By Chris Mitchell
JERUSALEM DATELINE:
Will Olmert Divide Jerusalem?
CBNNews.com - Even members of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's own party are upset by Vice Premier Chaim Ramon's call to give up Israeli control over a large part of Jerusalem.
CBN News has learned that the plan, which was revealed while U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was visiting, is based on a plan forwarded by President Bill Clinton seven years ago.
The Ramon proposal would effectively divide Jerusalem in two. Most of East Jerusalem would be given over to the Palestinian Authority, while West Jerusalem would remain under Israeli control.
The plan would put the holy sites like the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher under "special sovereignty" while the Western Wall would remain under Israeli control.
"The moment that we re-divide Jerusalem and divide up the Old City of Jerusalem, we're going to create chaos," said former Israeli U.N. Ambassador Dore Gold.
Gold, author of The Fight for Jerusalem, says dividing the city would trigger a jihadist war.
"Look what's happening in Iraq where mosques are getting blown up and churches are being attacked. Do we really want to put that in the heart of Jerusalem, with Hamas and a Palestinian version of the Taliban? This is a colossal error, and I don't understand why the Bush administration is behind this," he said.
Several key leaders in Olmert's coalition denounced the plan, including the head of the ultra-orthodox Shas Party and the leader of the Pensioners Party.
Many Israeli analysts suspect that the Ramon proposal is a "trial balloon" to prepare the public for negotiations at the upcoming Middle East conference in Washington, scheduled for November.
Rice is in the Middle East now, talking to Israelis and Palestinians, to set up the conference.
Leaders both inside and outside of the Olmert government are calling on him to clarify his stand on Jerusalem so the Israeli people know what is at stake.
Original Source