Israel should consider an interim agreement with the Palestinians, or even a unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank, if the peace process with the Palestinians resluts in no deal, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday, dpa reported.
"Not doing anything is not an option," he told a strategic studies conference in Tel Aviv. "An attempt to reach an overall agreement is very important .... It's not certain this is possible. If it turns out it's impossible, we have to think of an interim agreement, or even unilateral action."
Barak's proposal, made at the end of his speech, was immediately rejected by Education Minister Gidon Sa'ar, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party in the ruling coalition.
"Barak's position does not represent the government's stand. It represents a minority opinion within the government and the coalition," the Times of Israel news site quoted him as saying.
The proposal was also denounced by the Palestinian Authority, with presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh describing unilateral steps leading to the creation of a temporary Palestinian state as t as "unacceptable.
"This policy would lead to a continuation of the conflict and not a solution," he said in a statement.
Although the two largest parties in Israel's coalition - the Likud and Kadima - committed themselves to advancing the peace process with the Palestinians, it is unlikely that Barak's idea of a unilateral withdrawal will be adopted.
Israel withdrew unilaterally from the Gaza Strip in 2005, a move welcomed at the time by the majority of Israelis, but now regarded differently, after Hamas, which rejects Israel's right to exist, seized control of the salient in 2007, and the number of rockets fired from the enclave at southern Israel increased.
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