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Israel's "Realignment"

(Washington Post) Editorial - Though they paid lip service to continued Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in effect inaugurated an entirely different process at their White House meeting Tuesday - one in which Israel will parley with the U.S. about the new borders it intends to draw for itself. Despite his promise to pursue talks with Mahmoud Abbas, Olmert has made clear that he doesn't believe Israel will be able to work with the Palestinian Authority anytime soon. Olmert has now won Bush's de facto consent to pursue a unilateral "realignment," in which Israel would draw a border of its own choosing in the West Bank, dismantle some of the settlements that lie beyond it, and thereby "guarantee Israel's security as a Jewish state with the borders it desires." But as Olmert acknowledged, there is one crucial condition: Israel cannot successfully impose its plan on the Palestinians unless it has "the comprehensive support of the United States and the international community."
2006-05-26 00:00:00
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