Leftist paper decries Netanyahu's 'out of step' peace plan

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By Stan Goodenough
November 17, 2008

Israel's stongly-left-leaning daily Ha'aretz voiced its alarm Sunday at the news that Likud leader and prime ministerial contender Benjamin Netanyahu proposed a path towards peace with the Palestinian Arabs that was not in line with the universally-supported two-state-solution.

The outcry came after Netanyahu said he believed peace would be best served by focusing on economic issues that would help meet the material needs of the Arabs rather than on giving away Israel's historic heartland.

"He takes a hard line against ceding war-won territory and opposes partitioning Jerusalem, key Palestinian demands, and thinks talks should focus on economic matters," complained the paper, after Netanyahu told Jewish American leaders Sunday that Israel needs to make peace "from the bottom up, rather than the top down, by improving the lives of Palestinians so that they have a stake in peace."

His positions appear to be "in sharp contrast to the will of the international community and the Palestinians," Ha'aretz grumbled, reminding "Bibi" (as Netanyahu is popularly known) that the Palestinian Arabs "have said they object to any more interim agreements with Israel."

Polls in Israel show that Netanyahu is most likely to be made prime minister in the general election set for February 10 next year.

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