Kadima MK Shaul Mofaz
Kadima MK Shaul MofazIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Kadima MK and former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz angered his party on Sunday with a proposed peace plan that includes a demilitarized Palestinian Authority state and formal recognition of the Hamas terrorist organization. The plan formulated by Mofaz, who was also the IDF Chief of Staff, calls for establishment of temporary borders for a new Arab country within the current boundaries of the State of Israel.

In the first stage, which Israel would implement unilaterally, the new PA state would be established on approximately 60 percent of the land of Judea and Samaria (Yehudah and Shomron). Most of the new PA state would be located within Areas A and B; Area A is already completely under PA control, and Area B is under the combined control of PA and IDF forces.

"Israel will lead and not be led. We will stop occupying another nation," Mofaz said. "We must strengthen Israel's position internationally. As a first step, the Palestinian state will be in 60 percent of [Judea and Samaria] and Gaza; 90 percent of the Palestinians will be there and no settlements will be evacuated."

Stage Two, which would require a national referendum, calls for negotiations on the future of Jerusalem, the issue of the so-called "right of return" of Arabs who once lived in Israel and fled during the 1948 War of Independence and some five million of their descendants, most of whom were born abroad.

Under the plan, the final PA state would be established on at least 92 percent of the land of Judea and Samaria. There would be territorial exchange with the PA and approximately 65,000 Jews would be expelled from their homes as well. Evacuation-compensation bills for Israeli expellees would be enacted while permanent, defensible borders are negotiated.

However, Mofaz said he would not want to divide Jerusalem, a stance he would make clear in final status negotiations. He also called for Israel to negotiate with Hamas, if the group "changes its behavior."

Mofaz told reporters Sunday morning in Tel Aviv that both President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Ehud Barak had approved of his assessments. He warned that "If [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu] doesn't implement the plan, I will do it when I become prime minister." The government and the prime minister, he claimed, "have no plan."

The former Defense Minister said the plan was needed because the current "relative calm" was "dangerous" and that "a violent and bloody conflict lurks at its end."  He also pointed to the growing nuclear activities in Iran, saying "Time is not on our side. Iran is getting stronger, Hizbullah is arming, Hamas is getting ready for the next step and Al-Qaeda is building its base of support."

Israel, Mofaz said, is becoming a pariah in the international community, seen as part of the problem rather than part of the solution to the Middle East conflict. "More and more countries are considering a bi-national state," he noted.

He also said that if Hamas became the controlling faction in the upcoming Palestinian Authority elections, slated for January 2010, Israel will have no choice but to negotiate with the terrorist group. "Israel must conduct talks with any group that changes its behavior," he said. "Meanwhile, Hamas continues to prepare for the next round [of battle]. They must realize that if they plan to continue firing upon Israeli communities, their fate is sealed."

A source inside Kadima told reporters that Mofaz was "confused," adding, "If he has a peace plan he should present it to the party first. In the Knesset, we deal more with laws, and less with plans."

Hamas, meanwhile, praised the plan, calling it "an important step." A Hamas spokesman said in a statement that "even if the Israeli government has come to this understanding late, that Hamas must be dealt with, Mofaz's plan is important."