Foreign Minister and Kadima party prime ministerial candidate
Tzipi Livni's has denied involvement with the concessions revealed in acting-prime minister Olmert's recent Yediot Aharonot interview, concessions allegedly made by himself and by Livni during negotiations with PA president Mahmoud Abbas:
According to the report, Olmert told US envoy George Mitchell that he and Livni agreed to divide Jerusalem, maintain only settlement blocs in the West Bank and uproot 60,000 Jews from their homes.
The revelations of the concessions less than two weeks before the February 10 election reportedly upset Livni, who told confidants that she believed Olmert, her predecessor as Kadima leader, was purposely harming her.
In a speech to Tel Aviv-Jaffa College students, Livni denied that Olmert was speaking for her when he talked to Mitchell.
"The headline does not represent me or what I am advancing," she said.
"I will only advance an agreement that represents our interests of maintaining a maximum of [West Bank Jewish] residents, keeping places that are important to us especially in Jerusalem, and not allowing the return of a single refugee."
Nice try.
There need be no disagreement between Olmert's statement and Livni's. By being vague she may have just said the same thing, but in a way that will sound better to Israelis:
"I will only advance an agreement that represents our interests of maintaining a maximum of [West Bank Jewish] residents" -- i.e. we will remove some of them. Maybe 60,000?
"keeping places that are important to us" -- i.e. the settlement blocs in the West Bank (only).
"especially in Jerusalem" -- i.e. we will keep important places in Jerusalem, but not all of Jerusalem, which will be therefore divided.
"and not allowing the return of a single refugee" -- Olmert never mentioned the return of refugees. Why did she?
