Friday, June 26, 2009

Mofaz wants Kadima to join coalition in plan for sovereign Palestinian state with temporary borders

(Jpost).Kadima MK Shaul Mofaz, the party's No. 2 politician, will next week unveil a plan for temporary Palestinian statehood, urge the government to accept it and seek to bring Kadima into the coalition, Mofaz told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

Mofaz will reveal the plan in a press conference and then start selling it
to his party's institutions as well as the government. He said Thursday he
was confident it would be accepted by his party, the cabinet and the
international community.

"The government doesn't have its own plan yet, and American pressure will
require the government to have a plan that maintains our security
interests," Mofaz said. "Implementing the plan requires a national unity
government. If the government will accept my plan, I will convene Kadima's
institutions to talk about approving entering a government that would
implement it."

The plan calls for establishing a Palestinian state with temporary borders
within two years, and setting final borders three years later.

Mofaz would seek to reach an internationally brokered interim agreement by
the end of this year.

"I don't believe we should try to reach an agreement on all the outstanding
issues and only then start implementing it," Mofaz said. "That didn't work
in Oslo, Camp David or in Annapolis. I say, let's start working on a
Palestinian state with temporary borders now."

"She thinks we need to agree on everything before implementation," Mofaz
said. "I think that if we don't start implementing an interim agreement,
there will never be a final deal. I think most of Kadima would agree with my
plan and whoever doesn't would be dividing Kadima."

Mofaz reiterated that he did not see Livni as prime ministerial material and
that she had failed at everything she had done.

"She needs to get experience in key government positions," he said. "She had
two opportunities to form a government, and she failed. That's why she can't
be prime minister yet, and Kadima voters realize that now."