Posted on 11/20/2002 7:41:12 AM PST by 1bigdictator
Israel's new Labour leader a dove
Former general would pull Israel out of Gaza Strip, most of territories if he becomes PM
By PAUL ADAMS
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Wednesday, November 20, 2002 – Page A11
TEL AVIV -- Dovish former army general Amram Mitzna, who has vowed to pull Israel out of the Palestinian territories if he becomes prime minister, won a decisive victory yesterday in the race to lead Israel's Labour Party.
Mr. Mitzna easily beat his closest rival, incumbent Binyamin Ben-Eliezer. An unofficial count put Mr. Mitzna at 54 per cent and Mr. Ben-Eliezer at 37 per cent.
The victor adopted a sombre tone in his initial reaction to the results.
"This isn't a victory, but rather, I have been elected by a majority of members of the Labour Party to lead the Labour Party at such a difficult hour for Israeli society, and this what I shall do," he told supporters at his election headquarters.
Mr. Mitzna said during the campaign that if he becomes prime minister after January's general election, he will reverse the hard-line military policies pursued by the coalition government headed by Ariel Sharon. Mr. Mitzna's plan is to withdraw troops from the Gaza Strip immediately, and from most of the Palestinian territories within a year.
"There's no reason in the world for us to be in the Gaza Strip," he said during yesterday's polling. "We will put our forces around Gaza, around the fence, protecting Israel."
The keystone of the new leader's platform is for Israel to withdraw unilaterally from most of the Palestinian territories if it cannot swiftly conclude a peace agreement. To that end, Mr. Mitzna has said he is prepared to evacuate isolated Jewish settlements and erect a security wall along a border of Israel's choosing.
The choice of Mr. Mitzna marks a departure from Israel's pattern over the past 20 months. Until a few weeks ago, Mr. Ben-Eliezer served as defence minister in Mr. Sharon's coalition, and was closely identified with the government's policies. Mr. Mitzna will present Israelis with a sharp alternative.
"I would say for the Labour Party, it is actually a revolution," said Akiva Eldar, a political columnist for the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper. "It is a non-confidence vote in the old guard, in those people who were part of the 'unity government.' "
Mr. Mitzna's ideas will be a harder sell with the national electorate, which has shifted to the right over the past two years. At the moment, Labour badly trails Mr. Sharon's Likud Party, and the Prime Minister is favoured to win his own leadership battle next week against long-time party rival Benjamin Netanyahu, the new Foreign Minister.
Mr. Mitzna, who has been mayor of the northern city of Haifa for 10 years, will be further challenged by the fact that he is a newcomer to national politics and to the Labour Party. His first challenge will be to heal Labour's internal wounds.
Some commentators have predicted tensions between Mr. Mitzna, whose appeal was disproportionately among Jews of European origin, and the supporters of the Iraqi-born Mr. Ben-Eliezer, who has deep roots among Middle Eastern Jews.
"That's simply nonsense," Mr. Mitzna said last night. He pledged to unite the party, "as one big beehive, a joint staff, in order to lead the Labour Party in the most important of all confrontations, with the Likud."
In conceding defeat, Mr. Ben-Eliezer congratulated his successor and promised his support. However, he also alluded to ethnic differences and made it clear that he intends to remain a power, and perhaps one day a candidate for the leadership again.
Mr. Mitzna is a soft-spoken, diffident man who rose to the rank of major-general during a 30-year army career. He grew his trademark beard just prior to Israel's 1967 war, swearing not to shave it until there was peace with the region's Arabs.
Mainstream Palestinian leaders cautiously welcomed his election yesterday.
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