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1999 Likud Party Platform - ExcerptsApril 29, 1999
The following are excerpts from the 'Peace & Security' chapter of the Likud
Party platform.
The Likud will seek to achieve peace and permanent borders in the framework
of peace treaties between Israel and its neighbors and will seek cooperation
with them on the practical level. The peace agreements will include full
diplomatic relations, borders open to free movement, economic cooperation,
and the establishment of joint projects in the fields of science,
technology, tourism, and industry.
The Arab states' desire for peace will be measured by their efforts to
prevent hostile activities by terrorist organizations from their territory
and to dismantle the infrastructure of the organizations. This includes
closing their headquarters and preventing economic and political warfare and
all hostile acts during the negotiations.
A unilateral Palestinian declaration of the establishment of a Palestinian
state will constitute a fundamental and substantive violation of the
agreements with the State of Israel and the scuttling of the Oslo and Wye
accords. The government will adopt immediate stringent measures in the event
of such a declaration.
The Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza are the realization of
Zionist values. Settlement of the land is a clear expression of the
unassailable right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and
constitutes an important asset in the defense of the vital interests of the
State of Israel. The Likud will continue to strengthen and develop these
communities and will prevent their uprooting.
Israel rejects out of hand ideas raised by Labor Party leaders concerning
the relinquishment of parts of the Negev to the Palestinians. The practical
meaning of this plan is that the "Green Line" should no longer be viewed as
a "Red Line", which draws us closer to the partition plan of 1947 as it
opens the door to the principle that the fate of the Galilee, the Triangle
and additional areas within Israel is negotiable. The Likud asserts that
such proposals by the Labor Party leadership may literally cause the
dismemberment of the State of Israel.
Based on the Likud-led government's proposal, the 10th Knesset passed the
law to extend Israeli law, jurisdiction and administration over the Golan
Heights, thus establishing Israeli sovereignty over the area. The government
will continue to strengthen Jewish settlement on the Golan.
Israel will act to implement UN Security Council resolution 425 to withdraw
the IDF from Lebanon while ensuring appropriate security arrangements so as
to defend its citizens in the north of the country and guarantee the
security of South Lebanese Army members. Israel will refrain from rash steps
that are likely to move the front line from southern Lebanon to the edge of
the Galilee.
Israel will continue to seek the renewal of peace negotiations with Syria
without preconditions.
The Government of Israel will safeguard the state's vital interests in the
negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. Having established and
meticulously adhered to the principle of reciprocity in the negotiations and
implementation of agreements, including the Wye River Memorandum, the
government will continue to condition implementation on the fulfillment of
Palestinian commitments. The government will continue to insist on the
fulfillment of the following Palestinian obligations:
The Palestinian Authority must wage a systematic war on the terror
organizations and their infrastructure. The PA must not only intensify its
efforts to prevent attacks, but act with determination to prevent potential
terrorist acts by dismantling the terrorist infrastructure that has
developed and expanded in PA areas since the Oslo accords.
Halting incitement against Israel in the Palestinian media, educational
system and all other Palestinian institutions, and turning the Palestinian
media and educational system from their current anti-Israel mode to
recognition of Israel and developing peaceful and good neighborly relations
between Jews and Arabs.
The confiscation of illegal weapons held by Palestinian civilians and the
removal of weapons held by the PA forces in excess of those permitted under
the agreement to areas outside PA territory.
The size of the PA police must be reduced to the level permitted under the
agreement.
The overall objectives for the final status with the Palestinians are: to
end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians on the basis of a
stable, sustainable agreement and replace confrontation with cooperation and
good neighborliness, while safeguarding Israel's vital interests as a secure
and prosperous Zionist and Jewish state.
The Likud government will honor all the international agreements signed by
its predecessors and strive to achieve a final status arrangement with the
Palestinians. The only way to reach a final status arrangement is via
dialogue and political negotiations.
The permanent status arrangement will minimize the security dangers implicit
in the Oslo accords. The primary such danger is the presence and the
possible expansion of the Palestinian security forces within close range of
Israel's population centers, government offices, emergency warehouses and
staging areas of the Israel Defense Forces.
The permanent status arrangement shall be based on the following principles:
The Government of Israel flatly rejects the establishment of a Palestinian
Arab state west of the Jordan river.
The Palestinians can run their lives freely in the framework of self-rule,
but not as an independent and sovereign state. Thus, for example, in matters
of foreign affairs, security, immigration and ecology, their activity shall
be limited in accordance with imperatives of Israel's existence, security
and national needs.
Jerusalem is the eternal, united capital of the State of Israel and only of
Israel. The government will flatly reject Palestinian proposals to divide
Jerusalem, including the plan to divide the city presented to the Knesset by
the Arab factions and supported by many members of Labor and Meretz. The
government firmly rejects attempts of various sources in the world, some
anti-Semitic in origin, to question Jerusalem's status as Israel's capital,
and the 3,000-year-old special connection between the Jewish people and its
capital.
To ensure this, the government will continue the firm policies it has
adopted until now:
No diplomatic activity will be permitted at Orient House. The government
stopped the stream of visits by heads of state and ministers at Orient
House, begun under the left-wing government.
The presence of the Israeli police in eastern Jerusalem will be increased.
This in addition to the new police posts and reinforcements in the
neighborhoods.
The Likud government will act with vigor to continue Jewish habitation and
strengthen Israeli sovereignty in the eastern parts of the city, while
emphasizing improvements in the welfare and security of the Arab residents.
Despite protests from the left, the Likud government consistently approved
the continuation of Jewish living within the Old City and in 'City of
David'.
The Jordan Valley and the territories that dominate it shall be under
Israeli sovereignty. The Jordan river will be the permanent eastern border
of the State of Israel. The Kingdom of Jordan is a desirable partner in the
permanent status arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians in matters
that will be agreed upon.
The government succeeded in significantly reducing the extent of territory
that the Palestinians expected to receive in the interim arrangement. The
government will insist that security areas essential to Israel's defense,
including the western security area and the Jewish settlements, shall remain
under Israeli rule.
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