Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, building on a days-old truce in Gaza, appealed to the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table, saying Israel was prepared to work toward an independent Palestinian state if they would embrace the path of peace.
In a speech on Monday, Olmert dangled the prospect of major confidence-building measures, including the release of frozen funds the Palestinians desperately need, and freedom for some of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners Israel holds, significant because of the prisoners' iconic status in Palestinian society.
Olmert did not offer any new ideas about the thorniest issues separating the Palestinians -- borders, the status of disputed Jerusalem and the Palestinians' demand that refugees and their descendants be allowed to return to sovereign Israel.
But the timing of the speech was important, coming one day after the truce took hold.
"I hold out my hand in peace to our Palestinian neighbors in the hope that it won't be returned empty," Olmert said.
"We cannot change the past and we will not be able to bring back the victims on both sides of the borders," he said. "All that we can do today is stop additional tragedies."
Olmert urged the Palestinians to form a new, moderate Cabinet committed to carrying out a US-backed peace plan and securing the release of a captured Israeli soldier.
Then, Olmert said, he would call for an immediate meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, "to have a real, open, honest, serious dialogue between us."
Palestinian reaction to the overture was mixed.
Palestinian Legislator Saeb Erekat, a top Abbas aide, said the Palestinians were ready to negotiate a final peace deal.
"I believe Mr. Olmert knows he has a partner, and that is President Abbas," Erekat said. "He knows that to achieve peace and security for all, we need to shoot for the end game."
But the Palestinian Cabinet, led by Hamas militants who reject Israel's right to exist, accused the Israeli leader of posturing.
"This is a conspiracy. This is a new maneuver. Olmert is speaking about the Palestinian state without giving details about the borders," said Ghazi Hamad, a government spokesman.
Olmert's offer to revive long-stalled peace talks came a day after the two sides began observing a ceasefire in Gaza, raising hopes new peace efforts would follow. Palestinian militants violated the truce by firing rockets at Israel on the first two days after the cease-fire went into effect, but there were no reports of further violations yesterday.
With US President George Bush due to arrive in Jordan this week for talks with Iraqi leaders, there was heated speculation that either he or US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would try to capitalize on the momentum created by the cease-fire and Olmert's speech by meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
But neither the US mbassy nor Israeli and Palestinian officials could confirm such meetings.
Olmert's comments sealed a dramatic policy shift for a man who took power just six months ago.
He was elected in March promising to set Israel's final borders with the Palestinians by uprooting isolated communities dotted all over the West Bank while holding on to major settlement blocs. The expectation was that Israel would take this action unilaterally, given Hamas' violently anti-Israel ideology.
But a summer war with Lebanese guerrillas, which many Israelis blamed on their unilateral pullout from southern Lebanon six years ago, discredited the notion of one-side withdrawals among the Israeli public, and Olmert shelved that plan.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was