If the President Could Mind His Business Please

Israeli President Shimon Peres suggested today that Israel should finally get around to defining its borders, thereby giving Palestine some borders as well. A few rightist parties in the government suggested that he "desist from 'interfering' in controversial political matters."

"The president of the state lacks any authority in political matters, in particular diplomatic and political subjects that are steeped in controversy," wrote MK Zevulun Orlev, chairman of Habayit Hayehudi, which is in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, in a letter to Peres.

The Ha'aretz article also added, "Peres said that Israel and the Palestinians should agree on the declaration of a Palestinian state with provisional borders, 'subject to a clear promise that the border will in a short span of time become permanent borders.'"