Olmert: Syria, Israel on guard
Prime minister tells Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee he hopes 'tension on northern border will gradually dissipate'; adds US-sponsored meeting scheduled to take place in fall will be an international summit aimed at offering international support to Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process
Addressing the Syrian front, Olmert said, "We have been in the same situation for the past few weeks. We see the deployment of the Syrian forces and they see ours. They are not interested in a violent conflict, and neither are we."
"Both sides are on guard and I hope the tension will gradually dissipate and this front will calm down. We are definitely interested in this," he added.
The prime minister also expressed his concerns over what was taking place in Lebanon, "particularly the violent activity." Olmert said that the assassination of anti-Syrian lawmaker Antoine Ghanem in Beirut last week undermined the stability in the country.
Addressing the summit scheduled to take place in Washington in the fall, Olmert said that "this is not a peace conference, but rather an international meeting aimed at offering international support to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
"The talks with Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) have gained momentum since the Palestinian unity government was dissolved and Hamas took over the Gaza Strip," he added.
The prime minister explained that following the disbandment of the unity government, Israel saw an opportunity to deepen its ties with the moderate forces in order to provide them with a platform to sweep the Palestinian public opinion.
"Over the past few months we reached the conclusion that we should obtain international support for the bolstering of the moderate forces in the form of a meeting, which would be attended by countries invited by the United States.
"These are countries which support a solution of peace with Israel and accept the international community's principles and the Road Map," Olmert continued.
During the meeting, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu turned to the prime minister and told him, "You are the only one in the State of Israel who believes Abu Mazen is a partner."
According to Netanyahu, Israel's concessions will lead to stationing of Hamas gunmen on the walls of Jerusalem. "Any place the IDF leaves, Hamas enters," he said.
'We won't hurt Gaza residents'
Addressing the decision to declare Gaza a "hostile entity" and the reports that Israel plans to cut electricity supply to the Strip, Olmert said, "We have no plans to hurt Gaza residents. We are making the distinction between the large majority of the public which is not involved in terror and between the initiators of terror who are trying to drag the entire Strip."
As for the Qassam rocket fire, the prime minister said that "we are constantly operating in the Gaza Strip, including airstrikes and a large number of casualties on the Palestinian side. These operations are not halted even for a minute. This activity does not guarantee a halt to all Qassam attacks."
Olmert took advantage of the opportunity to compliment former Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who sat next to him at the meeting.
"I was used to sit next to him in security forums. Up to the last minutes of his role he led an unprecedented activity aimed at drawing the lessons from the Second Lebanon War and preparing the defense establishment for all types of threats. I take this opportunity to thank him."
