Coordinate the realignment

The unilateral realignment plan is fast becoming irrelevant. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's assurances that this plan will allow Israel to set its permanent borders sound hollower by the day. Having originally been cast as a move independent of the Palestinian Authority and its instability, the realignment (also called the convergence) is now morphing into a coordinated process of disengagement. There are several reasons for this.

First, there is the unequivocal message implicit in the lukewarm support the prime minister has received during his almost countless trips abroad. President George W. Bush's cautious praise, the European Union's misgivings, and the joint statement issued by the president of Egypt and the king of Jordan against recognizing borders set without Palestinian agreement - all these obligate Israel to shift from unilateralism to coordination. Otherwise the plan will not enjoy international endorsement, which is crucial.

Second, the flare-up in the Gaza Strip and continued shelling of our southern towns have lent weight to the argument that Israel cannot simply quit most of Judea and Samaria and expect its security situation to improve. The bitter experience of last year's Gaza disengagement teaches us that Israel must work in sync with the Palestinians in order to avoid, as much as possible, a repeat of the Gaza aftermath. In this matter, it is worth recalling that the Gaza disengagement was not entirely unilateral: The Palestinians held their fire, allowing the Sharon government to carry out a relatively smooth evacuation.

Third, Israel must realize that it may have been too quick to eulogize Abu Mazen's leadership. The way in which he took the bull by the horns on the Palestinian referendum and prisoners' manifesto, and the developments of recent days, suggest that he could still be a worthy partner for dialogue and coordination.

Thus both reality, and Israeli interests, point to a need to coordinate the realignment rather than go it alone. The question that needs to be asked is how this can be achieved given the chaos and leadership crisis wracking the PA.

The answer is to take the road map off the shelf and dust it off. The road map plan was accepted both by the PA and the government of Israel as the only outline for advancing toward a solution of the conflict, and therefore it can and should serve as a basis for making the realignment a bilateral move.

The road map's second stage of implementation entails founding an independent Palestinian state with temporary borders. My proposal follows: Link the coordinated realignment plan to the road map by allowing the Palestinians to create a state with temporary borders in 80 to 90 percent of Judea, Samaria and Gaza. This would have an excellent chance of fostering a desire in the Palestinian public to see the realignment succeed.

For this proposal to be accepted by both Israelis and Palestinians, I would urge that the following be done:

W Israel must draft a precis of its principles for a permanent peace accord, with a clear diplomatic objective, which will guide future negotiations and off-set the suspicions that naturally arise regarding interim maneuvers. This draft should be based on the Six Principles of the People's Voice movement, also known as the Ayalon-Nusseibeh Memorandum. It should be remembered that the main principles of this memorandum were implicitly recognized by President Bush, who declared that settlement blocs should remain part of Israel under an agreed territorial exchange and that no Palestinian refugees would be resettled in Israel proper.

W The Evacuation and Compensation Law must be enacted forthwith, such that West Bank settlers can begin returning in 2007, and there must be an immediate crackdown on illegal outposts in accordance with the Sasson Report.

W The Palestinian state's temporary border should follow the route of the West Bank security fence, as approved by the High Court of Justice, with a combined Israeli and international security force remaining in the Jordan Valley - at least until a permanent peace accord is signed, and perhaps even after.

W The Palestinians must meet all demands of the first stage of the road map, first and foremost by recognizing Israel and waging a sincere war against terrorism. The sense that real and independent Palestinian statehood is imminent would inspire the Palestinian public to compel the Hamas government to accept the road map and everything it entails.

I recommend that Israel present a coordinated realignment plan, with all the terms enumerated above, to the Quartet, the moderate Arab states and the Israeli and Palestinian publics. Only in that way can Israel show that it is determined to take its destiny in hand while granting the Palestinians an opportunity to do the same.

Such steps would convert the realignment from a unilateral move that can only increase hostilities, as seen in Gaza, to a successful initiative that will build a real infrastructure for peace.

Ami Ayalon is a Labor Party MK and heads the National Census along with Prof. Sari Nusseibeh.