Olmert claims predecessors committed to pullback

"We face the cruel dilemma of a greater Israel or a Jewish state. They cannot coexist, and only fantasists and those who cannot grasp reality think otherwise," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today.

Olmert slammed his critics over the negotiations with Syria. "Anyone who would sit in my place would understand that these processes must be held with utmost caution, and that secrecy is an essential part of the process. It isn't always possible to share the issue even with most of the cabinet. My four predecessors as prime minister committed to painful concessions, and no one will put me to the test and ask to see these commitments. They all exist," he said.

Olmert added that the talks with Syria would be on the basis of the Madrid conference, which stipulates comprehensive peace and no prior commitments. "This is an unequivocal achievement. All I've told the Syrians since February 2007 is that we know what they want and they know what we want," he said, and clarified that no written commitments had been given to the Syrians.

Olmert continued, "Spin-shmin. The talks have been going on quietly for 15 months, which this government knows how to do, with no trumpeting."

As for the negotiations with the Palestinians, Olmert said that serious talks were underway. "I'm not wasting time. I'm doing this in the conviction that time is of the essence more than any other factor."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 26, 2008