Kadima MKs demand discussion of Mofaz's plan for Palestinian state

Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni would prefer to ignore the initiative of Shaul Mofaz, her party rival and number 2, on the establishment of a Palestinian state. But she will not be able to avoid the issue for very long, as Kadima MKs are demanding a serious discussion of Mofaz's proposal.

Mofaz has already asked Livni to hold a discussion on his proposal to establish a Palestinian state - with temporary borders on 60 percent of the West Bank - within a year. He dropped another bombshell by saying he would also be willing to negotiate with Hamas, as long as the organization agrees to the Quartet's conditions and changes its agenda.

Kadima's weekly Knesset faction meeting was canceled yesterday due to Livni's trip to the General Assembly of North American Jewish Federations in Washington.

In the meantime, Mofaz has already met with U.S. Ambassador to Israel James B. Cunningham and laid out his proposals - in the hope they will find their way to the U.S. administration and even President Barack Obama. Mofaz will travel to the United States next Monday and try to advance his initiative with members of Congress and others.

Mofaz's plan, announced on Sunday, is gathering support in Kadima, partly because it presents the party as an opposition with initiative. However, his initiative will get in Livni's way, as she supports the Annapolis process. Still, senior Kadima MKs say Livni will have no choice but to discuss the proposal. Livni views Mofaz's initiative as a political move, and is expected to say that establishing a temporary Palestinian state before reaching a permanent peace agreement is a mistake, and that the framework laid out at Annapolis is the way to proceed.

Mofaz recently asked for a legal opinion as to whether he was allowed to meet with Hamas officials, Channel 10 reported yesterday, but he has yet to receive an answer.

A number of Kadima MKs, some of whom supported Livni in her primary fight against Mofaz, support discussing his proposal. These include Shai Hermesh, Marina Solodkin and Yohanan Plesner - who were among the party members shown Mofaz's proposals before he went public with them.

"This is an interesting plan and should be discussed seriously inside Kadima and elsewhere," said Hermesh. He added that the foundation of the plan is what differentiates Kadima from the Likud. However, a number of former ministers in Kadima criticized the plan, including Roni Bar-On, Jacob Edery and Avi Dichter.