Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas agreed Tuesday to begin negotiations over the three "core issues" on which Israel is expected to make concessions: the division of Jerusalem, a return to pre-1967 borders and an influx of Arabs into pre-1967 Israel. Despite this, neither Yisrael Beiteinu nor Shas said they would leave the coalition. Yisrael Beiteinu chief Avigdor Lieberman's "close associates" told the press that he did not intend to create a political crisis at this time, and Shas hinted that a deal for the release of Jonathan Pollard could leave it in the government.
The negotiations between Israel and the PA will be held in what was termed a "three layered" model, according to Ynet: in the "central layer," Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and PA negotiator Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala) will discuss the core issues directly. Next, negotiation teams will hammer out the details of the agreements reached by Livni and Qureia (the "bottom layer"). Finally, if certain problems prove intractable, they will be discussed by Olmert and Abbas.
According to Haaretz, there will be separate committees to discuss security arrangements, trade and economic issues, judicial matters and other civil matters.
Lieberman won't create crisis now
Abbas and Olmert's meeting Tuesday lasted two hours and parts of it were held by the two with no one else present in the room. The mood, said Olmert's confidantes, was "very good."
Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu), meanwhile, will not be leaving the government despite the decision to begin discussion of "core issues." Although Lieberman threatened Monday that "core issue" discussions would mean the end of his partnership in the coalition, he appeared to backtrack Tuesday.
Ynet quoted Lieberman's "close associates" Tuesday as saying that the minister had no intention of leaving the coalition. "Lieberman is not interested in bringing about a political crisis during President Bush's visit to Israel," they explained. They added, however, that he would be demanding "clarifications" from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The Jerusalem Post said Lieberman saw the latest developments "gravely," however.
Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem said that they saw no reason why Lieberman should bolt the coalition. "The core issues have come up in all of the discussions between the leaders until now and negotiations about them will continue." The associates were also quoted as saying Lieberman did not want to resign or "create dramas and crises" during the Bush visit.
Lieberman: 'people attacking from the right are the last ones who can preach to us'
Lieberman told Ynet: "I am not taking back what I said earlier in the week, about leaving the government if discussions of the core issues begin. However, we will not create a crisis now during the U.S. President's visit. It is too important for all of us. Now we will deal with the matters that are important to everyone, right and left, and next week after I receive clarifications from the Prime Minister I will decide what step to take."
In a hint at the Likud, Lieberman said that the people attacking him from the right "are the last ones who can preach to us," because some of them stayed in the Sharon government during the Disengagement period.
Shas wants Pollard
MK Gilad Erdan (Likud) called on Lieberman Tuesday to quit the government immediately. "This is the last chance for Lieberman and Yisrael Beiteinu to stand behind the statements they made during the elections, despite having broken all of their promises since then. Lieberman's exit could help the Likud and the national camp defend Jerusalem and the future of the country from the going-out-of-business sale Olmert is holding in
Yishai: 'The release of Jonathan Pollard will make it more difficult for me to object to initiatives."order to save himself from the Winograd Commission," Erdan said.
Shas, the hareidi-religious Sephardic party, is in no hurry to leave the government either: Shas said it will stay in the coalition if the U.S. releases Jonathan Pollard. According to Shas chairman Eli Yishai, Shas intends to pass President Bush a letter from its mentor, Rabbi Ovadya Yosef, asking him to release Pollard. The letter will be handed to Bush by Prime Minister Olmert.
"The release of Jonathan Pollard by the U.S., in a tit-for-tat agreement, will make it more difficult for me to object to initiatives to strengthen Abu Mazen," Yishai told Ynet. "The release of Pollard will create wide agreement in the people for diplomatic progress," Yishai said.
