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World Jewish News
Rightists to Peres: Not your place to call for Palestinian state
11.06.2009
Two right-wing parties on Thursday demanded that President Shimon Peres immediately desist from "interfering" in controversial political matters, shortly after he called for a Palestinian state with provisional borders.
"The president of the state lacks any authority in political matters, in particular diplomatic and political subjects that are steeped in controversy," wrote MK Zevulun Orlev, chairman of Habayit Hayehudi, which is in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, in a letter to Peres.
Peres made the comments during a meeting with the European Union's chief foreign policy official, Javier Solana, with whom he discussed the latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
The National Union, which is in the opposition, said such meetings are political in nature and that by attending them, the president was deviating from his official role.
In a separate letter to the president, the party wrote that he was holding the meetings in an attempt to boost international pressure on Israel to accept the establishment of a Palestinian state. Such a move was not included in the government's fundamental guidelines, the party said, and is in opposition to the majority of its members' policies.
"If meetings of this kind are planned for the near future, we would be grateful to you, for your own honor and for the honor of the presidency, if you would cancel these meetings and explain the limitations of this stately post to those with whom you planned to meet," the National Union said.
During the session with Solana, Peres said that Israel and the Palestinians should agree on the declaration of a Palestinian state with provisional borders, "subject to a clear promise that the border will in a short span of time become permanent borders."
"The road map presents us with a clear outline and the second stage must be implemented," Peres told Solana, referring to the 2003 U.S.-backed peace plan.
The road map is a U.S.-proposed multi-stage diplomatic plan that was approved by both the Israeli government under former prime minister Ariel Sharon and the Palestinian Authority.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to announce his support for the road map in a major policy speech at Bar-Ilan University on Sunday.
But the premier is not expected to commit to a full freeze on construction in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The Obama administration is pressuring Jerusalem to declare such a freeze, though Netanyahu has thus far balked due to fears it would endanger his ruling coalition.
Peres told Solana that the Israeli government has pledged not to build new settlements and that it has promised to dismantle illegal outposts. The issue of settlement construction to accommodate "natural growth" is an issue that should be negotiated between Israel and the U.S., said the president.
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service
Источник: Haaretz
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