OLMERT READY TO CEDE MORE LAND

Israel 'has to withdraw further' (BBC)
Israel will have to withdraw from further parts of the West Bank, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said. In his first policy speech as interim leader, he said the main challenge ahead was to shape Israel's borders for good to ensure a Jewish majority. It could not continue to control parts with a Palestinian majority, but would keep its main settlements, he said. ...

Mr Olmert told a conference at Herzliya that Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank last year was a turning point. "In order to ensure the existence of a Jewish national home, we will not be able to continue ruling over the territories in which the majority of the Palestinian population lives," he said.

However, Mr Olmert said that Israel would keep security zones, the main settlement blocs, and places important to the Jewish people, such as Jerusalem. "There can be no Jewish state without Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty," he said. He also hinted that Israel would act alone to set a border in the West Bank if talks failed.