Before presenting to the Israeli public his ‘convergence initiative’ to pull out of most West Bank territory, Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert briefed the Americans last week on the main thrust of the plan.
Olmert formal unveiled the plan in interviews to Israeli media at the end of last week.
According to government sources, Olmert wanted to avoid surprising the Americans with his statements on the future of the political process. The Americans understood the message and refrained from public comment.
Senior Kadima candidate MK Haim Ramon said Sunday that Washington would ultimately come to support Olmert?s plan as the only means of dealing with a coming Palestinian Authority government led by Hamas.
‘At first, the disengagement plan was most unacceptable to the United States,’ Ramon said. Only after Israeli officials ‘presented the matter, the United States became an enthusiastic supporter of the disengagement,’ he told Army Radio.
In interviews this weekend, Olmert said he intended to set new borders for Israel by 2010. The new lines, he said, would include large settlement blocs - Ariel, Ma'aleh Adumim and Gush Etzion - and the Old City and adjacent neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.
The border would be marked by the separation fence, which would be moved at certain points, and Israel would maintain security control over the Jordan Valley. The settlements outside the fence would be evacuated. The settlement blocs would be strengthened, and Israel would build up the disputed E-1 zone between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim.
Olmert said Israel would first wait for the new Hamas-led Palestinian government to accept the ‘threshold conditions’ of renouncing ‘terror’, disarmament, recognizing Israel and accepting previous agreements. However, if the Palestinians maintain their rejection, Israel would set the border, after reaching an internal consensus and obtaining international backing.
Olmert has been airing these ideas for two and a half years. The latest version, which was presented to the Americans and the public, was formulated with the prime minister's advisor Dov Weissglas, who played a pivotal role in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan. Weissglas told senior American officials about the option of a pullout from areas deep within of the West Bank, and it has been debated extensively in the media.
However, this is the first time that Olmert has given it official backing. His decision to dispense with the ‘ambiguity’ enveloping Kadima's campaign and present a detailed plan for the political process reflects a deviation from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's line. Sharon always avoided clear-cut positions in order to maintain his freedom of action.
Senior Kadima sources said Olmert wished to persuade voters fluctuating between Kadima and Labor. The party's polls show that Kadima is weaker on its left flank, opposite Labor, while Likud deserters tend to remain in Kadima. The sources assumed Olmert would veer to the right this week after the appeal to the left this past weekend. The move to brief the Americans is compatible with Olmert's basic approach to secure international support. That is also the basis of his policy toward Iran.
‘Israel is part of an international alliance against Iran,’ Olmert said last Thursday, ‘and it will not act alone.
‘In the end, we want the international community to prevent the Iranians from developing non-conventional capabilities,’ he said.
These statements were made before former chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon spoke in Washington about Israel's ability to take military action against Iran.