Word: olmert
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...Olmert was right: it sounded like spin. The implication, of course, was that Abdullah would be pleasantly surprised. But it was an implication impeded by an impossible precondition: that somehow the Saudis would first be able to get the Hamas-led Palestinian government to renounce terrorism and recognize Israel. "It's not going to happen," a member of Olmert's Cabinet told me. "Hamas is getting money and training from Iran. Its militant wing, where the real power lies, is based in Damascus. The Saudis have no influence over them." And the Israelis will have no truck with Hamas. Indeed...
...grand scheme has been proposed by the Saudis, not imposed by outsiders, and it is appealing to the Administration: it holds the prospect of an alliance of moderate Arab states, and Israel, against the growing influence of Iran. "The world is eager for this process," another member of Olmert's Cabinet told me. "But we have moved with the Palestinians from a resolvable political process to an unresolvable religious conflict," a reference to Hamas' refusal, on Islamic grounds, to acknowledge the possibility of a Jewish state. If the Prime Minister won't say it publicly, his Cabinet is saying...
Political popularity is usually relative. Even the most unloved politicians have a hard core of supporters who will back them no matter what. But in Israel these days, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is testing the limits of the possible: in a recent poll by a local television station, he had a favorable rating of 3%. Given the poll's margin of error, it was possible Olmert had no support beyond his extended family. The Prime Minister responded to this dismaying turn of events--caused by Israel's less than triumphant war against Hizballah last summer, plus a gaudy array...
...Olmert did not crawl out from under his desk when he met recently with TIME's Jerusalem bureau chief, Tim McGirk, and me at the Prime Minister's residence. He seemed charming and almost confident. And why not? He was suddenly a popular fellow in the diplomatic world. Not only was he being courted by Condoleezza Rice in her belated effort to unstick the Middle East peace process, but also the Saudi Arabians--the implacable Alpha Arabs--were again holding out the possibility of diplomatic recognition in return for a settlement with the Palestinians (on terms Israel could never accept...
...Arab summit in Riyadh, Abbas is backing a revived Saudi initiative that offers Israel peace with all Arab nations if it returns to its pre-1967 war borders and allows thousands of Palestinian refugees to return home. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he is open to some aspects of the plan, but not the "right of return" for Palestinians since they would swamp the Jewish state. The Saudis urged Israel to accept, or else. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said, "If Israel refuses, that means it doesn't want peace. Then [the conflict] goes back into the hands...