Israel Matzav

Schneller - trying to mediate between revenants and Peretz - still doesn't get it

Kadima Achora MK Otniel Schneller, who is trying to return to the good graces of the religious community he betrayed, is accusing 'defense minister' Amir Comrade Peretz of holding up an agreement that would resolve the status of twenty-four 'illegal outposts' in Judea and Samaria:

"If there is a new defense minister, it will likely take a few weeks to complete the negotiations," said Schneller, who acts as a liaison between settlers and the Prime Minister's Office. He added that hammering out the authorization would take more time.

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Schneller said the government had the power to act, but that the problem was a policy dispute, with Peretz keen on evacuating the outposts and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert determined to do so only in agreement with the settlers.

Schneller said the prime minister understood that settlers needed to be treated respectfully and that they were not enemies of the state. He accused Peretz, in turn, of disliking the settlers and not caring whether he had to use force against them.

A Peretz spokesman denied the charges. He said the moment the prime minister decided on a course of action with respect to the outposts, Peretz would execute it. "We are waiting for the prime minister," said the spokesman. In the past, Peretz has accused Olmert of shying away from the matter.

But Schneller said that once Peretz leaves the Defense Ministry, the Prime Minister's Office hopes to hammer out a deal that would focus on 24 unauthorized outposts, whose removal the cabinet ordered in 2005. The government also promised the US that it would remove these 24 outposts, all of which were established after Ariel Sharon took office in 2001.

The US believes that the 50 outposts erected since March 2001 should be removed. There are some 105 unauthorized outposts in the West Bank.

Schneller said that in removing the 24 outposts, there would be no more need for forcible evacuations or demolitions such as those at the Amona outpost last year, when nine homes were razed by the government following violent clashes with the settlers and security forces.

"You cannot make peace with power," Schneller said.

Ah yes, you cannot make peace with power. It's so nice that Comrade Schneller has finally figured that out. Too bad he still hasn't figured out that you can't make 'peace' with the 'Palestinians' unless you are willing to give them absolutely everything they want - until they demand more:

He gave no specific details, but said the agreement would look to move some of the outposts to areas in the West Bank that would likely be retained by Israel in a final-status agreement. In other cases, where it was possible, attempts would be make to legalize some of the outposts, he said.

Such an agreement, Schneller said, would be in keeping with Israel's promise to the US to evacuate the outposts, even though the hilltop communities would remain within the West Bank.

The Americans have already accepted the idea that Israel is not withdrawing to the pre-1967 border, so they should accept this plan as well, he said.

Schneller based this assumption on the fact that President George W. Bush, in his 2004 letter to Ariel Sharon, said, "It is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final-status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949."

Without going on to the US reaction, which I will do below, I am sure you all understand that the 'Palestinians' will never agree to Israel retaining any "areas in the 'West Bank' in a final status agreement." The 'Palestinians' have repeatedly said that they would not accept Israel retaining any of the 'West Bank' in a 'final settlement' - a fact that all the 'peace' dreamers continue to ignore as if it will go away if we offer them 99% of Judea and Samaria and half of 'east Jerusalem' instead of the 95% plus half of 'east Jerusalem' that Ehud Barak offered them. What President Bush accepted is open to interpretation and did not constitute a commitment. Now let's look at Olmert's reaction and at the US reaction:

Despite Schneller's claim, a source within the Prime Minister's Office said he had no knowledge of such a deal. He added that the government remained committed to its promise to the United States to remove the 24 outposts.

Diplomatic sources told the Post that the US's main concern was that Israel not take any steps to prejudice a final-status solution that would allow for the creation of a viable Palestinian state. Within those parameters, it had asked Israel to remove the outposts but had not clarified the exact details regarding the move, the sources said.

Similarly, the US had said that Israel should not expand existing settlements but, again, had not provided details.

A spokesman for the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, Stewart Tuttle, said: "The United States has commitments from the government of Israel to remove illegal outposts and to stop settlement expansion. But it isn't our policy to debate in a public forum the definition of compliance."

So where's Bush's statement? It doesn't sound like the US has changed anything in its policy to acknowledge the 'reality' of what Bush said. And, by the way, what is the definition of a "viable 'Palestinian' state"? And now, a dose of reality:

Cameron Brown, deputy director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, said that moving the outposts within the West Bank would be "roundly condemned by everyone outside of Israel."

"First of all, we often forget, no one thinks the settlement enterprise is legal," he added. "We are the only ones that hold that opinion. The Americans have said they are against anything that would predetermine a final-status negotiation and this would predetermine that."

He noted that by the summer, the political situation in Israel would look very different. The Labor Party is holding a primary in May in which a new leader could be chosen to replace Peretz. Olmert's hold on power could also be severely affected by the release of the second report by the Winograd Committee investigating his conduct during the Second Lebanon War, said Brown.

At the end of the day, he said, it was more likely that Olmert was going to go than the outposts.

And when that happens look for Otniel Schneller to come groveling to the Likud or even to the National Religious Party/National Union begging them to take him in and put him in a 'realistic' slot to remain an MK. Let's hope that neither of them accommodates him. Schneller has done enough damage already.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:21 AM