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In his first public
appearance as acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert outlined the basics
of his party's political agenda, an outline which Tzippi
Livni also voiced in the speech she delivered in her capacity as foreign minister.
Both speeches
were given at the sixth annual Herzliya Conference, which the
Institute for Policy and Strategy of the Interdisciplinary Center
Herzliya convenes and has become a
sounding board for political agendas.
Both Olmert and Livni stated the need
for a
two-state solution in order to safeguard Israel's role as the
homeland for the Jewish people. In order for Israel to be democratic
and Jewish, it has to retain a Jewish majority. In order to do this,
we cannot continue to rule over thousands of Palestinians, Livni
stated. The importance of a Palestinian state is its ability to
serve as the Palestinian homeland. A two-state solution means one state
for the Palestinian people and one state for the Jewish people. This
is diametrically opposite to the Palestinian way of thinking, and
that of many in the Israeli left; for them a two-state solution means one
state for Palestinians only and one for Israeli Jews and
Palestinians.
The aftermath of the Palestinian
elections is the key to how Israeli policy will be implemented. A
cessation of terror and the dismantling of the terrorist
organizations will lead to an Israeli attempt to come to an agreement
with the Palestinians. However, if this does not happen, Olmert and Livni have
left the door open for Israel to decide on its own
where its eastern border will be. In any case, it will not include
Palestinians and it will not include Israeli settlements deep in the
heartland of Judea and Samaria.
Two other interesting statements made at
the Herzliya Conference should
be noted. Both Olmert and Livni emphasized that the solution to the
Palestinian refugee problem lies with the Palestinian state: There
will be no right of return to Israel for Palestinian refugees. The
other issue that emerged in their speeches is that of the
Israeli-Arab population. Creating two states side by side does not
rule out the possibility of redrawing the border between the two
states so that many of the Israeli-Arab towns and villages will be
on the Palestinian side of the line. This idea became much more
palatable to many Israelis last week, following the riots in Umm el Fahm
sparked by the death of an Arab youth. He was shot by the Israel
Police when he tried to shoot a policeman. The agreement
that Olmert is seeking with the Palestinians will certainly put this
issue on the negotiating table. |
