The head of Israel's opposition Labor Party yesterday laid out a series of tough demands for joining the government, suggesting that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon could face an uphill battle in shoring up his fractured coalition.
Opposition leader Shimon Peres said in an interview that Sharon must agree to a far-reaching Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and commit to negotiating with the Palestinians about the Gaza withdrawal.
Sharon has resisted similar ideas in the past, but may need Labor to shore up his fractured government. He has been widely expected to court Labor since two hardline ministers resigned two weeks ago to protest the Gaza pullout plan.
The defections left the government with 59 seats in the 120-member parliament, threatening its ability to survive.
Labor, which holds 21 seats, has provided a "safety net" to Sharon, blocking no-confidence motions to bring down the government.
Neither Labor nor Sharon's Likud Party have publicly committed themselves to a national unity government, and some lawmakers in both parties have expressed opposition to an alliance.
In an interview, Peres laid down a series of strict conditions. He said Sharon must accept a wide ranging withdrawal from the West Bank, which Israel conquered in the 1967 Middle East War.
"My vision ... is for a return to the 1967 borders with minor adjustments for security and Jewish settlements," Peres said. He did not elaborate.
Sharon's plan calls for a withdrawal from only four isolated enclaves in the West Bank.
Sharon has not revealed how much West Bank land he might be willing to forgo in the future. But he has said that in exchange for the Gaza pullback, he wants to keep and expand several large settlement blocs in the West Bank -- a demand that has won tacit support from US President George W. Bush.
Some 230,000 Israeli settlers live amid more than 2 million Palestinians in the Rhode Island-sized area. Palestinians demand a full withdrawal from all of Gaza and the West Bank.
Peres also said Sharon must change the nature of his Gaza withdrawal plan by negotiating directly with Palestinian officials.
"We can and should talk to Abu Ala," he said, referring to Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia.
Sharon envisions a pullout coordinated with Egypt, which borders Gaza, and the US, but without input from the Palestinian leadership. After nearly four years of fighting, he says the Palestinians are not serious negotiating partners.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior government official said it was too early to respond to Peres' conditions for Labor-Likud unity.
"There have been no negotiations, no invitations," the official said. "When an invitation comes I'm sure there will be negotiations on conditions for cooperation."
In other developments, several hundred Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli soldiers and border police yesterday in the West Bank village of Azawiyah. Residents have held a series of demonstrations in recent days against construction of a separation barrier that Israel is building in the West Bank.
Palestinians say Israel plans on confiscating thousands of hectares of land in the area to build the structure, which Israel says is needed to protect against suicide bombings. Palestinians criticize the barrier as a land grab.
In yesterday's violence, an elderly Palestinian man approached the troops and was thrown to the ground, witnesses said. Troops used tear gas and clubs to disperse the crowd, but no serious injuries were reported.
The army said the soldiers had fired tear gas after the crowd started to throw stones.
Also yesterday, Palestinian laborers crossed into Israel from the Gaza Strip for the first time since Israel barred workers from entering the country after the killing of Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin three months ago.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
RSS