BARAK PROPOSES SURRENDERING LAND, PLO STILL REJECTS IT

Defense minister Ehud Barak has made defeatist statements at the National Securities Studies in Tel Aviv:

Under Barak's plan, first announced in an interview with Israel Hayom published on Tuesday, the settlement blocs of Gush Etzion, Maaleh Adumim and Ariel would remain intact. These blocs house some 90 percent of Judea and Samaria's Jewish population. Strategic areas (such as the Samarian hills overlooking Ben-Gurion International Airport) would similarly remain under Israeli control, and a long-term Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley would be ensured. The remainder of the territory would be handed over to the Palestinians to establish a state. Dozens of small Jewish communities would have to be evacuated, or be given the choice of remaining under Palestinian Authority sovereignty for a trial period.

It's atrocious alright, but despite his dhimmitude, the PLO have shunned his proposals:

Arab leaders have rejected Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s proposal to turn over most of Judea and Samaria to the Palestinian Authority. [...]

Rejection of the plan by the Palestinian Authority was certain, and Likud Minister Dan Meridor noted that Barak's proposal was an attempt for political survival. The Defense Minister bolted the Labor Party earlier this year and formed his new Independence party, which will barely win enough votes to be represented in the next Knesset, according to polls.

Among PA leaders shooting down Barak’s plan was PLO executive committee member Wasel Abu Yousef, who told the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency, "It seems as if they're talking about a temporary state based on small separated areas whose valleys are controlled by Israel … they are avoiding talking about Jerusalem and the wall which is confiscating Palestinian lands and giving legitimacy to settlements.”

He charged that Barak is trying to obstruct PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ effort to win recognition from the United Nations General Assembly, which probably will grant it non-member observer status.

Abu Yousef added that PA Arabs would reject the withdrawal plan.

They might actually reject it because it only increases the PLO's grasp over them and destroy whatever remains of freedom they have left, leaving sharia in its wake. In any case, Barak does not deserve to get any votes in upcoming elections.