Shamir Shuns Proposal to Annex Occupied Land
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir refused demands by possible coalition partners today to annex occupied lands and expel Palestinians from them, but he supports more Jewish settlements, an aide said.
The United States considers such settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to be obstacles to peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Sources in the Labor Party said Foreign Minister Shimon Peres might be dumped as leader after the center-left party’s poor showing in Tuesday’s general election.
Critics say the Labor Party’s campaign focused too closely on the leader’s personality and his support for an international conference on Middle East peace, an Arab demand that stirs controversy in Israel.
Shamir’s right-wing Likud Party, which has been in a tenuous “national unity” coalition with Labor since indecisive 1984 elections, opposes a conference and wants to retain all the lands captured in the 1967 war. Peres has expressed willingness to trade some land for peace.
Likud won 39 seats in the 120-member parliament, one more than Labor, and seeks a coalition with small religious and rightist parties. Labor also has courted religious parties, but its chances for a coalition are considered slim.
In the occupied territories today, soldiers blew up four houses and nine Palestinians were reported wounded by army gunfire.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
