Israel acting prime minister, Olmert: Israel must pull out from parts of West Bank
25/01/2006    
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent
 
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert opened his Tuesday evening speech at the sixth annual Herzliya Conference by saying Israel would have to withdraw from parts of the West Bank.
 
Israel`s 2005 pullout from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank was a "turning point for the state of Israel," said Olmert, who was standing in for ailing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

 
Olmert presented his political plan ahead of the elections, as his rivals - Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu and Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz - also did this week.
 
Olmert said that the main challenge facing Israel now is "setting the permanent borders of the state of Israel to ensure a Jewish majority.
 
"The choice between allowing Jews to live in all parts of the land of Israel and living in a state with a Jewish majority mandates giving up parts of the Land of Israel," he said. "We cannot continue to control parts of the territories where most of the Palestinians live."
 
"Israel will keep security zones, main settlement blocs, and places important to the Jewish people, first of all, Jerusalem, united under Israeli control. There can be no Jewish state without Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty," Olmert said.
 
Israel supports the establishment of a democratic and "modern Palestinian state" but Olmert also emphasized the Palestinians would receive independence only if they bring a complete halt to attacks on Israel.
 
Olmert added that it would be a "historic mistake to let the Palestinians escape their commitment to dismantle the terror groups," saying Israel would insist on implementation of the road map peace plan, which requires the Palestinians to stop violence.
 
The Acting PM declared that a government under his leadership would be committed to the road map, and that advancing along this path requires adherence to all phases of the plan. The road map calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state within temporary borders, as a transitional phase to the final-status agreement.
 
Olmert said he is aware of pressure on Israel to consider another unilateral move if negotiations fail, but "we prefer an agreement." He went on, "if the participants do not keep their commitments, we will ensure the security and interests of the Israeli people by all methods."
 
Referring to Wednesday`s election of a new Palestinian parliament, Olmert hoped the Palestinians would not "choose again the extremists who have led them from tragedy to tragedy and to sorrowful lives."
 
Last week Olmert said that if Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas dismantles the terror organizations, he will begin final-status negotiations with him.
 
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dick Jones said Monday that the American administration would prefer to see Hamas limited to the Palestinian parliament, rather than in the PA government. He compared the situation in the PA to that in Lebanon, saying the U.S. is speaking with the Lebanese government, but not with Hezbollah ministers and that it would be possible to create a similar system here.
 
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