BICOM

Defence Minister Ehud Barak revealed details of his proposed plan for a permanent status accord with the Palestinians yesterday. Barak was speaking at a reception for combat soldiers at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv. The plan did not include any radically surprising elements. Rather, Barak said that it was a summation of Israeli positions held since 2000. These include the establishment of a permanent border between Israel and a Palestinian state that would allow settlement blocs and new neighbourhoods in Jerusalem to remain under Israeli sovereignty, a permanent Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley and the re-settlement of Palestinian refugees and their descendants in a new Palestinian state. Barak also particularly stressed that such an accord would by agreement constitute the end of the conflict and all further demands, and recognition that Israel constitutes the nation state of the Jewish People, while the Palestinian state would constitute the nation state of the Palestinians.

There is no indication that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to endorse any of these positions. Netanyahu is expected to make a speech to the US Congress on 24 May. Prior to the announcement of the Palestinian unity government, it was expected the speech would include proposals to restart the peace process. However, since the announcement of a unity government between Fatah and Hamas, Netanyahu has made clear there can be no negotiations with a government that includes Hamas. As a result, the expectation of a major diplomatic initiative from Netanyahu has receded.