Mohammed Mar'i Saudi Gazette RAMALLAH – Israel's defense minister called for a unilateral pullout from much of the West Bank in published comments Monday, saying Israel must take “practical steps” if peace efforts with the Palestinians remain stalled. Barak said in an interview with the Hebrew daily Yisrael Hayom that tens of thousands of Jewish settlers outside of population centers in West Bank could leave or remain under a Palestinian Authority (PA) government. Barak's proposal includes compensation for the settler families. Israel carried out a unilateral withdrawal from Palestinian territories in the summer of 2005. The government of former prime minister Ariel Sharon evacuated more than 9,000 settlers from coastal enclave as well as four settlements in northern West Bank. Barak argued that 90 percent of the Jewish settlers would remain outside the PA. He said that settlers in the major settlement blocs – Ariel to the southwest of Nablus, Ma'aleh Adumim to the east of Jerusalem and Gush Etzion to the north of Bethlehem – would remain outside the PA. The Israeli minister did not state if Israel would officially annex the major settlement blocs nor did he discuss the likelihood of PA not accepting the borders he proposed. He called Abbas a “real partner” for peace. Barak said in the interview that his plan includes an Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley and on strategic hilltops in West Bank near such places as Ben Gurion Airport. The hills offer an extraordinary view of the airport and central Israel as well as being an easy launching pad for rockets, he explained. “I do not know if this will succeed. I have no illusions. I do not think that just by wanting (peace) there would be peace. I think the government is right; the responsibility is on the Palestinian Authority,” he said. According to Barak, the unilateral withdrawal “will help us not only with the Palestinian Authority but also with countries in the region, and with Europe and the American government, as well as for us.” Ofir Akunis, chairman of the ruling Likud party, said in response to Barak's proposal that “it will never happen.” “We already learned from the unfortunate disengagement that unilateral measures increase terror and bring a rain of rockets on Israeli civilians. The idea is completely opposite to the stance of the Likud and the government, to which Barak is fundamentally committed,” Akunis said. The development comes days before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech before the General Assembly on Sept. 27 in which he would seek the recognition of a Palestinian state as a nonmember of the UN. In a message to Palestinians posted on his Facebook account, Abbas said he was determined to pursue the statehood bid despite pressure from the US and other countries. Abbas revealed in a recent meeting with leftist Israeli politicians that Israel and the Palestinians came closer than had previously been thought to reaching an agreement in 2008 when Ehud Olmert was Israel's prime minister. Abbas said that he and Olmert had finalized an agreement on security issues which was approved by the former US president George Bush administration, Olmert himself, and former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. He said the document remains in the possession of the US National Security Council. On borders, Abbas said that he had a difference of opinion with Olmert about whether a proposed land swap would comprise 6.5 percent of the West Bank territory as Olmert wanted, or 1.9 percent which he had offered.
