Peres: Gaza was just the beginning

Kadima will enter final status talks despite PA non-compliance

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By Ryan Jones
January 19, 2006

Israeli elder statesman Shimon Peres confirmed Wednesday that last summer's Gaza ?disengagement? was only the beginning of Ariel Sharon's strategy to fully divide the Land of Israel and relieve the Jews of their biblical heartland.

Speaking to reporters following a meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Peres ? who last week resigned as a Knesset Member in order to position himself for a government post after the March 28 elections ? said Sharon had told him the Gaza pullout was not the end of the story, but the beginning of a series of surrenders he believed would ultimately bring an end to Israel's conflict with the Arab world.

Over the past two weeks, Peres has referred to this policy of relinquishment as ?Sharon's legacy,? and vowed that if the Kadima Party is victorious in the upcoming general election, and Ehud Olmert is officially installed as prime minister, no time would be wasted in implementing it.

The Associated Press quoted Peres as saying a post-election Olmert government would, in conjunction with further withdrawals, immediately engage in final status peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, despite the latter's enduring failure to comply with decade-old commitments to combat anti-Jewish terrorism.

If Peres' words hold true, it would be the first time Israel has agreed to discuss a final peace settlement in the absence of ?Palestinian? compliance.

Meanwhile, security experts continue to blame the very policies Peres is championing for eroding Israel's ability to deter terrorism and for recent increases in the Palestinian Arabs' ability to mass murder Jews.

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