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Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Wednesday. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners March 9, 2006 |
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| A rainbow is seen over the growing "Jerusalem satellite city" of Maaleh Adumim, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, in this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2005. (AP File Photo) |
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Acting PM Ehud Olmert expects to draw Israel's permanent borders by 2010 and to begin construction in the controversial section between Maaleh Adumim and Jerusalem, he said in interviews published Thursday.
Olmert, whose Kadima Party is the clear frontrunner ahead of March 28 elections, told The Jerusalem Post daily that within four years, he intends to "get to Israel's permanent borders, whereby we will completely separate from the majority of the Palestinian population and preserve a large and stable Jewish majority in Israel."
Olmert adviser Avi Dichter had disclosed that time frame earlier this week, but this was the first time Olmert had publicly stated it.
Olmert said Israel would act unilaterally to set its borders if Hamas militants - poised to take control of the Palestinian Authority - didn't renounce their violent campaign against Israel and accept the guidelines of an internationally backed peace plan within a "reasonable time." Should Hamas resist, he said, "we will need to begin to act."
Olmert said his broad guidelines for Israel's borders included incorporating the "Jerusalem satellite city" of Maaleh Adumim, Gush Etzion and Ariel. Residents of isolated settlements could be moved into the major blocs, he told the Haaretz daily.
Jerusalem and its environs would also fall within the permanent borders, as would the Jordan Valley on the frontier with Jordan, which Olmert characterized as a "security border."
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat urged Olmert to return to the negotiating table.
"Unilateralism and dictation will only add to the complexities and will not solve problems," Erekat said.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has stated his interest in resuming long-stalled negotiations. But Olmert told The Jerusalem Post he had no intention of meeting Abbas after Israel's elections because he sees him as part and parcel of a Palestinian Authority dominated by Hamas.
The militant group is in the process of forming a Cabinet it expects to install within weeks. On Thursday, a spokesman in Gaza, Mushir al-Masri, said Hamas would take over the key ministries - finance, foreign affairs and the interior, which oversees some security forces.
Olmert also said in the interviews that Israel would build controversial housing on land between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim as part of its border-setting.
Palestinians object to the planned construction of 3,650 housing units because it would cut off Jerusalem from Judea and Samaria, and not allow them to set up a capital there. Last year, Israel froze the plan under pressure from Washington, which sees it as an obstacle to peacemaking.
"It is inconceivable that that we should speak of Maaleh Adumim as a part of the state of Israel, while leaving it as an island or an isolated enclave," Olmert told Haaretz.
"It's entirely clear that the (territorial) continuity between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim will be a built-up continuity," he added. "This is clear both to the Palestinians and the Americans."
A U.S. Embassy spokesman had no comment on Olmert's remarks.
Erekat said construction "absolutely undermines any prospects for a future peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis."
Olmert's declaration to reactivate the project could help him to rebuff attacks from his main political rival, Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, as elections draw near. Netanyahu has repeatedly said the construction freeze raises doubts about the government's resolve to strengthen Jerusalem and major settlement blocs.
New polls, meanwhile, showed continued erosion of Kadima's lead in the runup to elections, though the party still has roughly double the support of its nearest rival, the dovish Labor, with 37 to 38 seats. Kadima has lost ground over corruption allegations, including one against Olmert that has been discredited.
Also Thursday, Israel reopened the vital Karni cargo crossing between Gaza and Israel, after a two-week closure. Karni is critical for the Palestinian economy because it is the only conduit for Palestinian exports, and the main gateway for goods entering Gaza. Its closure caused hardships for ordinary Palestinians, who reported food shortages, as well as for farmers and merchants.
Israel said it shut the passage - after having closed it for three weeks beginning in mid-January - because it had warnings of terrorist attacks by Palestinian militants there.
AP contributed to this report.
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