STATEMENT FROM PM'S BUREAU [With the 14 Israeli remarks attached]
Israel Government Press Office Israel Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2003 7:14 PM
Sunday, May 25, 2003 7:14 PM
A. The Government of Israel, today (Sunday), 25.5.03, considered
the Prime Minister's statement on the Roadmap, as well as Israel's comments
on its implementation. Following its deliberations, the Government, by a
majority vote, resolved:
Based on the 23 May 2003 statement of the United States Government, in which
the United States committed to fully and seriously address Israel's comments
to the Roadmap during the implementation phase, the Prime Minister announced
on 23 May 2003 that Israel has agreed to accept the steps set out in the
Roadmap.
The Government of Israel affirms the Prime Minister's announcement, and
resolves that all of Israel's comments, as addressed in the Administration's
statement, will be implemented in full during the implementation phase of
the Roadmap.
A list of the comments forwarded by Israel for the review of the
Administration in the United States has been attached to this
decision.[IMRA: attached below]
B. The Government also resolved, concerning the issue of the
refugees, as follows:
The Government of Israel today accepted the steps set out in the Roadmap.
The Government of Israel expresses its hope that the political process that
will commence, in accordance with the 24 June 2002 speech of President Bush,
will bring security, peace and reconciliation between Israel and the
Palestinians.
The Government of Israel further clarifies that, both during and
subsequent to the political process, the resolution of the issue of the
refugees will not include their entry into or settlement within the State
of Israel.
====
The Roadmap: Primary Themes of Israel's Remarks
1. Both at the commencement of and during the process, and as a condition to
its continuance. calm will be maintained. The Palestinians will dismantle
the existing security organizations and implement security reforms during
the course of which new organizations will be formed and act to combat
terror, violence and incitement (incitement must cease immediately and the
Palestinian Authority must educate for peace). These organizations will
engage in genuine prevention of terror and violence through arrests,
interrogations, prevention and the enforcement of the legal groundwork for
investigations, prosecution and punishment. In the first phase of the plan
and as a condition for progress to the second phase, the Palestinians will
complete the dismantling of terrorist organizations (Hamas. Islamic Jihad.
the Popular Front, the Democratic Front Al-Aqsa Brigades and other
apparatuses) and their infrastructure, collection of all illegal weapons and
their transfer to a third party for the sake of being removed from the area
and destroyed., cessation of weapons smuggling and weapons production inside
the Palestinian Authority, activation of the full prevention apparatus and
cessation of incitement. There will be no progress to the second phase
without the fulfillment of all above-mentioned conditions relating to the
war against terror. The security plans to be implemented are the Tenet and
Zinni plans. [As in the other mutual frameworks. the Roadmap will not state
that Israel must cease violence and incitement against the Palestinians].
2. Full performance will be a condition for progress between phases and for
progress within phases. The first condition for progress will be the
complete cessation of terror, violence and incitement. Progress between
phases will come only following the full implementation of the preceding
phase. Attention will be paid not to timelines, but to performance
benchmarks (timelines will serve only as reference points).
3. The emergence of a new and different leadership in the Palestinian
Authority within the framework of governmental reform. The formation of a
new leadership constitutes a condition for progress to the second phase of
the plan. In this framework, elections will be conducted for the Palestinian
Legislative Council following coordination with Israel.
4. The Monitoring mechanism will be under American management. The chief
verification activity will concentrate upon the creation of another
Palestinian entity and progress in the civil reform process within the
Palestinian Authority. Verification will be performed exclusively on a
professional basis and per issue (economic, legal, financial) without the
existence of a combined or unified mechanism. Substantive decisions will
remain in the hands of both parties.
5. The character of the provisional Palestinian state will be determined
through negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. The
provisional state will have provisional borders and certain aspects of
sovereignty, be fully demilitarized with no military forces, but only with
police and internal security forces of limited scope and armaments, be
without the authority to undertake defense alliances or military
cooperation, and Israeli control over the entry and exit of all persons and
cargo, as well as of its air space and electromagnetic spectrum.
6. In connection to both the introductory statements and the final
settlement, declared references must be made to Israel's right to exist as a
Jewish state and to the waiver of any right of return for Palestinian
refugees to the State of Israel.
7. End of the process will lead to the end of all claims and not only the
end of the conflict.
8. The future settlement will be reached through agreement and direct
negotiations between the two parties, in accordance with the vision outlined
by President Bush in his 24 June address.
9. There will be no involvement with issues pertaining to the final
settlement. Among issues not to be discussed: settlement in Judea, Samaria
and Gaza (excluding a settlement freeze and illegal outposts), the status of
the Palestinian Authority and its institutions in Jerusalem, and all other
matters whose substance relates to the final settlement.
10. The removal of references other than 242 and 338 (1397, the Saudi
Initiative and the Arab Initiative adopted in Beirut). A settlement based
upon the Roadmap will be an autonomous settlement that derives its validity
therefrom. The only possible reference should be to Resolutions 242 and 338,
and then only as an outline for the conduct of future negotiations on a
permanent settlement.
11. Promotion of the reform process in the Palestinian Authority: a
transitional Palestinian constitution will be composed, a Palestinian legal
infrastructure will be constructed and cooperation with Israel in this field
will be renewed. In the economic sphere: international efforts to
rehabilitate the Palestinian economy will continue. In the financial sphere:
the American-Israeli-Palestinian agreement will be implemented in full as a
condition for the continued transfer of tax revenues.
12. The deployment of IDF forces along the September 2000 lines will be
subject to the stipulation of Article 4 (absolute quiet) and will be carried
out in keeping with changes to be required by the nature of the new
circumstances and needs created thereby. Emphasis will be placed on the
division of responsibilities and civilian authority as in September 2000,
and not on the position of forces on the ground at that time.
13. Subject to security conditions, Israel will work to restore Palestinian
life to normal: promote the economic situation, cultivation of commercial
connections, encouragement and assistance for the activities of recognized
humanitarian agencies. No reference will be made to the Bertini Report as
a binding source document within the framework of the humanitarian issue.
14. Arab states will assist the process through the condemnation of
terrorist activity. No link will be established between the Palestinian
track and other tracks (Syrian-Lebanese).
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
GOV'T VOTES TO ACCEPT PALESTINIAN STATE - WITH RESERVATIONS
The Israeli Government voted to accept the Road Map plan today, recognizing
a Palestinian state for the first time. Twelve ministers voted for the
plan: Five from the Shinui party, and seven Likud ministers: Ariel Sharon,
Sha'ul Mofaz, Silvan Shalom, Meir Sheetrit, Tzippy Livny, Gideon Ezra, and
Ehud Olmert.
Ministers Binyamin Netanyahu, Tzachi HaNegbi, Limor Livnat, and Danny Naveh
- all of the Likud - abstained.
Seven ministers opposed the plan: Uzi Landau and Yisrael Katz (Likud);
Effie Eitam and Zevulun Orlev (NRP); Benny Elon and Avigdor Lieberman
(National Union); and Natan Sharansky (Likud-Yisrael B'Aliyah).
The Cabinet meeting lasted close to six hours, and was very stormy at
times. Each minister was given a chance to speak. The exact wording of
the approved resolution reads as follows:
"The Government of Israel announces that it approves the declaration of
the Prime Minister [see item 3 below] regarding the acceptance of the steps
included in the Road Map, and resolves that the implementation of the plan
will take place contingent upon the 14 comments that Israel submitted to
the Americans."
The Cabinet also voted 16-1 that it would not accept the Arabs' claimed
"right of return." Only Minister Benny Elon voted against it, explaining
that the resolution rules out the return of Arab refugees to the State of
Israel - but not to Judea and Samaria. Elon has long said that an influx
of millions of Arabs to Yesha would be a tremendous demographic danger to
Israel.
Under the banner, "The Road Map is Worse than Oslo," the Yesha Council,
Women in Green, and Jewish Leadership organized protests opposite the Prime
Minister's Office this morning. Yesha leaders say that a Palestinian state
will be a calamity for Israel, and demanded that the Road Map be voted down.
The Likud Party ministers were strongly divided this morning, and Prime
Minister Sharon met with them before the Cabinet meeting today. The main
threat that Sharon hung over the ministers' heads was that a rejection of
the Road Map would lead to a crisis between Jerusalem and the White House.
He further tried to convince the ministers to support the plan by noting a
"direct connection between Israel's sorry economic state and the security
situation."
Mr. Sharon is expected to meet with Palestinian Authority leader Abu Mazen
tomorrow, for the second time.
2. MINISTERIAL COMMENTS ON THE VOTE
Prime Minister Sharon himself said that today was a "difficult" day for
him, and that the choice was between "the least of the evils." He said
that the reservations included in today's resolution represent Israel's
"red lines." In this morning's Yediot Acharonot newspaper, however, he was
quoted as singing a slightly different tune: "It's time to divide the
land," Sharon told the paper, following his fairly sudden decision to
accept the Road Map plan. "No one can compete with me over these areas. I
am connected to these parts of the land that we will be required to leave
no less than those who are speaking so stridently [in favor of the Land of
Israel and against the plan]."
Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had earlier said he would vote against
the plan. However, when the resolution brought to vote stated that the
plan would be implemented only "contingent upon Israel's 14 reservations,"
he agreed to abstain.
Minister Ehud Olmert said before the meeting that the Road Map was bad, yet
he voted for it. Defense Minister Mofaz said the same a few days ago, but
explained that he was not voting for the plan, but rather for the "package
of understandings with the U.S., which include Israel's reservations
against the plan."
Minister Tzippy Livny had an interesting approach. She said that she
accepts the two-state solution in principle, but is worried that merely
pushing off the 'right of return' issue might lead to the flooding of
Israel with millions of Arab 'refugees' in the future. "There is a
national consensus against this now," she said, "but we don't know what
will be in the future." The Foreign Ministry's legal counsel was called to
the meeting to explain the dangers of the 'right of return.' Minister
Livny distributed to the ministers a position paper on the dangers of the
'right of return,' and only after an accompanying resolution against the
'right of return' was formulated did she agree to vote in favor of the Road
Map.
Minister Benny Elon said that the ministers could not be expected to vote
on a plan of this magnitude on such short notice. "We have not even been
given a Hebrew translation of the document," he lamented.
Minister Natan Sharansky said that Prime Minister Sharon always promised
that the Road Map would not be brought for a Cabinet vote without a deep
and intense discussion and debate - contrary to what in fact happened today.
Education Minister Limor Livnat, who has expressed opposition to the plan
in the past, proposed that the Cabinet include a declaration that there
would be no Palestinian state until the terrorist bases are totally and
completed uprooted; no compromise on the 'right of return;' no return to
the '67 borders; and no division of Jerusalem. This proposal was also
debated in the Cabinet today, but was not voted upon.
Likud MK Michael Eitan told Arutz-7 this morning that though the Road Map
plan is dangerous, "now is not necessarily the time to vote against
it." He said that Israel's 14 reservations must be implemented, and that
if the dangers in fact materialize, "we will be able to stop it then." He
said that we must not be the ones to destroy whatever small chance for
peace currently exists.
Minister without portfolio Gideon Ezra took a similar position while
speaking with Voice of Israel this morning. He said that he is confident
that if the PA does not honor its obligations, Prime Minister Sharon will
put an end to Road Map progress.
Coalition head Gideon Saar, a Likud MK, said that the Road Map in its
current framework is "a dangerous diplomatic document that includes the
Saudi initiative, which returns Israel to the May 1967 borders on all
fronts and divides Jerusalem."
Opposition leader MK Dalia Itzik (Labor) rejoiced in the decision: "The
government finally understood that which the Labor Party has been saying
for years. The Road map is a victory for Labor's way." Other left-wing
politicians echoed her satisfaction, though some were already looking
ahead: "Sharon's intentions will be tested by whether he removes 100
outposts or not," said Labor MK Amram Mitzna.
3. HISTORY OF THE TURNABOUT, AND MORE COMMENTS
...
Eli Kornfeld, head of the "Darkecha Darkeinu" (Your Way is Our Way) forum
in the Likud Party, was noticeably saddened by the decision to bring the
Road Map up for a Cabinet vote: "This is a hasty decision that seals the
fate of the Nation of Israel for a very difficult period that we will
face. It is a decision that is forced upon us, for some reason, by the
United States. The economic thriving that the Prime Minister sees as a
result of this - it's just a dream, just as it was before Oslo - when they
promised us a great period, but many people paid with their lives. This is
a prize to Arafat for his 2.5 years of terrorism. It's terrible, if this
is the approach - we have learned absolutely nothing; just terrible."
The Yesha Council, representing the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria,
and Gaza, released a strong announcement today condemning the Cabinet's
approval of the Road Map. The council said that the decision "would be
remembered as an eternal disgrace in the history of the State of Israel,"
and that it "ignores our historical rights over the Land of Israel, and
causes damage to the national security interests of Israel."
Deputy Education Minister Tzvi Hendel (National Union) told Arutz-7 today
that there were so many points to raise against this Road Map, "but let me
just give you two or three. For years, Arafat has wanted to
internationalize the dispute, yet no Israeli government ever agreed - until
now. This means that Arafat has succeeded in having the Europeans and the
UN decide whether the Palestinians are fulfilling their obligations... A
terrorist state will be established aside us… I can only hope that the
normative, Jewish, logical point of view will prevail - I have no hope from
Shinui, but at least among the Likud ministers."
Reminded that Sharon was facing very strong American pressure, Hendel replied:
"Last night we spoke to some U.S. Congressmen, and they said that they
feel that Israel is undermining them and their objections to this
plan. They are trying to reject it, and we are supporting it! There are
many in the Administration who don't like this plan. It could be that
Blair is pushing Bush to come through on his pre-Iraq-war promises, and it
could be that Sharon thinks that nothing will come of it, etc. - but the
fact is that the Israeli government will be making a tremendous mistake by
making this statement for history that it accepts a Palestinian
state... This will be one of the absolute worst decisions in the history
of the State of Israel. We can't always worry about tactics and
maneuvering. We must stand up for what is right."
Arutz Sheva News Service
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
Sunday, May 25, 2003 / Iyar 23, 5763
