connecting Jerusalem to the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim, Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra told Ynet on Monday.

Preparation work for the construction of a police station in the controversial E1 apparently got under way this week. In the past few days, bulldozers have began work in the area ahead of the construction of what is slated to become the Judea and Samaria police headquarters.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3227375,00.html