Very interesting missing article

Posted on 04/26/2006 by Meryl Yourish

This morning, I caught an article in Ha’aretz that quoted an unnamed U.S. official saying that America wouldn’t back the borders Olmert wants to withdraw to. As I was looking around Ha’aretz, the article disappeared before I could start writing about it. All that I can find now is something from Xinhua quoting the article.

JERUSALEM, April 26 (Xinhua) — The United States will not recognize a border created after a unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank as Israel’s permanent frontier, Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported on Wednesday, citing its sources in Washington.

A number of the sources had said unofficially that they believed the U.S. administration would probably support such a withdrawal, but would not recognize it, said the report.

Ha’aretz quoted one U.S. official as predicting that the U.S. would agree to see the post-withdrawal line as a temporary border, “which would become permanent, obviously with slight changes, following future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.”

Another source, a legal expert, was quoted as saying on Tuesday that any reasonable interpretation of international law cannot allow recognition of a border that was determined unilaterally.

Senior U.S. administration members said in unofficial conversations that Israeli Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has not presented the administration with a detailed plan for the second withdrawal, said Ha’aretz.

So: Dead wrong, or too sensitive information to be released?

I’m on the side of the people saying “Dead wrong.” So far.

And it’s also possible that Ha’aretz’s kooky habit of changing URLs is what made it disappear on me.

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4 Responses to Very interesting missing article

  1. Ben F says:
    04/26/2006 at 9:24 pm

    I still see the article here. It states:

    Sources in Washington said they believed the U.S. would want to maintain a united European-American front on the issue. “We need them for too many things, we won’t get into a conflict with them over this issue,” an administration source said.

    Consistent with the Ha’aretz piece, the Jerusalem Post has published an interview with the Spanish ambassador to Israel in which the ambassador states that the EU would only recognize a border negotiated between Israel and its neighbors.

    Sharon always oversold his “agreement” with Bush on this point, and no doubt Olmert will do the same. I’m not sure whether these people are deluding themselves or just lying to the Israeli public.

  2. Michael Lonie says:
    04/26/2006 at 11:48 pm

    My fantasy:

    Here’s the deal PA. You get your choice. You can have the line of the fence as the border between Israel and your state, assumning you want one. Or you can have the Jordan River as the border between Israel and a Palestinian state. It’s up to you, but you must choose now.

    When you start a war with the intention of destroying a state and exterminating its people, as the Arabs did, and lose, as the Arabs did, you may expect to lose some land. If you are in any doubt about this, any doubt at all, I advise you to visit Poland and seek for signs of German habitation in Silesia, Pomerania, and East Prussia.

  3. mrdrybones says:
    04/27/2006 at 3:15 am

    border shmorder
    they want to wipe us out.
    Dry Bones
    Israel’s Political Comic Strip Since 1973

  4. Sabba Hillel says:
    04/27/2006 at 11:16 am

    Actually, those who want to withdraw before negotiations have the same goal. The way it will work is that anything the Israelis give up is gone forever, Anything that the Israelis control (including the Tel Aviv beachfront) is disputed.

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