Opposition MK Shaul Mofaz is planning to meet with senior Hamas officials, the Channel 10 website reported late Monday.
On Sunday, Mofaz presented his peace plan, which calls for the establishment within a year of a Palestinian state with provisional boundaries on 60 percent of the West Bank. He urged dialogue with Hamas as a means of achieving peace with the Palestinians.
Mofaz portrayed his proposal as a challenge not only to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but also to his own party's leader, Tzipi Livni.
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The plan sparked severe criticism, both from the Palestinians as well as within Israel. In response, Mofaz said Monday that "I will talk to the devil himself if that's what will bring peace," Israel Radio reported.
In recent years, Mofaz has vehemently rejected any contact with the Islamist Hamas, who violently seized control over the Gaza Strip in a bloody coup in 2007. In a complete turnaround, Mofaz told Israel Radio Monday that if Hamas is voted to power in the upcoming elections - scheduled for January ? he is willing to negotiate with them.
The former IDF chief of staff told Channel 10 that "if Hamas officials, whose leaders I've killed, want to meet with me, I'll talk to them."
He criticized Netanyahu's lack of action toward peace, saying "my diplomatic plan is open to adjustments and criticism, but at least I presented some kind of plan. During Netanyahu's term, even that wasn't done."
According to Channel 10, Mofaz is currently reviewing the legal implications of meeting with Hamas officials, and whether it would be legally permitted, as Hamas is classified as a terror organization that is hostile to Israel.
Another problem facing a possible meeting is the location. The meeting is likely to take place in neutral territory, outside Israel and Gaza. _________________ A la guerre comme a la guerre èëè âòîðàÿ ðåäàêöèÿ Çàáóãîðíîâà
Former defense minister Shaul Mofaz took a dramatic turn away from his former Likud roots on Sunday when, at a Tel Aviv press conference, he announced his new diplomatic plan that calls for the immediate formation of a Palestinian state.
Under the plan, Israel would annex settlement blocs while withdrawing from 60 percent of the West Bank, comprising Areas A and B, where 99.2 of the Palestinians live, and additional land to create territorial contiguity.
A Palestinian state would be set up in those areas of the West Bank and in Gaza, while no settlements would be evacuated at that stage.
Israel would then negotiate the fate of the rest of the West Bank and other core issues of the conflict with the leadership of the new Palestinian state, while passing legislation sanctioning compensation for settlers living in outlying settlements that would be evacuated.
"As a candidate to lead the country, I felt I had to present a plan," Mofaz said. "I don't have a political objective with the plan. But if [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu doesn't implement the plan, I will implement it as prime minister."
Mofaz, who is No. 2 in Kadima, made a point of never mentioning his nemesis, party leader Tzipi Livni, at the Beit Sokolow press conference, but he did say his plan was endorsed by President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Mofaz's plan is very different than Livni's Annapolis process, in which Israel would make no concessions to the Palestinians until a final-status deal would be reached on all issues.
Bypassing Livni on the left, Mofaz said he would be willing to negotiate with Hamas under certain conditions to advance the plan.
"If Hamas would be elected and would want to negotiate and accept the quartet's conditions, from that moment, it is no longer Hamas," Mofaz said. "Responsible leadership in Israel would sit with those who changed their agenda."
Former Palestinian Authority foreign minister Mahmoud Zahar of Hamas responded that it would never accept the Quartet's conditions, which include recognizing Israel, disarming terrorists, and accepting diplomatic deals signed by the PA.
"Hamas will not negotiate with Israel," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. "We do not believe in engaging with the occupation, or in talks that would beautify its face in the eyes of the world."
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat of Fatah lamented that Israeli politicians were already planning for the era after the departure of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has announced that he will not run in the January 24 election but is widely expected to change his mind.
Hamas was not mentioned in the draft of the plan Mofaz distributed and he only mentioned the terrorist organization in answering reporters' questions. But Mofaz's opponents in Kadima accused him of harming Abbas by speaking about Hamas.
"Kadima has a platform that we must stick to," a Kadima MK close to Livni said. "What he said about Hamas was the wrong thing to say and certainly the wrong time. It legitimizes Hamas ahead of the Palestinian election and weakens Abu Mazen [Abbas] and the moderates. I am sure Mofaz will star in Hamas's political campaign."
Another Kadima MK called Mofaz "confused" and complained that he "went so far leftward that he broke the wall."
But MK Yohanan Plesner, who is close to Livni, called the diplomatic plan "interesting and important" and said Kadima should consider adopting it.
"It is important that we have a plan and we don't wait to finalize what will happen in the territories," Plesner said. "This plan connects to the ethos of Kadima as a centrist party that wants to take our fate in our hands and not be dependent on others to decide our borders." _________________ A la guerre comme a la guerre èëè âòîðàÿ ðåäàêöèÿ Çàáóãîðíîâà
Political stalemate leads Kadima MK to form his own peace plan, according to which Palestinian State will initially be set up on 50%-60% of territory, but eventually span 92% of West Bank, with isolated settlements evacuated
Kadima MK Shaul Mofaz has spent the past few months, along with a team of experts, developing his political vision, and is slated to complete it shortly. "The current situation cannot continue," he said, "(Prime Minister) Netanyahu is negotiating negotiations. Hi has no plan, he does not plan on leading us anywhere."
The main point of Mofaz's plan is the establishment of a Palestinian state in temporary borders on 50% - 60% of the Palestinian territory in the West Bank, mainly in Area A and Area B, which are under Palestinian control.
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Mofaz: Building in E1 national interest / Efrat Weiss
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"It's time that the Palestinians prove they are capable of ruling," he said.
Meanwhile, Mofaz proposes time-limited talks be opened on the core issues such as Jerusalem – which he refuses to divide - the refugees, and permanent border.
Mofaz is willing to commit to the world, and even give guarantees, that the final Palestinian state will not be formed on less than 92% of the territory.
The MK wants to annex major settlement blocs to Israel, and is willing to make territorial exchanges with the Palestinians. He stressed that, if need be, international forces could assist the Palestinians in their new state.
He said there would be no choice but to clear out isolated settlements. Some 65,000 Israelis currently live outside the major settlement blocs.
Mofaz proposes offering them generous compensation packages, alternative land and even "Ideological compensation" over the long period of time they spent living in the territories.
Mofaz was asked this week if he fears a repeat of trauma caused by the Disengagement from the Gaza Strip and Hamas' takeover of the territory. "I believe", he said, "That if we operate according to my plan, the entire atmosphere will change.
"The world will follow what is happening, and the Palestinians will have to, and want to prove they are serious, in order to receive the rest of the territory. We left Gaza and Lebanon, and we know how to handle the missiles that fall from there without being in the territory."
He hopes to present his plan to the Israeli public, and open a public debate that may get the ball rolling. Mofaz is also concerned that the American plan, which he believes will be presented by the end of the year, will divert attention away from his plan.
"I have no choice," he said, "I will have to present it. The existing stalemate is dangerous. We have to think differently, to go in another direction. Netanyahu won't do anything, and every day that goes by is more damaging to Israel." _________________ A la guerre comme a la guerre èëè âòîðàÿ ðåäàêöèÿ Çàáóãîðíîâà
Israel must talk to Hamas. Not secretly. Not indirectly. Not for a politician to rehabilitate himself on the way to taking over the leadership of a party, as Kadima's Shaul Mofaz tried to do, but openly and seriously. Just as the United States regularly talks to the Israeli opposition, Israel should maintain a dialogue with the Palestinian opposition. The dialogue should cover all core issues including a final settlement.
It's not a simple matter, of course. There is agreement across the political spectrum to reduce the debate to a demonization of Hamas, dwelling on the organization's external attributes as perceived by Israel - religious, extremist and desiring all the territory between the river and the sea. This debate does not focus on the Israeli interest. We should be asking ourselves the following questions: Is it worthwhile to speak with Hamas? What are our reasons for not talking to them? Is boycotting them linked to an erroneous preconception?
Israel rigorously insists that Hamas is not a partner and that our partner is Fatah, headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. But negotiations with Fatah have been going on for nearly two decades, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's declaration that he accepts the principle of two states for two peoples looks like just another trick to postpone the demise of the current negotiation process.
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In 2004, the Israeli government decided that Yasser Arafat was not relevant. Abbas, Israel's leaders have said, is weak. At the same time, Israel has for years been doing all it can to weaken the Palestinian Authority. That way, it will be possible to prove yet again that although "we have to talk, there's no one you can close a deal with." Even if an agreement is signed under American pressure, the PA will not be able to implement it because more than half the Palestinians don't accept its authority. This is why the refusal to speak with Hamas is pointless. It is no more than a continuation of avoiding talking to the Palestinians by other means.
Hamas' rule in Gaza is the outcome of despair with the Fatah leadership. The deterioration of the situation in Gaza after the ongoing failure of negotiations and the total dependence on Israel for receiving basic needs intensify the despair and extremism. (And no one is talking about the right to free movement, to go abroad to study.) Even today, there are groups resisting Hamas that resemble Al-Qaida. We can drag things out as much as we want, but we have to admit that the notion that time is on our side is baseless. The people who led Abbas to consider resigning and who refuse to talk to Hamas will find themselves in five years with a partner who reports to Osama bin Laden.
Nothing is possible without Gilad Shalit. People may say that the fate of a country cannot be dependent on what happens to one abducted soldier. There is no greater mistake. The abandonment of Shalit is symptomatic of Zionism's failure, the elevation of pride over wisdom and tactics over strategy. It's the denial of the sanctity of life and redeeming prisoners, values that are at the heart and soul of the nation.
Precisely here, the soft underbelly of public opinion, it would be possible to makes progress on the delicate matter of contacts with Hamas. More than 7,000 Palestinians are being held prisoner in Israel. There is one Israeli prisoner in Palestine. The suffering of both sides, and with it the tremendous joy that a prisoner exchange would produce, can and should be the lever for a stepped-up conciliation process.
For years Israel and its citizens have been paying the price of choosing solutions that were appropriate for the last war. Hiding our head in the sand at such a critical stage is dangerous. We have to declare our readiness to speak with the Palestinian opposition, immediately.
The writer is a joint founder of an initiative seeking direct and open talks with Hamas. _________________ A la guerre comme a la guerre èëè âòîðàÿ ðåäàêöèÿ Çàáóãîðíîâà
...Israel must talk to Hamas. Not secretly. Not indirectly. Not for a politician to rehabilitate himself on the way to taking over the leadership of a party, as Kadima's Shaul Mofaz tried to do, but openly and seriously. Just as the United States regularly talks to the Israeli opposition, Israel should maintain a dialogue with the Palestinian opposition. The dialogue should cover all core issues including a final settlement...
Áó-ãà-ãà! Èçðàèëü äîëæåí ãîâîðèòü ñ Õàìàñîì, îòêðûòî è ëèöîì ê ëèöó. Õîðîøàÿ èäåÿ! Îäèí ìà-àëåíüêèé ïðîáëåì: Õàìàñ óïèðàåòñÿ, Èçðàèëü íå ïðèçíà¸ò è ðàçãîâàðèâàòü ñ íèì îòêàçûâàåòñÿ. Íî ïðîáëåìà ðåøàåìà: Íàäî êàêîãî-íèáóäü âûñîêîïîñòàâëåííîãî õàìàñíèêà ïîéìàòü äà è ïîãîâîðèòü ñ íèì... _________________ A la guerre comme a la guerre èëè âòîðàÿ ðåäàêöèÿ Çàáóãîðíîâà
Äåïóòàò Êíåññåòà Äàíè Äàíîí ("Ëèêóä") ïðåäëîæèë ñîçâàòü çàñåäàíèå êîìèññèè ïî äåëàì îáðàçîâàíèÿ, êóëüòóðû è ñïîðòà, ÷òîáû óñòàíîâèòü êðèòåðèè ïðåäîñòàâëåíèÿ Ïðåìèè Èçðàèëÿ, ëàóðåàòîì êîòîðîé ñòàë Àìîñ Îç. _________________ A la guerre comme a la guerre èëè âòîðàÿ ðåäàêöèÿ Çàáóãîðíîâà
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