National Agreement Concerning Negotiations for a Final Settlement with the Palestinians
NATIONAL AGREEMENT CONCERNING NEGOTIATIONS FOR A FINAL SETTLEMENT WITH THE PALESTINIANS
An Israeli document edited in January 1997 by several Likud and Labor Party representatives. Signed by Likud members Yehuda Lancry, Ze'ev Bo'm, Eliezer Zandberg, Meyer Sheetrit, and Michael Eytan, and by Labor Party members Yossi Bellin, Haim Ramon, and Shlomo Ben-Ami, this document established the minimum that Israel was prepared to accept in preparation for talks on the definitive status of the Palestinian territories. The document provided notably that most of the Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip would stay "in territorial contiguity" under Israeli sovereignty and that no settlement would be dismantled. Settlers living in territory that was to come under Palestinian control would be accorded "special arrangements, guaranteeing their specific ties with Israel." The settlements situated in the Jordan Valley would be considered a "special security zone," either to be annexed by Israel or to serve as a base for Israeli troops. Jerusalem would remain the capital of Israel, "united under Israeli sovereignty recognized by the Palestinians." In exchange, Israel would "recognize the center of government of the Palestinian entity, situated within the frontiers of this entity, but outside of the current town lines of Jerusalem."
SEE ALSO Gaza Strip;Israel Labor Party;Jerusalem;Likud;West Bank.