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Livni distances self from Olmert border comments By Haaretz Correspondent and Agencies , By Barak Ravid Kadima Chairwoman and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni distanced herself yesterday from outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's assertion that Israel needs to return to its pre-1967 borders. "I, as Kadima chairwoman, am not committed to the outgoing prime minister's comments, but to Kadima's platform, and this is what determines exactly how we will hold negotiations," said Livni, speaking in an interview with Army Radio. Advertisement Olmert, speaking on Monday at a ceremony in memory of Yitzhak Rabin, called for withdrawing from the territories and "returning to the area that was Israel until 1967," in order to preserve Israel as a democratic and Jewish state. Livni continued: "Between myself and Olmert there have been differences. When I wrote the platform of Kadima, upon its establishment, Olmert spoke in terms of 'consolidation.' "You can't just throw the key to the other side and hope for the best, especially not in Judea and Samaria." She was referring to the plan for a pullout from the West Bank touted by Olmert when he headed Kadima's 2006 electoral bid. However, Livni did affirm the importance of continuing peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, and of reaching a final-status agreement based on territorial compromise. "We want to maintain a safe state in Israel, and this cannot be done on all of it. We need to finish the conflict with the Palestinians and look out for the security of our citizens," she said. Four years since Arafat's death Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday that during peace talks over the past year, Israel had proposed concessions regarding Jerusalem, but he rejected them because they were only partial. Abbas told tens of thousands of Palestinians who gathered at his Ramallah headquarters to mark the fourth anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death that he wants a full peace deal and will not accept a partial agreement. "We rejected Israeli proposals that stipulated making concessions, including on Jerusalem and the refugees," he said. "We either get all six points - Jerusalem, settlements, borders, refugees, water and security - or nothing at all," Abbas said. The Palestinian Authority president added that he had made his position clear during a meeting Sunday in Egypt with the Quartet mediators (representing the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia). Israel has consistently insisted in recent months that the sides had not yet touched on the issue of Jerusalem, although it had agreed "in principle" to include it in the negotiations. Abbas has rejected the offer for a peace deal that would sideline the highly sensitive issue and leave it for later, arguing that partial peace agreements have thus far not yielded any progress toward statehood for the Palestinians. Abbas strongly attacked Hamas at one point, calling them "traitors." Abbas also accused Hamas, the bitter rivals of Fatah, of having undermined efforts to achieve "national reconciliation" by refusing to attend Egyptian-hosted talks which had been scheduled in Cairo on Monday, but were canceled when Hamas announced a last-minute boycott of the talks. He said he was ready to hold presidential and legislative elections immediately, calling on Hamas to accept this proposal. Abbas charged that Hamas used force to prevent Gazans from marking the anniversary of Arafat's death. At the rally, Arafat's nephew, Nasser al-Qidwah, said that the circumstances surrounding his uncle's death will soon come to light, emphasizing that he believed that Arafat had been poisoned by Israel. Speaking to the French news agency AFP, al-Qidwah said that "every day there are statements and clues about the elimination of Arafat and every day we draw closer to the poisoning theory." "In a year or two, the nature of the poison administered to Yasser Arafat and the procedure used will be known," Qidwah added. "In any case, Israel is responsible for his death. There were preparations to get rid of the political leadership of the Palestinian people." He went on to say that though there was no solid proof of the poisoning, he was gathering information on the subject. Bookmark to del.icio.us   A ringing endorsement Jimmy Carter says Obama will waste no time in pursuing Middle East peace. Peres' olive branch Israel's president says the Arab peace plan is an opening for progress.

Read & React Nasrallah: Israeli hands that attack Lebanon will be severed Responses: 115 Mortars and rockets hit Negev, after deadly IDF raid near Gaza Responses: 102 Carlo Strenger: Why Barack Obama's win is 'good' for the Jews Responses: 72 Carter: Obama will waste no time pursuing Middle East peace Responses: 73 Amir Oren: A Netanyahu win will put us on collision course with Obama Responses: 64 More Headlines 23:10 Peres: Arab peace plan - a serious opening for real progress 23:16 Mortars and rockets hit Negev, after deadly IDF raid near Gaza 22:17 Israel to allow limited amount of fuel and aid into Gaza on Thurs. 23:19 Syria: IAF to blame for uranium traces at suspected nukes site 22:23 Carter: Obama will waste no time pursuing Middle East peace 21:19 Olmert decries 'deliberate and insufferable' discrimination of Arabs 20:07 High Court orders Beit El to stop building on private Arab land 23:26 Iran says it test fired new surface-to-surface missile capable of hitting Israel 03:24 Footage emerges of Obama poking fun at 'foul-mouthed' Rahm Emanuel 17:13 Netanyahu: For sake of peace, Israel must aid Palestinian economy 14:11 IDF soldier jailed for yawning during Rabin memorial service 01:24 Who's your mayor? A look at the results of the '08 mayoral races 21:41 Report: Egypt, Israel failed to respect basic asylum procedures 20:59 Berlin student damage Holocaust exhibit during rally against school system 21:09 Three Czech youth suspected of attacking Jewish man in Prague Previous Editions Select Day 12 nov 11 nov 10 nov 09 nov 07 nov 06 nov 05 nov 04 nov 03 nov 02 nov 31 oct 30 oct

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