Livnat plans to ask cabinet to freeze road map

Jerusalem Post ^ | Jun. 27, 2003 | GIL HOFFMAN

[yonif]

Education, Culture, and Sports Minister Limor Livnat intends to propose freezing implementation of US President George W. Bush's diplomatic road map until the Palestinian Authority begins fulfilling its commitments.

According to Livnat's proposal, which she intends to present at next week's cabinet meeting, Israel will not freeze settlement expansion, dismantle approved outposts, release Palestinian prisoners, or transfer funds to the PA until the Palestinians act to completely eradicate terrorism, violence, and incitement.

"Thirty Israelis have lost their lives since the Aqaba summit and yet incitement has not stopped, the Palestinians have done nothing to dismantle terrorist organizations, nor have they confiscated illegal weapons," Livnat wrote in her proposal. Livnat said the road map specifically states that progress toward implementing the plan would be dependent on the full compliance of both sides.

The plan says that even within stages, implementation must be a condition for progress, a point that was underlined for emphasis in the document signed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, PA Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, and Bush. According to these conditions in the road map, Israel should have stopped implementing the plan long ago, said Livnat, who wants to prevent a repeat of the Oslo diplomatic process, in which Israel continued to keep its commitments while the Palestinians continued terrorist attacks and incitement.

The cabinet meeting was delayed from Sunday to Wednesday, due to the visit of US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. Although Livnat said the proposal is not timed purposely for her visit, the prospect of a vote on freezing the road map could signal to Rice that Sharon is under pressure from an increasingly impatient Right. Livnat abstained on the road map when it was brought to the cabinet last month, because Sharon told ministers the vote would endorse Israel's 14 reservations to the plan. Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Internal Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi, and Health Minister Dan Naveh abstained for similar reasons.

National Union and National Religious Party ministers and Likud ministers Uzi Landau, Yisrael Katz, and Natan Sharansky voted against the road map, which passed by a single vote. Livnat intends to ask all the ministers who abstained or voted against the plan to support her proposal. She also hopes to obtain support from ministers who voted in favor of the road map, such as Immigrant Absorption Minister Tzipi Livni, Science Minister Eliezer Sandberg, and even her political foe, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. But ultimately, Sharon decides the agenda of each cabinet meeting, and he can easily table Livnat's proposal indefinitely. Sharon will have to decide whether to look at such a proposal as a political uprising on the Right or an opportunity to reinforce Israel's commitment to implement the road map, while insisting on it being a two-sided process.

Tourism Minister Benny Elon initially raised the idea of freezing the road map in the cabinet, but asked Livnat to lead the effort to increase its chances of success. Elon felt it important that the drive be led by a high-profile Likud minister, who in the future could be counted on to head opposition within the cabinet to far-reaching diplomatic proposals.

Elon hopes to build a cohesive group of ministers to support the interests of the Right in the cabinet. His aides said with the 11 ministers who abstained or voted against the road map, only one convert is needed to block any diplomatic initiative.

Minister-without-Portforlio Gideon Ezra (Likud) expressed skepticism over Livnat's proposal, saying Israel already stopped releasing prisoners and freezing settlement building. He said Israel must continue dismantling outposts and transferring funds to the PA.

Ezra said he doubts Sharon would let the proposal reach the cabinet, but Elon expressed optimism. "There is no doubt that the road map will be road kill," Elon said. "Sharon just wants to make sure he is not seen by the world as the one who killed it. It has to be clear to everyone that the Palestinians are the killers."

[yonif]

"Thirty Israelis have lost their lives since the Aqaba summit and yet incitement has not stopped, the Palestinians have done nothing to dismantle terrorist organizations, nor have they confiscated illegal weapons," Livnat wrote in her proposal.

[thoughtomator]

"There is no doubt that the road map will be road kill," Elon said

Just want to give myself a pat on the back for popularizing this phrase =) I shoulda copyrighted it!

[lilylangtree]

Freeze the road map? Israel should throw the road map into the islamic countries face, and throw them the "bird".