From the International Herald Tribune, by The Associated Press, December 18, 2007:
JERUSALEM: A confidant of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's said Tuesday that Israel was pushing forward with construction in major West Bank settlements, but proposed compensating the Palestinians with Israeli territory under a final peace deal.
The comments by Vice Premier Haim Ramon were the first time an Israeli official has openly endorsed the idea of a land swap. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also supports the concept, which could solve one of the most contentious issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Jewish settlements in the West Bank....
...Olmert has signaled he is ready for a large withdrawal from the West Bank, but that he wants to retain the large housing blocs where the vast majority of Jewish settlers live....
..."The Palestinians won't say that this is good, but there is no doubt that the Palestinians understand that in the end of the peace process, the settlement blocs will be under Israeli sovereignty in return for an exchange of territory," Ramon said....
....Abbas said any swap would require Israel to hand over "the same quality and quantity of land" that it keeps, but also said it was "premature" to discuss such a deal.....
....The U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan calls on Israel to freeze all settlement activity, including so-called natural growth in existing communities. However, Israel says the U.S. supports its position on retaining settlement blocs, pointing to a 2004 letter in which President George W. Bush said a final peace deal would have to recognize "new realities on the ground.".....Israel is expected to seek a final border along the lines of its West Bank separation barrier, which is expected to leave roughly 8 percent of the West Bank, along with the settlement blocs, in Israeli hands when it is complete.
...The road map also requires Israel to remove several dozen tiny settlement outposts scattered throughout the West Bank. ...The Palestinians, meanwhile, are required to rein in militant groups. ... Israel also says Abbas must control militants in the Gaza Strip, which was overrun by the Hamas militant group last June. Abbas wields no control in Gaza, raising questions about his ability to carry out any future peace deal....
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