Olmert to ask Bush to neutralize Hamas
Prime minister in Washington to meet with US president Tuesday; Olmert expected to ask Bush to fortify Abbas to make sure Hamas is 'out of the game', and prevent Abbas and Haniyeh from future cooperation
WASHINGTON - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is expected to tell US President George W. Bush that Hamas must be removed from the picture completely, when the two leaders meet in Washington on Tuesday.
Israel and the US must prevent Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh from cooperating, Olmert is expected to say.
Olmert is also scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday evening.
In attempt to strengthen Abbas against Hamas, Olmert will push for international support for the Palestinian president, to make him a legitimate partner for a diplomatic agreement – in the eyes of his own people as well as the world.
The United States has already made a significant gesture to boost Abbas when it decided Monday to resume financial aid to the Palestinian Authority, following Abbas' formation of an emergency cabinet excluding Hamas.
Bush and Olmert are scheduled for a three-hour meeting over lunch.
Syrian plan
During his meeting with the American president, Olmert is also expected to raise the possibility of renewing peace negotiations with Syria, a development that may dissolve the "axis of evil" with Damascus at its center.
Israeli officials estimate that the price of ceding the Golan Heights may be reasonable if it would lead to the removal of the Syrian threat from the north and the blocking of arms transfers from Iran to Hizbullah and Hamas.
Israel may also gain from the removal of the Palestinian terror organizations’ headquarters from the Syrian capital.
More specifically, Bush and Olmert are expected to discuss the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, which calls for enforcing the weapons embargo on Hizbullah, as well as the rather unlikely scenario of deploying an international force along the Philadelphi Route.
The leaders will also discuss the stalled Saudi peace initiative, efforts to release the kidnapped Israeli soldiers and regional cooperation between Israel, Egypt and Jordan.
The PM plans to ask that sanctions on Tehran be boosted in attempt to pressure Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons development program.
Olmert met with members of AIPAC and National Security Council advisor Steve Hadley shortly after his arrival in Washington.
