Middle East: If Israel wants to continue to exist as a Jewish and democratic state then it has to give up isolated settlements in the West Bank, Ehud Olmert told parliament yesterday as he presented his new ruling coalition for ratification.
But, the incoming prime minister added, at the same time his government would maintain control of large settlement blocs "forever".
"The continuation of the scattered settlements throughout the West Bank creates an inseparable mix of populations that will threaten the existence of the state of Israel as a Jewish state," Mr Olmert said, but added that the "Jewish settlement movement and its main blocs will be forever an inseparable part of the state of Israel."
Mr Olmert's plan would likely require the relocation of some 60,000 Jewish settlers.
He said he would prefer negotiations with the Palestinians over another unilateral withdrawal - like that carried out by Ariel Sharon last year in Gaza - but he restated his refusal to deal with a Hamas-led Palestinian government unless the militant Islamic group recognised Israel's right to exist, decried violence and recognised past peace accords. "A Palestinian government led by terrorist groups will not be a negotiating partner and there will be no real or daily connection with it," he said.
The incoming prime minister said his government would "give the Palestinian Authority the opportunity to show that it realises it has made a mistake and it is willing to change At the same time we will not wait for long."
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called on Mr Olmert yesterday to resume bilateral negotiations. "You have a serious partner. We are a partner for negotiations," Mr Abbas told the Israeli daily Maariv. Mr Abbas, who heads the more moderate Fatah party, said he would hold a referendum among his people on any agreement reached with Israel - a move that would essentially be aimed at circumventing the Hamas-led parliament.
Mr Olmert's new coalition, which was ratified last night, has 67 seats in the 120-seat parliament and includes his own centrist Kadima party (29 seats), the centre-left Labor Party (19 seats), the Pensioners' Party (7) and the ultra-religious Shas (12).
When it comes to implementing his West Bank withdrawal plan, Mr Olmert's greatest problem is likely to be Shas, which strongly opposed the Gaza withdrawal and said it will not support future unilateral moves.
Like Mr Sharon, who is still in a deep coma in a Jerusalem hospital, Mr Olmert will likely have to cobble together a different coalition when the vote on a future pullout is brought to the government. Sources close to the incoming prime minister were quoted yesterday saying that he does not plan to start carrying out any unilateral moves until 2008.
If Mr Olmert does ultimately go the unilateral route, he will - like Mr Sharon - need international backing, especially that of the US. While the Americans are unlikely to oppose a unilateral Israeli withdrawal in the West Bank - sources close to Mr Olmert have said his plan calls for a pullout from some 90 per cent of the territory - they are just as unlikely to recognise any border determined unilaterally by Israel as the official border between Israel and the Palestinians.
Final borders, they are likely to tell Mr Olmert when he visits Washington later this month, ultimately have to be the product of direct negotiation.