Aide: Sharon aims to change Israel's borders

JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will offer the Palestinians a state of their own in exchange for the "guarantee of security" for Israelis if he is re-elected prime minister, a top Sharon advisor said in comments published today, while another Sharon aide said the prime minister aims to change Israel's borders.

The statements follow the lauding earlier this week by several senior dovish Israeli lawmakers and Palestinian leaders of Sharon's newly formed political party as Israel's "best chance" at creating a Palestinian state in Gaza, Judea and Samaria and the eastern sections of Jerusalem.

"The [American brokered] road map replaced the falsehood of territories for peace with a much more realistic formula – security for independence," Sharon aide Eyal Arad told the British daily The Guardian.

Arad explained that once the Palestinians combat terrorism and dismantle terror groups, they would be given independence

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"The road map postulates ... total dismantling of all terrorist apparatus. ... What the prime minister says and what the road map says is that before full compliance nothing will happen."

Arad did not list specific steps the Palestinians would need to take or which mechanisms Israel would use to verify Palestinian compliance, and his office refused requests or comment.

Another top Sharon advisor, Eli Landau, said the prime minister started his new party to advance a far-reaching diplomatic plan aimed at changing Israel's borders and reaching a permanent status agreement with the Palestinians.

"His decision stems from his desire to bring the state of Israel to permanent borders during his term of office," Landau said. "He knows that this step will be a dramatic one."

Sharon this week sent political shock waves throughout Israel when he announced he is leaving the ruling Likud Party he helped found to start his own "centrist" party, now named "Kadima," or forward, prompting new elections that will be held in March.

Multiple polls released yesterday showed Sharon's new party trouncing the opposition in upcoming elections.

In a national address, Sharon said he bolted Likud because he didn't want to "waste time with political wrangling" or squander the "opportunities" created by his withdrawal of Jewish community and troops from the Gaza Strip in August.

Sharon described his new party as "liberal" and said it would give Israel "new hope for peace."

Dovish Israeli politicians and some Palestinian leaders said Sharon's new party represented a "real opportunity" for the "peace camp" and for Israel to give up land to the Palestinians.

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Yossi Beilin, an extreme leftist lawmaker and an architect of the 1993 Oslo Accords, termed Sharon's resignation and the formation of a new party "a big victory for supporters of sharing the land. This is a real opportunity for a coalition headed by the peace camp, including former Likud members who understood that for 38 years they have deceived the nation and themselves."

Beilin said he is hopeful Sharon would be reelected and will sign a peace deal with the Palestinians that includes vacating the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem.

Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Sha'ath said Sharon could present the Palestinians with "an opportunity for the peace process" and to "finally create a state of our own."

Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat told WorldNetDaily the Palestinian Authority "is monitoring the political process in Israel very closely. We believe what is happening is very significant. We hope once a new election takes place, whoever is in power will be willing to go to final status negotiations and make peace with the Palestinians."

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