MIDDLE EAST: An unofficial peace agreement forged by opposition Israeli politicians and Palestinian political leaders which was revealed over the weekend was attacked yesterday by cabinet ministers as an irresponsible initiative that undermined an elected government and played into the hands of the Palestinians. Peter Hirschberg reports from Jerusalem
Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon is said to have labelled the 50-page document "the greatest historical mistake since Oslo". Deputy Prime Minister Mr Ehud Olmert accused the Israeli group, spearheaded by Oslo architect Mr Yossi Beilin and other former left-wing ministers, of harming government policy and of providing the Palestinians "with a mechanism to put pressure on us". The agreement, which sees Israel giving up almost the entire West Bank, all of Gaza and foregoing sovereignty over Judaism's holiest site - the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem - is hardly about to be adopted by Mr Sharon's right-wing government.
It was also dismissed yesterday by former Labour Party prime minister Mr Ehud Barak as "delusional." Current Labour leader Mr Shimon Peres said he was reserving judgement until he had read the full text.
But the harsh attacks seem to be born of a fear that in the absence of any diplomatic initiative, a new plan, even if non-binding and formulated by opposition figures, could erode the government's contention that there is no credible partner on the Palestinian side, as well as its insistence there cannot be progress until the Palestinian Authority moves against militants.
The document, which has been called the Geneva Accord - the two-year project was financed by the Swiss government and a signing ceremony is scheduled for Geneva in the coming weeks - requires that the Palestinians in practice forego the right of return, with only a very limited number of refugees allowed to settle in Israel. Several settlement blocs would come under Israeli sovereignty and the Palestinians would be compensated with land in Israel. The Palestinians would recognise Israel as a Jewish state.
Mr Olmert insisted that when the two sides did ultimately return to the negotiating table, the Palestinians would relate to the document as "the starting point for negotiations and not the end point". "Maybe the government fears our initiative will force it to come forth with a diplomatic alternative," says Prof Menachem Klein, who was part of the Israeli team that drafted the document. "The Israeli people are tired of the bloodshed and of a government that is trying to destroy every political option." The group, which included former Palestinian information minister Mr Yasser Abed Rabbo, plans to mail the draft to millions of Israeli and Palestinian homes in the coming weeks.
In the southern Gaza refugee camp of Rafah, militants yesterday vowed revenge after a two-day operation by the Israeli army to destroy tunnels used to smuggle weapons from Egypt into the Strip. The UN agency that deals with refugees said 1,240 Palestinians had been made homeless during the raid.