Aids to Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon revealed on Wednesday that the Israeli leader had chosen to abandon the principal of "land for peace," the basis of the 1993 Oslo accords, and would instead offer Palestinians an independent Palestinian state in exchange for Israeli security, if reelected as Israel's leader.
Political strategist Eyal Arad told reporters in Britain's The Guardian, that Sharon would follow the road map peace plan, though abandon the principle of land for peace, which failed under the Oslo accords. "The root of the conflict is based on the Palestinian quest for independence," Arad told reporters.
"The road map replaced the falsehood of 'territories for peace' with a much more realistic formula - security for independence," he added.
Some hope that Sharon's recent move to leave the Likud party which he helped found 32 years ago may be an opportunity to further peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis. Sharon reportedly left Likud to advance a diplomatic plan aimed at reaching a permanent peace agreement with the Palestinians, according to Haaretz.
"His decision stems from his desire to bring the state of Israel to permanent borders during his term of office," an aide to Sharon said. "He knows that this step will be a dramatic one," he added.
Israeli polls show that Sharon's new party has the best chance at winning the next elections.
Sharon told the first meeting of his new faction that his main goal would be "to lay the foundation for a peace in which we set the permanent borders of the state, while insisting on the dismantling of the terror organizations."
Currently, new Israeli elections are set to be held on March 28.
The temporary name for Sharon's new party - National Responsibility –is expected to become permanent. The names "Kadima" (forward) and "The Israeli Party" were also considered, but were rejected after they were tested on focus groups.
The name "National Responsibility," began to take off in Israel's media, despite it being cumbersome.
© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
