The Israeli government will support the division of Jerusalem, Deputy Vice Premier Haim Ramon said on Monday. The transfer of Arab-inhabited parts of Jerusalem to Palestinian control is reported to be a major component of an Israeli-Palestinian deal to be discussed during a Middle East peace conference in November.

Ramon, a close confidant of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, told Israel Radio that the Israeli government should be prepared for further concessions on a deal over Jerusalem. His concessions included transferring all Arab neighborhoods to Palestinian sovereignty, except for those that lie in the Old City and its adjacent holy site. According to Ramon, the deal would secure Israeli control over Jewish neighborhoods and Palestinian control over Arab neighborhoods, with both sides recognizing the sovereignty of the other.

“Wouldn’t it be the right deal today for the Palestinians, the Western world and the international community to recognize [Israel’s] annexation of … [Jewish] neighborhoods as part of Jerusalem, and for us to quit the Arab neighborhoods?” Ramon stated (Reuters, October 8).

Though he didn’t speak specifically about ceding control over Jerusalem’s Old City and its holy sites, Ramon indicated there would be a need for further discussions about a “special regime” that would control the area he termed the “holy basin.”

Speaking before the Israeli parliament later on Monday, Prime Minister Olmert said nothing of Ramon’s plan for splitting Jerusalem. Reports say Olmert seeks to distance himself from Ramon’s controversial remarks, but many speculate that “Ramon’s public comments on the most sensitive issues in the conflict have stoked speculation he is floating trial balloons on behalf of Olmert” ahead of the November peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland (ibid.).

Though he was hesitant to discuss dividing Jerusalem, Olmert told parliament members clearly that Israel needs to continue pursuing peace negotiations with the Palestinians, telling fellow politicians, according to Fox News, that the “current Palestinian leadership is serious about reaching a deal.”

“In a speech frequently interrupted by catcalls from opposition lawmakers, Olmert said the time is past for making excuses not to talk to the Palestinians, and the goodwill of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his West-leaning government must not be squandered,” the International Herald Tribune reported.

These remarks by Ramon, as well as Olmert’s speech, reveal the political atmosphere settling over Israel as it prepares for November’s peace conference. Clearly, Olmert’s government is primed for further concessions and negotiations.

Watch politics in Israel over the next month, especially as the Israeli government positions itself for the Annapolis talks. The Olmert administration stands on shaky ground right now, and radical concessions to the Palestinians could lead to its downfall.