Olmert: Israel will separate from most Palestinians
 
Israel "will separate from most of the Palestinian population that lives in the West Bank, and that will obligate us to separate as well from territories where the State of Israel currently is," Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said yesterday in his first media interview since taking on the job of acting premier.

"We will gather ourselves into the main settlement blocs and preserve united Jerusalem... Ma'aleh Adumim, Gush Etzion and Ariel will be part of the state of Israel," Olmert told Channel 2 television.

Asked by interviewer Nissim Mishal what he intended to do with the Jordan Valley, Olmert responded: "It is impossible to give up control over Israel's eastern border."

The direction is clear," he continued. "We are moving toward separation from the Palestinians, toward setting Israel's permanent border." However, he declined to offer any further details, and in particular failed to mention settlements such as Hebron, Beit El and Ofra, which Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had viewed as part of the settlement blocs that Israel would retain.

Olmert also reiterated that the road map peace plan would remain the basis for any diplomatic negotiations with the Palestinians.
 
FULL STORY at
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/680081.html
 
Olmert facing dissent within Kadima Party over unilateral withdrawals in West Bank
 
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/680286.html