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America in the Middle East

Reports swirl of US-pushed stealth effort to secure two-state agreement


By Stan Goodenough
September 01, 2008

Israeli officials Monday tried to dispel a rash of rumors that the Olmert government was poised to sign a surprise interim agreement with the PLO that would bind future Israeli leaders to the US-pushed "Two-state Solution."

The stories circulated widely as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas came together in Jerusalem for what reportedly could be their very last meeting.

Olmert will be replaced as leader of the Kadima Party in less than three weeks, and Abbas ends his term as chairman of the so-called Palestinian Authority next January.

For 48 hours or so leading up to the meeting, Israelis and concerned Christian friends of Israel were inundated with reports about a "secretly prepared" joint document that the two men would sign which would lock Olmert's successor into pursuing the unrelenting effort to turn substantial central sections of the Jews' historic homeland into an Arab state.

In a press release Friday headlined "Stop the Secret Agreement," the US-based Unity Coalition for Israel (UCI) warned that, while American Jews and Christians are all caught up in the increasingly intense election process for a new US President, "the map of Israel is being dramatically altered."

Basing its "action alert" on recent news reports, UCI referred to a WorldNetDaily story which asserted that negotiations between Israel and the PLO are continuing at a "crazy" pace; that agreement on dividing Jerusalem is "closer than ever" and that "US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is pushing for a nearly-complete agreement on a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria by January."

The Jerusalem Post Monday quoted an official spokesman in the Prime Minister's Office who "emphatically denied as 'erroneous' reports that Olmert was interested in pushing for an interim document with the Palestinians that would chart progress that had been made up until now and serve as a framework agreement for a two-state solution, to be presented to the UN General Assembly later this month."

But the uncertainty and rumors continue: Olmert's successor in Kadima is expected to be either Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni or transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz.

Mofaz said at the weekend he believes that Livni has- in collaboration with Rice who visited with her last week - made concessions on Jerusalem that will lead to the division of the capital.

Sunday Mofaz demanded that Livni reveal her plans to the Israeli people the majority of who, Mofaz maintains, opposes any such divvying up of their ancient holy city.

"I want to tell Tzipi that if she is negotiating the division of Jerusalem, she needs to admit it to the public," said Mofaz, in what some saw as a transparent election lobbying effort.

"The Kadima platform says that Jerusalem will remain Israel's undivided capital; if any minister in Kadima thinks differently, they must admit it."

Israel is the only nation that has owned Jerusalem as its capital city since King David conquered the city 3000 years ago.

The Palestinian Arabs - who have no national history, no historic homeland and no capital city - demand at least half of Jerusalem (they call it Al-Quds) as capital of the new homeland they have worked violently for half-a-century to be allowed to create in the Land of Israel.

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