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A senior Labor Party minister suggested that the Labor Party may consider withdrawing from the governing coalition should insufficient progress be achieved toward a two-state solution over coming months.
The Washington Times reported:
A senior figure in Israel's Labor Party said Monday evening that his party would leave Benjamin Netanyahu's government in a matter of months if there is not serious progress toward a final-status agreement with the Palestinians.
"We expect the prime minister to move forward," said Avishay Braverman, one of five ministers from the center-left party, during a small briefing with reporters in Washington. "I cannot imagine that if there is no movement on the peace process that is serious, that the Labor Party will stay in the government."
The minister may well be trying to push for accelerated progress. However, such an effort could backfire. For starters, the Palestinian government has yet to agree to direct negotiations. If the Palestinian leadership senses that Israel's governing coalition is fragile and the government could fall, that might actually provide it with greater incentives for rigidity to try to facilitate the fall of Israel's current government. It would do so if it believed that there was a reasonable chance that a government willing to make greater concessions would ultimately replace the current government. The end result, of course, would be slower diplomatic progress.
The fundamental positions on the final settlement issues won't change much. For example, no Israeli government is likely to accede to continuing Palestinian demands for Israel's recognition of a "right of return" to Israel for Palestinian refugees and their descendants. Ultimately, the Palestinian leadership will need to drop that demand and accept a measure of compensation to help facilitate the move of Palestinian refugees and their descendants who desire to relocate to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Washington Times reported:
A senior figure in Israel's Labor Party said Monday evening that his party would leave Benjamin Netanyahu's government in a matter of months if there is not serious progress toward a final-status agreement with the Palestinians.
"We expect the prime minister to move forward," said Avishay Braverman, one of five ministers from the center-left party, during a small briefing with reporters in Washington. "I cannot imagine that if there is no movement on the peace process that is serious, that the Labor Party will stay in the government."
The minister may well be trying to push for accelerated progress. However, such an effort could backfire. For starters, the Palestinian government has yet to agree to direct negotiations. If the Palestinian leadership senses that Israel's governing coalition is fragile and the government could fall, that might actually provide it with greater incentives for rigidity to try to facilitate the fall of Israel's current government. It would do so if it believed that there was a reasonable chance that a government willing to make greater concessions would ultimately replace the current government. The end result, of course, would be slower diplomatic progress.
The fundamental positions on the final settlement issues won't change much. For example, no Israeli government is likely to accede to continuing Palestinian demands for Israel's recognition of a "right of return" to Israel for Palestinian refugees and their descendants. Ultimately, the Palestinian leadership will need to drop that demand and accept a measure of compensation to help facilitate the move of Palestinian refugees and their descendants who desire to relocate to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
