Israel’s Labour offers peace plan

ISRAEL’S Labour Party is offering the Palestinians parts of Jerusalem and joint administration of disputed holy sites — the most explicit programme of compromise laid out before an election by a major Israeli party.

Labour officials yesterday confirmed the content of the programme, which formalises campaign promises made by party chief Amram Mitzna ahead of the January 28 elections.

As prime minister, Mr Mitzna would withdraw immediately from the Gaza Strip without preconditions and resume peace talks with the Palestinians, the programme says. If there is no agreement after a year, Israel will withdraw from considerable parts of the West Bank and draw its own “security border”.

Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat said Labour’s plans were a “step in the right direction”.

“I hope they will cut the long story short and start telling the Israeli people that the road to peace is to end the occupation and withdraw,” Mr Erekat said.

Labour continues to trail Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s hawkish Likud Party. However, polls published yesterday indicated that Likud was losing some ground because of a corruption scandal involving allegations of bribery in internal party elections. In two surveys, Likud lost 10% support in just a week.

The Palestinian Elections Commission, meanwhile, formally recommended to Yasser Arafat that the Palestinian leader postpone a vote set for January 20 until after Israeli troops withdraw from West Bank towns. Mr Arafat said his Cabinet would decide tomorrow.

In new violence yesterday, an Israeli rabbi was shot and killed in Gaza while driving with his wife and six children from a cluster of Jewish settlements. The radical Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility for the attack.

In Gaza, Israeli tanks entered the town of Deir al-Balah in the centre of the strip, surrounding the house of an activist in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a militia linked to Mr Arafat’s Fatah movement. Troops failed to capture the man.

Gun battles there left one Palestinian killed, Palestinians said.

The Israeli military said soldiers hit several armed Palestinians.

The new Labour platform was adopted after weeks of discussions among 150 party officials, including local leaders and legislators.

It was the first time Labour addressed in detail how it plans to end the conflict with the Palestinians, especially concerning the explosive issue of Jerusalem.