Senior Israel officials are scheduled to leave for the United States late Monday evening to notify the US government that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's realignment plan for unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank is off the table. Olmert's chief of staff Yoram Turbovich and diplomatic advisor Shalom Turgeman expect to meet with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and national security advisor Steve Hadley, and intend to plan Olmert's next visit to the US. | “Realignment was the central platform of Olmert's policy regarding the Palestinians, but the idea of unilateral withdrawal from captured territory has been deeply undermined by the recent war with Hizbullah in southern Lebanon...” |
Yesha spokesperson Emily Amrusi was not overly thrilled by Olmert's reported remarks. She said that the prime minister had made the statement out of political motives since what concerned him was keeping his coalition together and not aggravating the opposition. "Olmert is still a shortsighted leader who is devoid of logic. He has not changed overnight, he is even talking of negotiating with Lebanon," exclaimed Amrusi.