Olmert Just Can’t Bring Himself to Declare Unequivocal Nullification of “Convergence”…

Olmert Announces Policy Shift to Gain Support

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A war-battered prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has signaled his Realignment Plan is “no longer relevant,” seeking to increase popularity.

In his first briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee since the war in Lebanon, the prime minister on Monday spoke to committee members for three hours.

According to MK (Meretz-Yahad) Ran Cohen, a committee member, Olmert made it clear in his briefing that the Realignment Plan is no longer relevant, the plan calling for the removal of most of the communities throughout Judea and Samaria.

Two senior aides from the Prime Minister’s office, Shalom Turjeman and Yoram Turbowitz, left for the US on Monday night, reportedly to inform Bush administration officials that the Realignment Plan is dead. However, officials in the Prime Minister’s Office deny the report saying that the two top aides are delivering a post-Lebanon War briefing to Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice, and not to bury the Realignment Plan.

The plan was at the heart of Olmert’s election campaign, but polls show support has dwindled as the prime minister faces a snowballing grassroots call for the establishment of an independent state commission of inquiry into the war in Lebanon. Olmert to date has refused such a move, insisting his commissions appointed to investigate government mishandling of the war will produce the results and an independent inquiry is unwarranted and undesirable. There are also mounting calls for Olmert to resign from office, along with Defense Minister Amir Peretz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz.

Other members of the Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee, Silvan Shalom (Likud) and Danny Naveh (Likud), stated that the prime minister is adamantly opposed to an independent inquiry into the war, but did not adequately explain in the session why he has taken this position.

Shalom told reporters earlier in the week that while the Likud Party does not rule out joining an emergency government, such a reality is not possible until the Kadima-led administration changes major policy positions concerning social-economic issues, officially announcing the Realignment Plan is not on the agenda, and launching an independent state inquiry commission into the war in Lebanon.

Ehud Olmert announced on Monday night his intentions to continue to lead the country. He addressed a forum of municipality leaders and mayors making it clear that he has no intention of stepping down, not today and not in the future.

Olmert stated the nation must move ahead and prepare for the next war, adding we cannot know when it will break out. In statements released during recent days, the prime minister has warned of the threat from Iran, stating Israel must prepare for future conflicts and cannot be bogged down with state inquiries.

The prime minister on Monday night told the forum that it is now clear to terror organizations, “that Israel is willing to go to war for two soldiers,” indicating the military objective was a big boost to Israel’s deterrence power.

Seeking to stabilize his cabinet, Olmert has signaled his main coalition partner Labor Party leader Amir Peretz that if he and his colleagues do not support the 2007 budget, he will launch talks towards the formation of a new coalition.

For additional Background, click: PM Instructs FM to Revise Budget in Face of Labor and Shas Threats and Coalition Partners Threaten to Bolt Government as well as Olmert’s latest boast:
Olmert: I’ll Be PM for 4 Years and Longer

But Avigdor Liberman and Yisrael Beiteinu won’t bite for joining a coalition with Olmert and Kadima “unless they establish a state commission and step away from their unclear statements on the future of the Convergence Plan, declaring clearly and publicly that it has been nullified.”