Sharon, Labor Party closer to deal

JERUSALEM – The opposition Labor Party reported progress Sunday in stop-and-go coalition talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, saying negotiators have produced a joint paper on the terms of a planned Gaza withdrawal.

However, the two sides remain far apart on what Labor denounced as the government’s “piggish capitalism.”

Sharon alienated much of his pro-settler constituency and lost his majority in Parliament when he decided to withdraw from all of Gaza and four West Bank settlements by late next year.

He is seeking to bring Labor and other parties into his government to reinforce his coalition and secure a Cabinet majority for the pullout, key to carrying out his plan of “unilateral disengagement” from the Palestinians.

Labor, which favors steps more far-reaching than Sharon’s withdrawal plan, is the main piece in the puzzle. Other parties might give Sharon a slim majority, but no other combination assures Cabinet approval of all stages of the pullout.

Labor leader Shimon Peres confirmed Sunday that negotiators from his party and Sharon’s Likud Party have reached agreement on the terms of the Gaza pullback and on general policy toward the Palestinians.

Interviewed by the Italian newspaper Il Secolo, Peres said his main demands had been accepted, including a more detailed timetable for a Gaza withdrawal.

Peres also said Sharon is willing to consider coordination with the Palestinians. Sharon’s negotiators “agreed to see if they can find an effective Palestinian partner,” Peres said.

Peres spokesman Yoram Dori said the Gaza understanding has not been finalized, and Sharon’s advisers declined comment.

A key principle of Sharon’s plan is a refusal to coordinate with the Palestinians. Sharon charges that the Palestinian leadership is not moving to stop four years of violence. With his plan, he hopes to bypass the Palestinians, solidify his grip on parts of the West Bank and hold off international peace initiatives.

But Labor insists that Israel must continue negotiating with the Palestinians.

Under Labor’s agreement with Sharon, published Sunday in the Yediot Ahronot daily, compensation payments for settlers would be accelerated with payouts to begin as early as next week. Such payments could induce more settlers to leave voluntarily and weaken what is expected to be considerable settler resistance that might delay or even sabotage withdrawal.

The document said West Bank settlement outposts would be dismantled immediately in line with Israel’s obligations under the U.S-backed “road map.” That peace plan mandates taking down the outposts, halting construction in settlements and disarming Palestinian militants on the way to creating a Palestinian state.

However, wide gaps remain on domestic issues.