Israel closer to taking action on West Bank

The Israeli government may be considering unilateral action if peace talks with the Palestinians remain stalled, a move that could involve a partial withdrawal from the West Bank. Israel has a growing sense of urgency about ending its 45-year entanglement with the Palestinians, even if no peace deal is possible.

There are signs JERUSALEM — the Israeli government may take unilateral action if peace talks with the Palestinians remain stalled, a move which could involve a withdrawal from parts of the West Bank along the lines of a 2005 pullout from the Gaza Strip.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak told a high-profile security conference Wednesday that inaction isn’t an option and Israel can’t wait forever for an accord.

“Israel cannot afford to tread water,” Barak said. If a deal “proves to be impossible, we have to consider a provisional arrangement or even unilateral action.”

The statement reflected a growing sense of urgency in Israel about ending its 45-year faceoff with the Palestinians, even if no peace deal is possible.

Two decades of on-again, offagain peace talks have failed to yield an agreement, and negotiations have been frozen for more than three years.

As time passed, a shift of thinking has occurred in Israel: The occupation of Palestinian lands may ultimately be bad for Israel simply because ruling millions of Arabs will demographically sink the Jewish state.

The new twist: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has grown increasingly vocal about the need to separate from the Palestinians, now has a broad coalition freeing him of nationalists who claim biblical rights to the West Bank.

Netanyahu, who for years rejected most concessions to the Palestinians, has also raised concerns in recent months that continued control of the more than 2 million Palestinians in the West Bank would threaten Israel’s character as a democracy with a Jewish majority.

Early this month, he shored up his coalition by bringing the main opposition party, Kadima, into the government.

Netanyahu’s coalition now includes 94 of parliament’s 120 members, so he doesn’t need hard-liners to keep his majority.

The formation of this new supermajority has raised speculation that Netanyahu might soon come forward with a diplomatic initiative to end the deadlock.

Kadima’s leader, Shaul Mofaz, has called for a temporary Palestinian state in roughly 60 percent of the West Bank.

Palestinian officials reject the idea of unilateral Israel moves. A partial pullout would leave them short of their goals and Israel would have little reason to negotiate further.