Word: olmert
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...government, which was sworn in last week--by videophone because Israel refused to let Hamas officials travel between the West Bank and Gaza. Israel refuses to talk with Hamas until the militants disarm and abandon their vow to destroy Israel. And Hamas leaders are incensed by one facet of Olmert's plan: if Hamas refuses to accept Israel, the Israelis will draw up permanent borders unilaterally. "Why should we recognize Israel," asks Aziz Dweik, Hamas' new Palestinian Assembly Speaker, "when Israel won't recognize our existence...
...most stirring sections of his election-night speech, Olmert showed whom he wanted to work with, addressing Abbas directly: "We are ready to compromise and give up parts of the land that we love, where the best of our sons and fighters are buried ... to allow you to fulfill your dream and live alongside us, in your state, in lasting peace." It was a fitting expression of hope for the leader of a party whose name is Hebrew for "forward." But after its disappointing showing, Kadima must be wondering whether it will be strong enough to live up to that...
...Khartoum for an Arab league summit last week, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas received hourly dispatches on the vote in the Israel elections. There was no secret about who he wanted to win: Ehud Olmert, leader of the centrist Kadima party, and political heir to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has lain in a coma since January. Olmert's party did better than any other; but Kadima scooped up just 29 of the 120 seats in the Knesset. Opinion polls before the vote had suggested that it would win nearly 40. "I wish Olmert had more seats," Abbas told his aides...
...Strong partners are needed to forge a Middle East peace. But neither Abbas nor Olmert, acting Prime Minister and all but certain to continue in that role, fit the bill. As President of the Palestinian Authority, Abbas, a member of Fatah, has to contend with the radical Islamic government of Hamas, which won the Palestinian elections in January. And Olmert must rig up a coalition government with potentially troublesome partners to secure a majority in the Knesset. Until he does that, say advisers, he will not move into Sharon's office. But putting a coalition together is just a start...
...Olmert will likely align Kadima with Labor (which won 20 seats) and either the Shas party of the Orthodox Sephardic Jews (12 seats) or the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu (11 seats), a voice for the country's 900,000 Russian immigrants. Several of the smaller fringe parties, such as the Pensioners' Party, may also join the coalition. All these groupings have their own agendas. Labor, for example, says it wants a negotiated peace with the Palestinians. Labor leader Amir Peretz said he is in favor of dismantling Jewish settlements in the West Bank. But this will cause pain among those...