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Mitzna Sweeps Labor Primaries, Palestinians Cautiously Welcome

The Labor party knows how to bring security and peace: Mitzna

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, November 20 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Amram Mitzna, the dovish mayor of Haifa, cruised to victory in the Labor party primaries with a 15 point win over incumbent Binyamin Ben Eliezer to lead his center-left party into Israel’s general election in January, according to official results issued early Wednesday, November 20.

Mitzna won 53.9 percent of votes cast against 38.17 percent for incumbent leader and hawkish former defense minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and 7.24 percent for Haim Ramon, Israel public radio reported.

The overwhelming result meant there was no need for a second round vote, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

In his victory speech Mitzna offered the number two spot on the Labor list to Ben-Eliezer, in what was seen as a gesture of conciliation, reported the Israeli daily Ha’aretz on its web site.

“Tomorrow morning I want us to arise to a new morning, not a morning of settling accounts, not a morning of checking what happened, and who said what over the last few months, rather, a morning of togetherness, all of us, the current leadership along with new faces,” Mitzna said in a victory speech at the party’s headquarters in the Hatikva quarter of south Tel Aviv on Tuesday.

“Let’s go forward together, let’s run together against the Likud not only to change the government, but to create another reality and another society in the State of Israel,” Mitzna said.

“The Labor party knows how to bring security and peace, how to live in peace with our neighbors and with our enemies... we can win,” he asserted.

Turning to Ben-Eliezer and addressing him by the name given the outgoing Labor leader when he was born in Iraq, Mitzna concluded the speech by raising both of their hands in a gesture of triumph.

“If we believe that we can defeat the Likud, we can do it. Come, let us do it together. Fuad, I thank you for the fair campaign, and I want to shake your hand in peace. Thank you, everyone. Together - to victory over the Likud!”

Earlier, addressing reporters and backers at his campaign headquarters in Haifa, Mitzna underscored campaign pledges that if elected prime minister, Israel would “separate from the Palestinians, by agreement or in a unilateral process, and we will turn all our attention inward, to social problems.”

Mitzna was elected on a pledge to close Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, rein in settlements in the West Bank and unilaterally separate from the Palestinians if peace talks yield no results.

Former foreign minister Shimon Peres congratulated Mitzna and urged the party to make a strong push towards the election.

“We don’t know what the result of the general election will be. There are another two months which is a very long time,” he said on private television.

“We mustn’t let our spirits drop. We’ve seen what can happen in two months.”

In response, Mitzna said Peres’ help would be crucial in the search for a Middle East settlement. “Your way is my way - your way is the way of the Labour party. You took the first steps with Yitzak Rabin and we will continue that,” he said referring to the former premier who was slain by a right-wing extremist seven years ago.

Voter turnout was said to be close to 65 percent, high for a Labor primary, with even higher percentages in those areas in which Mitzna had been expected to do well.

It took Ben-Eliezer a full 20 minutes before he congratulated Mitzna, and not before he had thanked a long list of people.

“Amram Mitzna phoned me half an hour ago. I congratulated him and wished him success.”

Ben-Eliezer said his support for the new party leader was conditional on Labor not being transformed into a clone of the left-wing Meretz party.

Labor “cannot become Meretz II,” said the Iraq-born Ben-Eliezer, who immigrated to Israel at age 13.

Emerging as a good loser, rank outsider Ramon vowed to support Mitzna.

Mitzna, 57, is a reserve major-general who served as overall West Bank commander in the first Palestinian Intifada in the late 1980s.

In September 1982, Mitzna wrote a letter to then-chief of staff Rafael Eitan, saying he had lost confidence in then-defense minister Ariel Sharon because of the minister’s behavior during the invasion of Lebanon.

Sharon demanded Mitzna be dismissed, but prime minister Menachem Begin settled for reprimanding him.

Palestinian officials cautiously welcomed the election victory of Mitzna as Labor chairman and as the party’s prime ministerial candidate in January 28 general elections.

Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Ahmed Korei, aka Abu Ala, said that Mitzna “had succeeded in his short time on the political scene to deliever clear and important messages on the need to set up a true peace.”

According to Abu Ala, statements by Mitznas calling for the evacuation of Israeli settlements in the territories testifies to a real desire to achieve peace.

Nabil Abu Rdeinah, a senior aide to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, said, “We are concerned to find leaders who are committed to work with us for peace.”

“Therefore we welcome any Israeli leader who is going to be committed to make peace with us and work according to the signed agreements,” he added.

Abu Rdeinah stressed that the elections were an internal Israeli matter.

Palestinian Planning and International Cooperation Minister Nabil Shaath was quoted by Army Radio as saying that he did not yet want to welcome the new Labor leadership, in order to avoid “causing them problems in the internal Israeli arena.”

But Shaath added that “this is the first opportunity in a long time” and that Labor’s new leadership “has a lot of work to do in order to rebuild the peace camp.”

 

 

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