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Peace prospects uncertain as Israel looks to new election
Palestinians want no interim agreement before vote
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The coming tide of new elections in Israel set off a wave of speculation on Wednesday, as opposition politicians planned for a new prime minister and the incumbent, Ehud Barak , vowed to forge ahead with his efforts to find peace with the Palestinians. By telling the legislators on Tuesday he was ready for an early vote, Barak pre-empted the movement by the Knesset -- Israel's parliament -- to dissolve his government, which lost popularity as the peace process collapsed and the Palestinian conflict re-ignited.
"You want elections," the prime minister said, "I'm prepared for elections." Members of the main opposition party, Likud, pushed ahead with the plans, overwhelmingly passing a bill calling for new elections on its first reading. The bill must be read and passed two more times before it becomes law. Netanyahu, Sharon or someone else?Likud promised to retake the government when the elections take place -- possibly as early as March -- although it was not clear who would be the Israeli hard-liners' candidate. Some opposition leaders touted former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who lost in a landslide to Barak two years ago, as the right man to challenge the incumbent. But Likud chairman Ariel Sharon said he would be the man to carry Likud's banner. "I know that to reach peace when all of us are committed to peace, we must have as wide a consensus as possible and unity," Sharon said. "I'm afraid that Prime Minister Barak didn't understand that and he failed." Ehud Olmert, the Likud mayor of Jerusalem, told CNN that no matter who the opposition candidate was, the Palestinians had wasted their chance for peace with Barak. "Barak ... was the most forthcoming, most generous prime minister ever to deal with the Palestinians," he said. "He offered more compromises, more concessions than anyone ever did to them, and in spite of opportunity, they started shooting and violence." "They will have to deal with a Likud government from May," he added. "We will take over, there is no doubt about it, and this will be a reality." Barak's One Israel coalition could see a different leader as well. Parliament speaker Avraham Burg was considering challenging for the party's leadership. Palestinians want 'new attitude'The Palestinians, meanwhile, called for a new attitude on the part of whoever leads the Jewish state. "What we need in Israel is not a new face -- whether it is Barak, Sharon, or Netanyahu," said Hasan Abdel Rahman, the Palestinian representative to the United States. "What we need in Israel is a new attitude towards the Palestinian people. A new policy." The Palestinians criticized Barak, accusing him of perpetuating the violence that has jolted the region for more than two months, leaving nearly 300 people -- most of them Palestinians or Israeli Arabs -- dead. But Israeli hard-liners say Barak has been too lenient on Palestinian violence. Barak and his allies, however, pledged to continue their efforts at forging a peace accord with the Palestinians. "The adrenaline is flowing and he's totally focused in convincing Israeli public opinion of his just causes, in his agenda, in his achievements," Israeli government secretary Isaac Herzog said. "Barak touched the innermost elements for peace in order to bring peace to the people of Israel." The Palestinians were not interested in an interim agreement, however, pending the results of the elections. Rahman said Palestinians would refuse such an interim agreement because it would only perpetuate the conflict. "We are planning to end this conflict once and for all, but the agreement should be an agreement that our future generations of Palestinians and Israelis can live with," he said. U.N. tries to clear path to peaceJerusalem, an ancient city sacred to three religions, is the main sticking point in the continuing talks, along with other issues such as water rights and the continued existence of Jewish settlements inside the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinians want a portion of the city set aside as their capital, while the Israelis insist that the city remain forever undivided and under their control. The Camp David accords last summer crumbled when Barak and Arafat attempted to bridge the divide on that issue. U.N. Mideast envoy Terje Larsen told CNN that the process was heading quickly down a path toward either breakthrough or breakdown. "We have just seen the most spectacular and horrid breakdown of the (1993) Oslo peace process," he said. "Now that there is comparative calm ... I think there is new opportunity to achieve historic breakthrough. ... I think both leaders are ready to move forward. We just have to produce the right atmosphere to get the parties back to the table." RELATED STORIES: Israeli-Palestinian peace process expected to dominate election campaign RELATED SITES: Knesset, The Israeli Parliament | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hasan Abdel Rahman, Palestinian representative to the U.S., describes what he thinks are steps Israelis must take toward peace
