Mofaz details keeper settlements

Defense Minister, speaking at Oranit, doesn't mention Ofra-Beit El bloc.

By YAAKOV KATZ, HERB KEINON
mofaz gush etzion 298.88 (photo credit: Ministry of Defense)
mofaz gush etzion 298.88
(photo credit: Ministry of Defense)
Setting a vision for Israel's permanent borders, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has said that the government plans to retain the settlements of Karnei Shomron, Rehan, Kedumim and Shaked in addition to the Jordan Valley, Ariel, Ma'aleh Adumim and Gush Etzion settlement blocs, whether under a peace plan with the Palestinians or in a unilateral withdrawal. Mofaz was speaking during a meeting with the residents of the settlement of Oranit late Sunday night. The defense minister made no mention of the future of the Ofra-Beit El bloc, Hebron, or Itamar and Eilon Moreh. "When we talk about Israel's permanent or future borders it includes the Jordan Valley, Ma'aleh Adumim, Gush Etzion, Ariel, Kedumim-Karnei Shomron and Rehan-Shaked," Mofaz said.
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Mofaz's list went a little farther than a similar list Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert detailed three weeks ago. Olmert began to broadly draw the parameters of where he thought Israel's final border should run earlier in the month in a Channel 2 interview, saying that the Jordan Valley, Gush Etzion, Ma'aleh Adumim and Ariel settlement blocs would remain a part of the country. "We will separate from the majority of the Palestinian population that lives in Judea and Samaria, and it will obligate us to leave territories where Israel is today," Olmert said. "We will move into central settlement blocs." Security officials claimed that Mofaz's inclusion of Karnei Shomron as part of the settlements Israel planned to keep was not new and would not be affected by the construction of the West Bank barrier whose route has yet to be finalized and could potentially place the settlement on the Palestinian side of the fence. "Just because we are building the fence doesn't mean we can't take it down at a later date," one official close to Mofaz said. "The fence is a security apparatus and is not meant to set permanent borders." The inclusion of the Rehan and Shaked settlements near Jenin, officials said, was based on security concerns that a relinquishment of land up to the Green Line in that area could leave Israeli cities vulnerable to Palestinian attacks. "Rehan and Shaked are part of Mofaz's overall belief that Israel needs to maintain strong and defensible borders," a source close to the minister said. While Mofaz went into more details as to what settlement blocs he envisioned would remain in Israel's hands than Olmert did, a source close to the acting prime minister said there was no daylight between the two officials' positions on the matter. "I don't see a big difference," he said. But Olmert, like Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, refrained from defining those settlement blocs. When pressed to spell out details, he said there was no reason at this time to "understand where every point would run. We are going toward separation from the Palestinians, toward establishing a permanent border for Israel." Mofaz, according to the source close to Olmert, went a bit farther and mentioned a couple of different names. "Olmert did not give details, he spoke generally," the source said. "Mofaz mentioned more names. That is the only difference." The source said there was full coordination between Olmert and Mofaz on this issue. Mofaz's words did nothing to assuage Karnei Shomron resident Benny Raz who has been leading the charge in his community for voluntary evacuation under the belief that his settlement would eventually be slated for destruction. "It's bullshit," said Raz, who accused Mofaz of playing for votes. Initial assurances by Mofaz that his settlement would be inside the fence had also be proved false, said Raz. "I will only believe it when the Americans say it," said Raz. He said he would see a future in his settlement only when it is deemed part of Israel within the context of internationally recognized agreement. "I'm not stupid, until then my time here is suspect," he said. Others have told him to prepare for evacuations following the elections, said Raz, who is part of the One House movement that is seeking compensation for voluntary evacuations. Likud MK and former foreign minister Silvan Shalom also dismissed Mofaz's words as pre-election politics. "I don't think its the real position of his party," Shalom told The Jerusalem Post. Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.