Sharon mulls adjusting borders to exclude Arabs

JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is considering a proposal to redraw Israel's border to exclude tens of thousands of its Arab citizens, turning them over to a Palestinian state in a peace accord, a top official said Tuesday.

Such a territory-and-population exchange has become part of mainstream debate in Israel since the outbreak of Mideast fighting in 2000.

The violence has increased friction between Arabs and Jews in Israel and has raised questions among Jews about the loyalty of the Arab minority, as Israeli Arab lawmakers consistently take the side of the Palestinians in public debates.

The Maariv daily on Tuesday quoted Sharon as saying he is considering the idea of a swap. "It is a complicated problem. I don't have an answer on the matter yet, but I am certainly checking it," he said.

Ahmed Tibi, an Israeli Arab lawmaker, was outraged. "We are talking about a dangerous, antidemocratic suggestion, which will bring about a schism between the state and its Arab citizens," Tibi said. He said residents of Israel's Arab towns "are not pawns that Sharon can play with."

Rassem Khamaisi, a Hebrew University professor, was also critical. "This kind of talk is a delegitimization of the Israeli Arab population in Israeli society," he said.

They would not agree to the plan because "they are a part of a political system that already exists and would not want to go into another one that is unsure."

The Associated Press, quoting an unnamed senior Israeli official, reported that areas that might be swapped would include those with high concentrations of Israeli Arabs near the boundary with the West Bank.

The final border could put many of them in a Palestinian state, while other revisions would include Jewish West Bank settlements in Israel.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, singled out an area called the "triangle," a territory in the northern part of the country that includes Um el-Fahm, a town of 30,000, power base of the radical arm of the Islamic Movement. Leaders of the movement are facing trial for alleged ties to Hamas, the violent Palestinian group. They deny the charges.

About half of the 1.3-million Israeli Arabs live in the northern Galilee region, many in the "triangle." Overall, Arabs make up about 20 percent of Israel's population.

Israelis Arabs have the right to vote, receive Israeli social services and can work inside Israel, but have complained of decades of discrimination.

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