Olmert: Palestinians Stand at Crossroads

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, right, sits next to Vice-Premier Shimon Peres at the weekly cabinet meeting, held in honor of Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion, seen background, in Sde Boker, southern Israel, Monday, Nov. 27, 2006. Israeli troops shot and killed a Hamas-linked militant in a West Bank raid early Monday, casting a cloud over a day-old truce that ended more than five months of fighting in the Gaza Strip. The cease-fire raised hopes that Israel and the Palestinians would be able to restart long-stalled peace efforts, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was expected to make a speech about his peace plans Monday afternoon. (AP Photo/David Silverman, Pool) (David Silverman - AP)

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered wide-ranging concessions if the Palestinians turn away from violence, saying Monday that they would be able to achieve an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip through real peace talks with Israel.

In what was billed in advance as a major policy speech, Olmert tried to entice the Palestinians to return to long-stalled peace talks with promises of an immediate improvement in their lives: promising to reduce checkpoints, release frozen funds and free prisoners in exchange for a serious Palestinian push for peace.

"I hold out my hand in peace to our Palestinian neighbors in the hope that it won't be returned empty," Olmert said.

Directly addressing the Palestinians in some of his most conciliatory remarks since winning election in March, Olmert described Israel as willing to make far-reaching concessions if the Palestinians choose peace.

"We, the state of Israel, will agree to the evacuation of many territories and the settlements that we built there. This is extremely difficult for us, like the splitting of the Red Sea. We will do it for real peace," he said.

He said that if the Palestinians establish a new government committed to carrying out the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan and securing the release of a captured Israeli soldier, then he would call for an immediate meeting with Abbas "to have a real, open, honest, serious dialogue between us."

Olmert said that Israel planned to release "many Palestinian prisoners," including those serving long sentences, as a trust-building measure after Palestinian militants freed the captured soldier alive and healthy.

Israel would also ease the checkpoints across the West Bank, improve border terminals in Gaza, release the frozen money to the Palestinians and help develop a plan to rehabilitate their crippled economy, he said.

In exchange, Olmert said Palestinians would have to renounce violence, recognize Israel's right to live in peace and security and give up their demands to allow refugees from the 1948 Mideast War to return to their homes in what is now Israel.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the Palestinians were ready to negotiate a final peace deal.

"I believe Mr. Olmert knows he has a partner, and that is President Abbas. He knows that to achieve peace and security for all, we need to shoot for the end game," Erekat said.

As a first step, Erekat said, the two sides need to sustain a fragile new cease-fire along the Israel-Gaza border and also extend it to the West Bank.