Olmert Thinks Giving Away Part of Jerusalem Will Buy Peace

Many Israeli Prime Ministers have made the error of thinking they can trade land for peace. All it has done is shrink the size of the Israeli state and embolden their Arab enemies to keep asking for more. This latest effort by Prime Minister Olmert is likewise doomed to fail:

A confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that his government would support a division of Jerusalem, which is reportedly a key component of an Israeli-Palestinian declaration to be made at a U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference next month.

As part of recent negotiations between the sides, Deputy Vice Prime Minister Haim Ramon has proposed turning over many of the Arab neighborhoods of east Jerusalem to the Palestinians. Ramon said the Palestinians could establish the capital of a future state in the sector of the city, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war.

In return, Israel would receive the recognition of the international community, including Arab states, of its sovereignty over Jewish neighborhoods and the existence of its capital there, Ramon said.

On Monday Ramon said even hawkish elements of Olmert's coalition, like Cabinet Minister Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu Party, would back such an Israeli concession. The centrist Labor Party would also support the proposal, Ramon said.

The Palestinians and their backers (such as Syria and Iran) will never be satisfied with only part of Jerusalem. They want all of Jerusalem quickly followed by all of Israel. Until the Israelis are driven into the sea, peace with the Arab world will not be possible and Olmert is kidding himself if he thinks he can buy it this way.