Israel may isolate Palestinians in own state By Judy Dempsey in Jerusalem
Top Israeli military and political officials are drawing up plans that threaten to lock the Palestinians into a small, disconnected state separate from Israel as a last resort if peace negotiations are not resumed.
Under the unilateral scheme, movement in the territory would be restricted and the economy suffocated, raising the possibility of a sustained violent confrontation with Israel.
Whether the two-pronged strategy in the West Bank, for withdrawal and annexation, is put into practice depends largely on the implementation of the ceasefire agreed this week at Sharm el-Sheikh aimed at ending the bloodshed.
It would be carried out, an intelligence official said, if Ehud Barak, Israeli prime minister, decided he could not reach a peace agreement with Yassir Arafat, Palestinian Authority president.
Some Israeli military officials admitted Mr Barak was threatening the Palestinians in his last-ditch attempt to resume peace talks, and the plan was attacked by Saeb Erekat, Palestinian chief negotiator, as the "gravest step Israel could take". "This is not a separation plan. It is a plan of suffocation and occupation. It will not be tolerated by us," he said.
The West Bank and Gaza Strip would be separated from Israel by severing economic relations and cutting off access to the electricity, water and telecommunications grids that Israel controls. Heavily fortified crossing points would also be built between the two states.
On the ground, 30 per cent of the 200,000 Jewish settlers would be uprooted from isolated settlements, while three large clusters of settlements would be annexed to Israel. The Jordan Valley, an Israeli buffer zone between the West Bank and Jordan, would also be annexed.
"It is an option we are keeping open if there is no chance of reaching an agreement," said Epraim Sneh, Israel's deputy defence minister, who is co-ordinating the plans. "If we do not succeed together with the Palestinians in a constructive way to shape the reality, we will try to change it in physical terms. The idea is to create physical separation."
An Israeli military official admitted the scheme could backfire and lead to violent unrest against Israel, as separation would mean restricting Palestinians' freedom of movement, ending chances for economic prosperity and denying them access to Jerusalem - the most sensitive issue in the 50-year conflict.
An Israeli official said Mr Arafat "will be in a very bad way" if Mr Barak went ahead with the plan. "Last July, at the Camp David talks, he was being offered about 90 per cent of the West Bank. With this plan, he will hardly get 60 per cent. Maybe that will make him resume peace talks."
Mr Barak, however, would need broad party support to implement unilateral separation. The settlers could mobilise, and liberals would oppose it. He could also expect strong international condemnation.