Small earthquake in Jerusalem

Israeli politicians and pundits will be busy in the coming days working out what Ehud Olmert8217;s coalition government will look like. It is clear that the brand-new Kadima party he leads will team up with Labour under Amir Peretz, but less obvious who else will join them to make up a working majority in the Knesset. The decimation of Likud and the humiliation of Binyamin Netanyahu signal a welcome defeat for the bankrupt ideology of 8220;Greater Israel.8221; For Palestinians and for others, in the Middle East and beyond, the central issue remains how this small earthquake in Israel can help resolve a bloody and intractable conflict.

The disappointingly poor outcome for Kadima still means that a majority of Israelis have voted for further withdrawals from the occupied West Bank, following Ariel Sharon8217;s 8220;disengagement8221; from the Gaza Strip last summer, with or without agreement with the Palestinians. Mr Olmert plans unilaterally to remove the Jewish outposts that lie beyond the 8220;security barrier8221; that shuts off the West Bank. His victory means that enough Israelis have understood that they have to disentangle themselves from the Palestinians 8211; almost 40 years after the 1967 war8230;

Ritual incantation of the need to return to the 1967 lines is not helpful. But that does not mean, for example, that Ariel, deep in the West Bank, should be allowed to stay put; nor should Mr Olmert pursue the extension of Maaleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem. From now on, Israel should spend money only on removing settlements and compensating their residents. It would be good news to see a swift demolition of Kiryat Arba, outside Hebron, and the removal of the fanatical Israeli settlers who have made life a misery for the city8217;s Palestinians for so long; it will also be a huge test of Mr Olmert8217;s untried and uncharismatic leadership to see if he can pull it off8230;

This is an excerpt from 8216;The Guardian8217; leader of March 30