Israel Reportedly Plans to Reduce W. Bank Pullback

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his key Cabinet allies, confronting growing threats from some legislators to bring down his government, plan to reduce the size of a promised Israeli troop withdrawal from the West Bank, it was reported Wednesday.

Any Israeli plan to scale down its offer to the Palestinians in the next pullback seems certain to run into opposition from the Clinton administration, which has pressed Israel to come up with what the Americans have termed a “significant and credible” withdrawal from 10% to 15% of the West Bank.

At the same time, centrists in Netanyahu’s coalition, including Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai, are threatening to quit the government if the withdrawal doesn’t occur.

U.S. envoy Dennis B. Ross, in the region to prepare for meetings President Clinton will hold separately with Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat in two weeks, said Wednesday that he had received no new proposals from the Israeli leader. And U.S. officials said that U.S. expectations for the troop redeployment remained the same.

But Israeli media said that Netanyahu would tell Ross that Israel will next withdraw from no more than 8% of the West Bank unless the Palestinians and Americans agree to cancel a later stage of pullbacks--also promised in existing Israeli-Palestinian peace deals--and go directly to talks on a permanent peace settlement.

That is unlikely. The Palestinians have said they expect Israel to carry out both sets of pullbacks; the U.S., for its part, guaranteed the phased withdrawals last year in talks about Israeli troops leaving most of the West Bank city of Hebron.

Even if the new condition is met, the reports said, the single withdrawal will amount to 10% to 12% of the West Bank--far below the 30% the Palestinians have said they hope to receive in each of the promised withdrawals.

A senior Netanyahu aide said Wednesday that Netanyahu and key officials are discussing a reduced redeployment and conditions that the Palestinians must meet before it is carried out.

The balance of power in Netanyahu’s government has shifted significantly since the resignation Sunday of Foreign Minister David Levy, a moderate who had championed the peace process in the Cabinet. When Levy and his Gesher Party quit Netanyahu’s coalition, the prime minister’s majority in the 120-member legislature was slashed to a single vote.

Netanyahu’s vulnerability was underscored Wednesday by threats from lawmakers to topple his government if it gives the Palestinians so much as an inch more of Israeli-controlled land--and from others who said they will bolt if he does not carry out the hand-over.

Legislator Hanan Porat said his National Religious Party will staunchly oppose any further redeployment unless Netanyahu compels the Palestinians to fulfill treaty agreements, including providing greater security against terrorist attacks. Otherwise, Porat said, “We won’t be able to support the government, and we’ll vote no confidence.”

But Avigdor Kahalani, the internal security minister, said his centrist Third Way party will leave the government unless the next withdrawal occurs. And Mordechai, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, told Israel’s Cable Channel 3 that he would quit the government if the overdue pullback does not occur within the next three months.