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| By Israel Insider staff June 23, 2007 |
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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has drafted a proposal to support the new Palestinian Authority emergency government, headed by newly appointed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, which includes formal recognition, as well the release of hundreds of millions of dollars in funds. The cabinet will vote on the proposal at its weekly meeting, Sunday, and the resolution is expected to pass, despite objections from the government's right-wing flank.
According to the proposal, "given the developments on the Palestinian side, the disbanding of the unity government and the creation of an emergency government, Israel will continue to work with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and return to work with the Palestinian government, with its recognition based on Quartet preconditions (recognition of Israel, renunciation of violence and acknowledgement of previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians)."
Despite the hopeful phrasing however, the new government of Abbas has neither affirmed those preconditions nor discounted reconciliation with the Hamas-led government, which enjoyed overwhelming democratic support in the last Palestinian election.
"In this context," Olmert's proposal goes on, "Israel will renew the transfer of tax revenues -- in accordance to agreements between Israel and the PLO, which are currently held in Israel. The dates and method will be coordinated with the emergency government."
"Likewise, Israel will continue to give all the humanitarian assistance it can to the Palestinian population in Gaza. Concurrently, in line with previous government decisions from February 19 and April 11, 2006, it will not have contact with Hamas sources."
It is unclear what the phrase "all the humanitarian assistance it can" means in this context, or how such aid could be dispense when all border crossings are shot down. Israel's leading newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, topped its Friday edition with a banner headline that the Israeli Air Force intends to airlift food to Hamas-held Gaza.
Olmert's proposal would transfer $400 million of taxes collected in Israel, currently frozen in Israel, to dispense to the Palestinian Authority. The prime minister said he would make sure the funds would go only to the Fatah government on not to terror organizations or other groups hostile to Israel. He did not say exactly how he planned to do this.
The proposal vaguely speaks of the need for the Israeli government to "use a fitting policy to deal with the emergency government and apply previous government decisions to the new reality. "The purpose of previous government decisions (in early 2006) was to prevent contact with the Hamas government. In order not to strengthen the organization, it was decided to withhold Palestinian tax revenues from Hamas. Today, there is room for a change in this policy."
Israel is expected to release withheld tax funds to the Palestinian Authority just in time for a four-way Middle East summit in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday. It is clear that the order to release the funds came from Washington, which is trying to put the best face on Abbas' debacle in Gaza and to salvage whatever it can from the rout of Fatah forces there.
Senior sources in the Olmert government earlier in the week indicated that the Israeli authorities would be favorably inclined to authorize the release of dozens of Fatah prisoners held by Israel, even without any quid pro quo for Israel or even mention of freeing kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The prisoners to be released would reportedly not have "blood on their hands" (be convicted murderers), including Marwan Barghouti, held on five counts of murder, despite the call by Israeli Minister Gideon Ezra to release him.
The Abbas government, at least on paper, has less than 30 days to call for new elections -- a problem considering how badly his party lost in the last one. But it seems that the Israeli and western governments are not going to hold Abbas to a very high standard when it comes to adhering to democratic principles.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (Kadima) and Defense Minister Ehud Barak (Labor) support the proposal, which is expected to pass during Sunday's meeting. Vice Premier Eli Yishai, of the religious Shas movement, was also OK with the deal. "Considering that the transfer of funds is meant to strengthen Abbas and not a government with Hamas elements, we will support the Prime Minister's proposal."
However, other cabinet members consider the move to be pure folly. "It's already been proven that the transfer of funds and weapons to Fatah is used to aid terror, not fight it. Even if we give Abbas F-16s, he has no chance to succeed," Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu). said.
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