Sunday, June 14, 2009

Likud hawks plead with PM not to endorse Palestinian state

rebecca anna stoil and haviv rettig gur , THE JERUSALEM POST

The Likud Party's right wing worked around the clock in the hours before Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's foreign policy speech on Sunday in the hopes of pressuring him to make the speech more palatable to their tastes.

The pressure came as a Kassam rocket from Gaza hit the Negev on Saturday, bolstering hawkish opposition to any relinquishing of Israeli security authority in the West Bank. A key group of party donors, both from Israel and from overseas, were expected to pressure Netanyahu in the hours before the speech, urging him to avoid using the term "the Palestinian people" or the phrase "two states for two nations."

Similarly, Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin and Minister-without-Portfolio Benny Begin were expected to speak with Netanyahu in the hours before the speech to convince him to adhere to the right-wing platform upon which he was elected.

MK Danny Danon, a freshman legislator who has become a rallying figure for settlement heads active in the Likud Party, said he "believes that the request made by party members will ultimately succeed."

On Friday, Netanyahu met with Shas MKs and ministers to discuss the speech and Shas Chairman Eli Yishai issued a statement saying Netanyahu was advised to avoid saying things which would directly confront the United States, and should rather stress Israel would continue building in large settlement blocs while demanding Palestinians recognize the Jewish state and cease incitement to violence.

Netanyahu also met with members of Habayit Hayehudi, after which MK Zevulun Orlev told Israel Radio he was "much relieved" to hear from Netanyahu about his planned speech.

But after Netanyahu met over the weekend with representatives of other coalition factions, the last remaining hard nut to crack in his coalition regarding the content of the speech seemed to be the one nestled within his own party.

In addition to the three high-ranking representatives, one party source said that even more moderate-leaning ministers in the party, who on principle would acquiesce to a two-state plan, have expressed hope that Netanyahu would refrain from overtly mentioning a Palestinian state.

According to Likud sources, Netanyahu would not have political trouble if he indirectly endorsed a two-state solution by calling for implementation of the road map peace plan, which calls for a two-state resolution to the conflict. But he is far more encumbered by his party's political leanings when it comes to settlements.

Party activists distinguish between different types of settlements, including outposts, established towns and major settlement blocs, most of which are alongside the Green Line that divides land under Israeli sovereignty from the West Bank.

"If Bibi takes down outposts, but allows construction in the settlement blocs, I think the heads of the settlements will go willingly, and the party won't give him trouble. If he tries to take down towns, he'll have a major political problem," said one senior Likud source.

Similarly, Netanyahu is likely to use the speech to respond to the US administration's demand for an end to settlement growth, including a freeze on "natural growth." Netanyahu has already rejected the freeze on "natural growth," which his advisers say amounts to a freeze on childbirth in the settlements, something a democratic state is not equipped to do regardless of political expediency.

But, say Likud sources, he may agree to a freeze on the few remaining major construction or development projects to ease Israel's tensions with the Obama administration at a time when Israel feels it needs American backing in light of the growing threat of a nuclear Iran.

"At the end of the day, we have to preserve our relations with the US, but without surrendering our principles. I believe Bibi will succeed in doing this," said coalition chairman MK Ze'ev Elkin.

The Likud's concerns over a rush to Palestinian statehood are rational, Elkin added. "A Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria in the near future is absolutely the wrong thing to do. After Gaza, who knows how [a state in the West Bank] will end? We weren't elected to continue Olmert's policies," he said.

Elkin cautioned against acquiescing to every American demand, citing Hamas's electoral victory in Gaza as "an example of why we should not always take the Americans' advice on policy vis-à-vis the Palestinians" - since it was the US administration that pressured Israel to allow Hamas to run in the 2006 Palestinian elections.

At the end of Shabbat, Netanyahu made another pre-speech visit, this time to the residence of President Shimon Peres, where the two former election rivals discussed the content of the prime minister's upcoming speech.
This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1244371080630&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

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