Speaking at the President's Conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday, former Mossad chief Meir Dagan talked about the regional upheaval taking place in the Middle East.
During a panel discussion titled "Should We Wait It Out? Israel and a Changing Middle East," Dagan said that "there are dramatic changes in the region. There are processes that are ongoing, and they don't stop. It is very hard to determine what the result will be."
Dagan said that Israel could pull out from the Jordan Valley as part of a peace agreement with the Palestinians. He also said that the Israel Defense Forces would be able to defend the country even if Israel were to withdraw to the Green Line (the pre-1967 border with Jordan).
"The Jordan Valley had importance in 1991," Dagan said. "At that time, there was a threat from Jordan, Syria and Iraq, but now it is of less importance."
Dagan's comments are a direct rebuke to statements made two weeks ago by Tourism Minister Uzi Landau, who called the 1967 borders "Auschwitz Borders."
Dagan said that the current situation in the region provides unique opportunity for Israel to seek different alliances and asserted that renewing peace negotiations with the Palestinians is necessary.
Dagan said Israel needs to start "serious" negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and that the Arab League should be involved.
"I don't like every aspect of the Arab peace initiative, but the need to negotiate is crucial," Dagan said. "The Arab League today is less hostile to Israel. The Arab initiative should form the basis of renewing negotiations. We have more opportunities than we realize. If we don't take initiative, the change might be imposed on us and the price will be heavy."
Other participants in the panel discussion were former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Itamar Rabinovich, former Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Dore Gold and former U.S. ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer.
Reacting to Dagan's comments, Deputy Foreign Minister Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) said Dagan was behaving irresponsibly, and that the former Mossad chief had backed the disengagement from Gaza.
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