Israel Signals Shift on Jerusalem Split

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaks during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007. Olmert told his Cabinet on Sunday that an upcoming U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference would not replace direct negotiations with the Palestinians, and that his talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have produced no agreements so far. (AP Photo/Jim Hollander, Pool) (Jim Hollander - AP)

It's not clear whether Olmert could muster the political support to push through a peace deal. His popularity dropped sharply after last summer's war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, and he is the target of several corruption probes.

On Tuesday, he is to be questioned by police about allegations that he interfered in the government's sale of a bank while serving as a Cabinet minister. Indictment would force him to step down.

Palestinian officials largely stayed out of Israel's internal debates Monday, including over Jerusalem.

Abbas adviser Nabil Abu Rdeneh took issue, though, with Olmert's reference to Abbas' purported weakness. "We hope that these statements are not meant to place obstacles in the way of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that started today," Abu Rdeneh said.

Earlier Monday, Olmert's closest ally, Ramon, raised the idea of a possible division of Jerusalem in interviews on the two main radio stations.

Later in the day, Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the hardline Israel Beitenu Party, a member of Olmert's coalition, told a news conference he is ready to hand over some Arab neighborhoods of the city.

The proposals of Ramon and Lieberman would fall far short of a Palestinian demand to set up their future capital in all of the Israeli-annexed eastern sector of the city. The eastern part contains the Old City, home to major Jewish, Muslim and Christian shrines.

Still, the public debate was remarkable. Ramon suggested that there's been a shift in the Israeli consensus, noting that the three main parties in Olmert's coalition all favor a division, and disagree only about where the line should be drawn.

Israeli leaders have proposed possible solutions for the city in the past. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak was harshly criticized for raising the idea of division in failed 2000 peace talks.

Ramon said that under his plan, Israel would not hand over the Old City and neighboring areas _ known as the "holy basin" _ but he spoke of a special arrangement in the Old City. He did not elaborate, but the term would suggest less than full Israeli sovereignty there.

(This version CORRECTS ADDS comment on meeting; SUBS graf 13 to correct case.)