Olmert's Divergence From Convergence

According to Haaretz, PM drafting alternative to convergence plan, based on Olmert's failure to gather any international support for the Convergence Plane, he is going to repackage it and try again:

In light of the international opposition to further unilateral steps by
Israel, the government has begun to draft an alternative plan that would
essentially convert Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's unilateral convergence plan
into a bilateral move carried out in conjunction with Palestinian Authority
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

According to the plan now being drafted by the Prime Minister's Office and
the Foreign Ministry, Israel would propose to Abbas that they reach an
agreement to establish a Palestinian state with provisional borders in Gaza
plus about 90 percent of the West Bank. The provisional border in the West
Bank would match the route of the separation fence, with one exception:
Israel would retain security control over the Jordan Valley.

In this way, Israel hopes to present the convergence plan as an
implementation of Phase II of the road map peace plan, thereby acceding to
the demands of the United States, Jordan, Egypt and others that Israel
resume negotiations with the PA under the road map.

Haaretz is nice enougth to point out that going to Phase II means bypassing Phase I which was never fulfilled--you remember, the part about stopping the terrorism.

Another problem--on the one hand:

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni confirmed to Haaretz that she told senior
ministry officials last week that "currently, Abbas is not a partner for a
final-status agreement, but he could be a partner for other arrangements, on the basis of the road map's phased process."...One participant in this meeting said that Livni spoke explicitly about an agreement to establish a Palestinian state with provisional borders. [emphasis added]

This of course requires Abbas to be thinking along similar lines. As it so happens, Abbas seems to be thinking along totally opposite lines:

Prior to Hamas's rise to power in the PA, Abbas rejected the idea of a state
with provisional borders, demanding immediate talks on a final-status
agreement instead.

An interesting contradiction:

However, Washington backed Israel's stance in favor of a provisional state, and Jerusalem expects that the U.S. will pressure Abbas to change his position....Israel could bypass Hamas and implement this program in conjunction with Abbas, thereby bolstering his status.

It's not clear how forcing Abbas into taking a position that he publicly opposed is going to bolster his status, but hope springs eternal.

IMRA is critical of the new packaging:

PM drafting alternative to convergence plan [strip Road Map of requirement for Palestinian compliance?]

The fundamental difference between withdrawal within the framework of
the Road Map and Olmert's proposed retreat is that Israel wants to retreat
while leaving open the question as to what happens in the void the retreat
creates.

It would appear that the "solution" the Olmert team is working on is to
strip the Road Map of any requirement for Palestinian compliance.

This way Israel will retreat and face a sovereign entity filling the void -
with all the Palestinian terror infrastructure intact. ready for the next
round of war.

"Israel would retain security control over the Jordan Valley" is the same
wording that PM Sharon's team first used to describe the original Gaza
retreat plan for controlling the Philadelphi Corridor after the retreat.
Ultimately Israel never held the line.

Of course, another thing you won't find mentioned in connection with the Road Map are Sharon's 14 Reservations, which were ignored anyway--by Sharon as well--almost as soon as they were drawn up. Here are some of them:

1. Both at the commencement of, and during the process, and as a condition to its continuance, calm will be maintained...

2. Full performance will be a condition for progress between phases and for progress within phases. The first condition for progress will be the complete cessation of terror, violence and incitement...

5. The character of the provisional Palestinian state will be determined through negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. The provisional state will have provisional borders and certain aspects of sovereignty, be fully demilitarized with no military forces, but only with police and internal security forces of limited scope and armaments...

6. In connection to both the introductory statements and the final settlement, declared references must be made to Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state and to the waiver of any right of return for Palestinian refugees to the State of Israel.

14. Arab states will assist the process through the condemnation of terrorist activity.

Don't look for any of these points to be raised--who would take them seriously?

Olmert's is not willing to accept that sometimes a bad idea really is just a bad idea.

Crossposted at Israpundit

Technorati Tag: Israel and Olmert and Road Map and Convergence Plan.