Olmert deputy urges talks on future of Jerusalem
By Adam Entous
JERUSALEM, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's deputy said on Monday that Israel should be prepared to enter future negotiations with the Palestinians over dividing Jerusalem and ceding authority over some of its holiest sites.
Vice Premier Haim Ramon made the comments as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators opened talks at a secret location in Israel over a joint document they hope to present at a U.S.-sponsored conference on Palestinian statehood.
"Wouldn't it be the right deal today for the Palestinians, the Western world and the international community to recognise (Israel's) annexation of ... (Jewish) neighbourhoods as part of Jerusalem, and for us to quit the Arab neighbourhoods," Ramon told Israel Radio.
He said talk of ceding control over holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City, which he referred to as the "holy basin", were premature for now.
But Ramon added: "We need to say there will be a special regime in the 'holy basin', which we will talk about in the future."
Ramon's public comments on one of the most sensitive issues in the conflict have raised speculation that he is floating trial balloons on behalf of Olmert.
Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed last week the joint document would serve as the basis for final-status negotiations that would begin after the conference, expected in mid-to-late November in Annapolis, Maryland.
Final status talks -- over the borders of a future Palestinian state and the fate of Jerusalem and millions of Palestinian refugees -- broke down in early 2001 amid a surge in Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Abbas wants to bring any final-status agreement before the Palestinian people for a referendum, but it is unclear how that would be accomplished with the Palestinian territories divided between Hamas Islamists ruling the Gaza Strip and his secular Fatah faction controlling the occupied West Bank.
Ramon is one of Olmert's closest confidants, but the prime minister, weakened politically by corruption scandals and last year's war in Lebanon, has not committed publicly to backing his deputy's proposals.
PRESSURE
Olmert has sought to lower expectations for the conference, seeking to deflect pressure from rightist coalition partners who oppose dividing Jerusalem and making other moves to bolster Abbas following Hamas's takeover of Gaza in June.
Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the leading far-right member of Olmert's centrist coalition government, said he was prepared to trade some Palestinian areas within Jerusalem for Jewish settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank.
But Lieberman said dividing or ceding authority over the Old City, site of Judaism's Western Wall and Islam's al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock, was out of the question.
Ramon said Olmert's government drew the line at allowing a formal "right to return" for Palestinian refugees to what is now Israel. Olmert's aides have called that a non-starter.
But Ramon said some Palestinians could request permission to return to Israel "on the basis of charity and mercy".
Israeli and Palestinian leaders are divided over the extent to which a joint document would address final-status issues.
Olmert has insisted on a broadbrush, non-binding joint statement, whereas Abbas has sought a detailed "framework" agreement with a timeline for final-status negotiations.
Ramon expressed hope that his proposals would win support within Olmert's cabinet, both from leading left-leaning and right-wing parties.
"It seems to me that it's reasonable and not too far-fetched," he said. (Additional reporting by Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem and Wafa Amr in Ramallah)
JERUSALEM, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's deputy said on Monday that Israel should be prepared to enter future negotiations with the Palestinians over dividing Jerusalem and ceding authority over some of its holiest sites.
Vice Premier Haim Ramon made the comments as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators opened talks at a secret location in Israel over a joint document they hope to present at a U.S.-sponsored conference on Palestinian statehood.
"Wouldn't it be the right deal today for the Palestinians, the Western world and the international community to recognise (Israel's) annexation of ... (Jewish) neighbourhoods as part of Jerusalem, and for us to quit the Arab neighbourhoods," Ramon told Israel Radio.
He said talk of ceding control over holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City, which he referred to as the "holy basin", were premature for now.
But Ramon added: "We need to say there will be a special regime in the 'holy basin', which we will talk about in the future."
Ramon's public comments on one of the most sensitive issues in the conflict have raised speculation that he is floating trial balloons on behalf of Olmert.
Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed last week the joint document would serve as the basis for final-status negotiations that would begin after the conference, expected in mid-to-late November in Annapolis, Maryland.
Final status talks -- over the borders of a future Palestinian state and the fate of Jerusalem and millions of Palestinian refugees -- broke down in early 2001 amid a surge in Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Abbas wants to bring any final-status agreement before the Palestinian people for a referendum, but it is unclear how that would be accomplished with the Palestinian territories divided between Hamas Islamists ruling the Gaza Strip and his secular Fatah faction controlling the occupied West Bank.
Ramon is one of Olmert's closest confidants, but the prime minister, weakened politically by corruption scandals and last year's war in Lebanon, has not committed publicly to backing his deputy's proposals.
PRESSURE
Olmert has sought to lower expectations for the conference, seeking to deflect pressure from rightist coalition partners who oppose dividing Jerusalem and making other moves to bolster Abbas following Hamas's takeover of Gaza in June.
Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the leading far-right member of Olmert's centrist coalition government, said he was prepared to trade some Palestinian areas within Jerusalem for Jewish settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank.
But Lieberman said dividing or ceding authority over the Old City, site of Judaism's Western Wall and Islam's al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock, was out of the question.
Ramon said Olmert's government drew the line at allowing a formal "right to return" for Palestinian refugees to what is now Israel. Olmert's aides have called that a non-starter.
But Ramon said some Palestinians could request permission to return to Israel "on the basis of charity and mercy".
Israeli and Palestinian leaders are divided over the extent to which a joint document would address final-status issues.
Olmert has insisted on a broadbrush, non-binding joint statement, whereas Abbas has sought a detailed "framework" agreement with a timeline for final-status negotiations.
Ramon expressed hope that his proposals would win support within Olmert's cabinet, both from leading left-leaning and right-wing parties.
"It seems to me that it's reasonable and not too far-fetched," he said. (Additional reporting by Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem and Wafa Amr in Ramallah)
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