AP Exclusive: Israeli, Palestinian forces hope to thwart violence in September

Israeli and Palestinian security forces are already taking precautions to avoid an outbreak of violence after an expected U.N. vote for Palestinian independence in September, officials on both sides said Sunday, reflecting shared concerns about the possibility of renewed fighting this fall.

For now, Israeli and Palestinian officials said they do not want — or expect — armed hostilities to resume.
But both sides fear that one small incident could quickly spin out of control.
“We need only popular and peaceful struggle,” said Amin Makboul, a top official in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Party. “We want to show the world that we are responsible and deserve to be part of the international community.”
After the bitter lessons of last decade’s Palestinian uprising, the Palestinians do not want to give Israel any “pretext” to claim the Palestinians are not serious about creating a peaceful state, Makboul added.
A top Palestinian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Abbas recently issued a straightforward order to his commanders: “I don’t want any violent actions in September,” the official quoted Abbas as saying. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a sensitive internal meeting.
Israeli and Palestinian officials both say the region is headed into uncharted waters if the Palestinians follow through on their pledge to turn to the United Nations.
Each side is trying to prepare for all scenarios. Mostly it is in closed forums whose deliberations are so tightly guarded as to suggest a fear that the mere mention of a new Palestinian uprising might somehow contribute to tensions. However, some preparations are more public.
Some 1,000 Israeli military officers held a two-day drill last week to prepare for September, discussing such issues as crowd-control tactics and the latest intelligence, officials say.
The army will use the coming months to fine-tune its preparations in hopes of avoiding bloodshed, they said.
Abbas has said he will seek an international endorsement of Palestinian independence if peace talks with Israel remain stalled, as they have been for nearly three years. The U.S. has stepped up efforts to find a formula for renewing negotiations in recent weeks, but there have been no signs of a breakthrough.
The Palestinians say they will not resume talks until Israel freezes all contruction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem — areas captured in 1967 which they claim for a future state.
A senior Palestinian official has hinted the Palestinians will ease this demand if Israel accepts President Barack Obama’s formula of basing a future Palestinian state on Israel’s pre-1967 frontiers, with agreed land swaps. Setting the rough outlines of a future border at the outset, the thinking goes, would largely solve the settlement issue on its own — since Israel would know which of the communities it will ultimately be able to keep.
Israel has reacted coolly to Obama’s plan, saying that all issues, including settlements and final borders, should be reached in negotiations.

Carter calls on international community to support Hamas-Fatah unity deal

Former United States President Jimmy Carter hailed the Palestinian unity government and called on the international community to also support it as well in an opinion peace published by the Washington Post on Wednesday.

"If the United States and the international community support this effort, they can help Palestinian democracy and establish the basis for a unified Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza that can make a secure peace with Israel," Carter wrote in the op-ed. "If they remain aloof or undermine the agreement, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory may deteriorate with a new round of violence against Israel."

Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah are meeting in Cairo on Wednesday in order to sign a reconciliation deal that would lead to an interim unity government.

The former U.S. president issued a statement on Friday commending the reconciliation, which he said would "begin the process of reunifying the Palestinian people."

Carter writes in his opinion peace that with international support, the Palestinian reconciliation "could lead to a durable cease-fire" with Israel. He also wrote that he condemned Hamas rocket fire from Gaza into Israel.

Israel has rejected the Hamas-Fatah unity agreement, with Netanyahu saying shortly after it was announced that "the Palestinian Authority must choose either peace with Israel or peace with Hamas. There is no possibility for peace with both. Hamas aspires to destroy Israel and fires rockets at our cities ... at our children."

Carter claimed that Israelis "say that as long as the Palestinians are divided, there is no partner for peace. But at the same time, they refuse to accept a unity government."

The Quartet should work with the new Palestinian government to be able to "jump-start final-status negotiations with Israel," Carter concluded.

Livni: Netanyahu isolating Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will have to choose between Israel and Hamas, Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated that Israel will not hold negotiation with a Fatah-Hamas government, but while Opposition Chairwoman Tzipi Livni (Kadima) seems to echo this firm stance, she says Netanyahu is responsible for the rough political waters Israel finds itself in.

"Netanyahu is not only failing to exercise damage control, or finding an alternative, he continues to derail Israel," she told Ynet Sunday.

"Leadership should have an impact. It is not too late, but Netanyahu is not doing anything. Talking about threats is not enough, you have to offer solutions. This is what we have been talking about for two years. The government should present a policy, but there is a global lack of faith in the prime minister.

  "Israel has to present a policy that the world will believe in. You can't simply keep saying the world is against us," she said.

Livni, like Netanyahu and Barak, does not see Hamas as a negotiating partner: "Hamas is a very problematic organization, so any arrangement between Fatah and Hamas is cause for concern.

"The burden of proof lies with the new (Palestinian) government – if there is one – while Israel's test is to make sure that the Palestinian government follows the terms set by the Quartet – recognizing Israel, abandoning terror and abiding by previous agreements."

After the 2006 Palestinian elections, she added, the Kadima government demanded the world's support against Hamas. "The world knew the choice was between Israel, Fatah and a viable peace process, and Hamas and Iran. This is not happening today, because Netanyahu fails to present any alternative."

Livni, however, has only a vague answer to the question of "What now?" The opposition chairwoman said that back in 2006, the Kadima government "counted to 10" vis-à-vis Hamas' rise to power: "We called everyone and explained that Hamas was impossible to talk with. We created the Quartet's conditions, while simultaneously launching talks with the moderates.

"There are no negotiations today. Both Netanyahu and Abbas are standing on the edge of opposite icebergs, yelling at each other while actually only talking to their respective people. The icebergs are melting and the water is cold. This is his responsibility."

Failing policies

Netanyahu's initial reaction to the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation was "very bad" according to Livni. "The Israeli response not only discourages any future development, it seemingly jumps at the opportunity to say 'We told you so – this is another proof that we don't have a peace partner.'

"A Palestinian reconciliation prior to their statehood declaration in September is a very bad situation for Israel. Netanyahu is going to be the prime minister during whose term a Palestinian state was formed. Gaza will become Hamastan and this is a result of his inability to change the international trend."

Livni paints a bleak picture: "Netanyahu speaks aggressively against Hamas, but in reality, Hamas is gaining global legitimacy. The Gaza blockade is lifting slowly and Israel is getting weaker. The prime minister's response, saying nothing has a chance any more, will not make the world stand by us in the fight against Hamas. It will only isolate us further.

"Saying there is no partner is easy, but it does not work on a political level, no matter how many times Netanyahu says it," she added.

As for recent reports of the possibility the government will expand to include Kadima, Livni said that her party will not join a Netanyahu-led coalition, not even for September's "political tsunami," as Barak called it.

"Since this government came to be we have learned – every day – that there is no common denominator between Netanyahu and me. Netanyahu does not know how to make decisions and so he preserves a status quo that is detrimental to Israel. There is no reason for unity.

"Even facing a 'political tsunami' requires talking about a mutual path, not simply cowering in a corner in a manner that harms Israel and weakens it. Our situation has worsened over the past two years and Netanyahu cannot influence the international trends."

Livni vowed "to do everything possible against the Palestinians unilateral ambition. It is bad for Israel, but there is a difference between defending Israel and aiding the survival of a prime minister that only damages the country. I will not defend his policy, which prevents Israel from securing the world's support."