Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) said Saturday night that Israel should not engage in any diplomatic negotiations at the Middle East conference next month, but limit discussion to economic matters.

Agreements Lead to More Violence

Jerusalem, final borders and the refugee issue should not discussed at the summit to be held in Annapolis, Maryland, Yishai said: "We have found that after every year of terror, of Kassams [rocket attacks from Gaza - ed.] and suicide bombings by the Palestinians, Israel only upgrades what it is willing to offer them in return for an agreement. The fact is that the agreements have not led to peace, but to an increase in terror. The conditions are not yet ripe for holding negotiations with the entire Palestinian people."

Yishai, who is also Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, reacted to statements by the Palestinian Authority's (PA) chief negotiator, that final status issues had to be resolved before the conference began.

Yishai suggested that improving the PA's economy with U.S., European and Saudi aid, and getting the Palestinians to educate their children to strive for peace, instead of inciting them to terror, could lead to a situation, several years hence, in which the Palestinians become partners for diplomatic talks. 

"If we take a time out from the diplomatic matters, we can devote the summit to economic rehabilitation of the [Palestinian] Authority, with an emphasis on employment," Yishai said. "We can go back to diplomatic negotiations in the future."

PA Leadership Does Not Represent The People

Yishai told Israeli reporters that only a small section of Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza (Yesha) are being represented at the November conference. The Palestinian leadership does not control the Palestinian street, he said, and even if some matters are resolved, a part of the Palestinian people will not accept the agreement.

Yishai added that in his meetings last week with Egypt's president and its Minister of Intelligence, the Egyptians voiced fear that a failure at Annapolis would lead to a flare-up on the ground.

Shas Favors Giving Land to Arabs, But Not Now

"The Jewish legal ruling by [Shas spiritual leader] Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef regarding the need for diplomatic concessions in return for true peace is clear. The thing is that there is no partner for such concessions now… Why should we start with Jerusalem? Jerusalem should not be on the agenda now, certainly there is to be no talk of dividing it," he said.

The Shas party is a senior partner in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition, and its Sephardic voter base is considered to be relatively hawkish. Along with the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Shas has come under increasing pressure from the opposition to leave the government in order to prevent Olmert from making concessions at Annapolis.

Last Thursday, Yisrael Beiteinu's chairman, Minister Avigdor Lieberman, told the Quartet's special envoy Tony Blair that discussion of "core issues" at Annapolis would lead to the Olmert government's downfall.