(Ha'aretz) Akiva Eldar - Thursday, October 5, 1995, was one of the stormiest days ever experienced in the plenum of the Knesset. The hysteria which culminated in the Rabin assassination pushed to the sidelines the contents of his most important speech on the Arab-Israeli peace process. It was the last one he ever delivered in the Knesset. Some say it was the speech of his life [see "Rabin's Legacy," above]. Eitan Haber, who was the director of Rabin's bureau and his speechwriter, can recall only one occasion when Rabin referred to the map of the final-status agreement between the Palestinians and Israel. Rabin said on that occasion that the Palestinians would receive 50% - at the most, 60 to 70% - of the West Bank. Haber is absolutely convinced that Rabin was not prepared to hear of territorial concessions on a scale of 94 to 96% of the West Bank, as was proposed in the Clinton parameters, which Prime Minister Ehud Barak presented to the Israeli cabinet for approval in late 2000.
2005-11-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive