Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who is leading the Kadima party polls in the race to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, told foreign reporters Thursday that negotiating irresponsibly with the Palestinian Authority (PA) could lead to a third "intifada," or uprising.
PA officials denounced her remarks as being detrimental to the talks.
Speaking in English to Israel's Foreign Press Association, Livni warned that applying pressure in the negotiation process between Israel and the PA would only backfire.
The foreign minister made the observation ahead of the upcoming visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who returns to the region early next week. Rice is expected to continue her efforts to shepherd Israel and the PA into some form of agreement before the end of President George W. Bush's term in January 2009.
"Any attempt to try and bridge the gap between Israel and the Palestinians in any way other than a detailed agreement may lead to violent clashes," Livni told the Israeli Foreign Press Association.
The foreign minister compared this year's talks to those which took place in the year 2000 between then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak and PLO chief Yasser Arafat, brokered by then-US President Bill Clinton.
"The pressure, the international pressure, this can lead to clashes, this can lead to misunderstandings, this can lead to violence as we had, as we faced, after Camp David 2000 and the circumstances, in a way, are similar," Livni said.
Barak offered in July 2000 at Camp David to hand over to Arafat 94 percent of Judea and Samaria and 100 percent of Gaza, plus one percent of pre-1967 Israeli territory in the Negev, but on condition that Jerusalem would remain in Israeli hands forever; Arafat refused and the talks collapsed, leading to a long-lasting round of PA Arab violence that has since become known as the second intifada.
Livni also rejected the PA demand to allow the immigration of millions of foreign Arabs who claim to be descendants of former Land of Israel Arabs, an issue the PA has labeled the "right of return."
In addition, the foreign minister took the opportunity to obliquely criticize Prime Minister Olmert for holding indirect talks with Syria, brokered by Turkey.
"Syria keeps violating the weapons embargo but is able to win recognition by holding indirect peace talks with Israel," she stated. "It’s trying to regain its legitimacy despite its support of terror organizations."
In a four-way Kadima party primary election, Livni remains the clear frontrunner in the latest polls.