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.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
RSS