GAZA CITY, 27 March 2006 — Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said yesterday that he planned to get US approval before going ahead with fixing Israel’s borders unilaterally.
“We want to set the permanent border of Israel and to do so we must separate from the Palestinians and in order to separate from Palestinians we must define for ourselves our red lines.” Olmert said in an interview with Israeli public radio.
Kadima party leader Olmert, acting premier since his mentor Ariel Sharon suffered a brain hemorrhage in January, is the overwhelming favorite to win tomorrow’s general election which he has made a de-facto referendum on his project to redraw the country’s borders.
Olmert has already pledged to make fixing the borders the top priority of his next administration.
The Palestinians have warned Israel not to try to pre-empt a final status agreement but Olmert believes that international pressure can be mobilized to achieve his goal.
“I have reason to believe that there is great openness both in the United States and in other countries to listen to our arguments and to debate them in seriousness,” said Olmert.
Meanwhile, an Israeli Army officer said yesterday the army would end all coordination with local representatives of the Palestinian Authority once a Hamas-dominated government is sworn in Wednesday.
Israel has repeatedly said it will have no dealings with a Hamas-led government.
