Labor Chairwoman, Shelly Yechimovich is not a supporter of the settlements, but is in favor of settlement funds; Yechimovich is not a leftist, but she's in favor of dividing Jerusalem; She's in favor of budget cuts, but would not join the coalition if Lieberman is part of the government; confused? We are too.
In an interview on Ynet's morning broadcast, Yechimovich said she will support
handing east Jerusalem neighborhoods over to a future Palestinian state,
but stressed that the sizeable budget that sponsors the settlements in
the West Bank will remain untouched.
Yechimovich explained that while she is not a supporter of the settlements, funding must not stop as long as there's no peace agreement with the Palestinians. "You can't deal with the residents of settlements established legally and in accordance with government decisions as criminals," she said. "You can't erase human beings. The government is responsible for caring for the children there."
According to Yechimovich, Labor "is not a leftist party and never was. It was a centrist party. It strived for peace out of pragmatism and not out of some romantic dream of peace. It has always consisted of hawks and doves. Former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was hawkish in his stance."
Hence, with regard to the peace process, Yechimovich is far to the left of Ehud Olmert, and Ehud Barak, favoring the division of Jerusalem. "Most parties, even the Likud, are going in the direction of the 'Clinton Parameters' which center on the 1967 (borders) while maintaining the settlement blocs,"she stressed.
Yechimovich explained that while she is not a supporter of the settlements, funding must not stop as long as there's no peace agreement with the Palestinians. "You can't deal with the residents of settlements established legally and in accordance with government decisions as criminals," she said. "You can't erase human beings. The government is responsible for caring for the children there."
According to Yechimovich, Labor "is not a leftist party and never was. It was a centrist party. It strived for peace out of pragmatism and not out of some romantic dream of peace. It has always consisted of hawks and doves. Former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was hawkish in his stance."
Hence, with regard to the peace process, Yechimovich is far to the left of Ehud Olmert, and Ehud Barak, favoring the division of Jerusalem. "Most parties, even the Likud, are going in the direction of the 'Clinton Parameters' which center on the 1967 (borders) while maintaining the settlement blocs,"she stressed.
According to the Clinton Parameters, Israel would retain sovereignty over the Western Wall. The Palestinians would gain sovereignty and Israel would gain "symbolic ownership" over the rest of the Temple Mount, with both parties sharing sovereignty over the issue of excavations under the Temple Mount. East Jerusalem and its Old City
would be divided according to ethnic lines, with Israel retaining
sovereignty over Jewish settlements, and the Palestinians gaining
sovereignty over Arab neighborhoods
