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Comments:  34
Last update - 12:14 01/09/2008
ANALYSIS / Olmert racing against clock for deal with Palestinians
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: PA, Peace, Ehud Olmert 

On the eve of his expected resignation, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is making a final effort to conclude a 'shelf agreement' with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Olmert has no time for detailed negotiations, nor does he consider them necessary.

He therefore presented Abbas with a proposal for an agreement on the fundamental principles of a Palestinian state. Now, the ball is in Abbas's court.

Olmert is fighting on two fronts: against Abbas, who is hesitant to accept the proposal, and against Ministers Tzipi Livni and Ehud Barak, who warn against a hasty, last-minute agreement.
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But the premier has nothing to lose. If, as expected, he fails, he can say he tried until the end, and is leaving a reasonable outline for an agreement to his successor. But if he somehow succeeds, and Abbas accepts the proposal, his critics will face a dilemma: The agreement will receive American support, and neither Livni nor Barak want to take on Washington or be painted as enemies of peace. Labor and most of Kadima will have to back the agreement.

That is precisely why Barak and Livni dislike Olmert's maneuver. If it fails, they will be viewed as partners in the failure. But if it succeeds, he will go home feted as the hero who brought peace, while they will be left to cope with rightist demonstrations, a crumbling coalition, and a tough election fight against Benjamin Netanyahu, who will portray them as having given Jerusalem to Hamas and turned Tel Aviv into the next Sderot.

Livni says there is no reason to hurry, and instead of a half-baked agreement, it is better to continue the negotiations and create a mechanism for continuing them next year. Barak says the gaps between the parties' positions are too wide to enable an agreement: The Palestinians want an army; they want Israel to evacuate Ariel and Ma'aleh Adumim; and they refuse to concede the "right of return." His aides warn that raising Palestinian hopes only to disappoint them will drive them into Hamas' arms.

Olmert replies that Livni and Barak were both at last year's Annapolis conference, where the parties pledged to try to conclude an agreement by the end of this year. Moreover, his proposal differs little from what Barak offered in 2000. In addition, he believes it is better for Israel to conclude an agreement while both Abbas and George Bush are still in power.

And finally, Olmert argues, the agreement will not be implemented for another 10 years. Meanwhile, Israel will receive international legitimacy and support against demands for a binational state.

But with or without a shelf agreement, one can predict with great confidence that barring unforeseen international pressure, Israel will not be leaving the West Bank next year.


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  • Full Abbas: Olmert probe could further derail peace talks
  • Palestinians: New probe against Olmert means no peace partner
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      1.   its coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 13:14  |  abraham 01/09/08
      2.   NO WAY OLMERT 13:56  |  indrajaya 01/09/08
      3.   olmerde has shown himself to be an idiot of brown envelope propo 13:58  |  vhardman 01/09/08
      4.   someone please STOP this criminally insane traitor 15:00  |  chaim 01/09/08
      5.   Fatah option is Condi-Olmert fiction that doesnt exist in reality 15:04  |  G Marcus 01/09/08
      6.   Bravo for Olmert`s wise tactics. May his plan be worthy of them! 15:23  |  Ivar 01/09/08
      7.   Abraham, #1, is the inevitable alternative to the Saudi Plan 15:30  |  Ivar 01/09/08
      8.   Racing against the clock for a" midnight deal ".l. 16:05  |  Stephen 01/09/08
      9.   Ivar (6) Could you pls explain the Saudi Plan. 16:09  |  Stephen 01/09/08
      10.   Indy (2). Youre quite right. 16:13  |  Stephen 01/09/08
      11.   Enough is more than enough 16:14  |  H.H.M. 01/09/08
      12.   to no 1,6,7,8 16:26  |  dvora 01/09/08
      13.   Olmert & Livni are spineless. They are both defeatists. 16:36  |  Jonathan Davis 01/09/08
      14.   Stephen, #9, the Saudi Plan, 67 Green Line to be border 17:01  |  Ivar 01/09/08
      15.   Legal background supporting the Saudi Plan 17:04  |  Ivar 01/09/08
      16.   The Palestinians Know It.. 17:17  |  Joseph L. 01/09/08
      17.   To Jonathan Davis # 13 - Too late! 17:24  |  Dagma 01/09/08
      18.   Olmert should not make anydeals, leave it to new government 17:31  |  Kipperraes 01/09/08
      19.   Out of the shelf is also Out of the Book 18:15  |  Shimon Cleopas 01/09/08
      20.   `Olmert racing` this will not hide him from shame. 18:24  |  Akram Zekaria 01/09/08
      21.   The Suadi "Peace" Plan: What it really means 18:31  |  G Marcus 01/09/08
      22.   The day Olmert Leaves, is the day the 2 state solution ends 18:34  |  freedom 01/09/08
      23.   Agreement with the Pals 18:35  |  Ron 01/09/08
      24.   There must be A NATIONAL REFERENDUM 19:01  |  Dagma 01/09/08
      25.   Vanishing hope - the Saudi Plan 19:27  |  David 01/09/08
      26.   To Ivar # 7 - A One State Solution 20:22  |  Dolly 01/09/08
      27.   PEACE--Both Sides Need It! 20:50  |  US CITIZEN 01/09/08
      28.   Why are we talking English? 21:48  |  Marty Green 01/09/08
      29.   arab stubborness 22:20  |  Shmendrik Nashashibi 01/09/08
      30.   Dolly, 26, gives hopeful answer pointing to secular constitution 22:29  |  Ivar 01/09/08
      31.   #30 ivar ttakes the midnight express to cloud cuckoo land 23:13  |  vhardman 01/09/08
      32.   The day will come 23:32  |  Ehud Olmert 01/09/08
      33.   #21 G Marcus appears to have written his own Saudi Plan 06:23  |  Johnboy 02/09/08
      34.   mert is racing to give Israel`s PIECE/Inheritance to Israel`s 17:04  |  glenna 02/09/08
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