"Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's peace plan is dangerous and it will cause irreversible damage to Israeli society," representatives of The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria (Yesha) and Gaza said after their meeting with Olmert at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on Tuesday. The settler leaders protested the government's policy on freezing settlement activity and said it stemmed from US pressure. They said they didn't get concrete answers to their questions to Olmert and that the issue of illegal outpost did not arise during their discussions.
Olmert responded sympathetically to the settler heads. "My feelings about Israel and its land are similar to yours," he said. "I have no doubt that every inch of land, from Jordan to the sea, is part of Israel and linked to its heritage and the history of our people. However, I also know that in order to ensure the future of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, we are forced to make concessions."
"Nevertheless," continued the prime minister, "I can say to you with certainty that there are places that I will never withdraw from, and everyone knows this: the Palestinians, the Americans, because I tell them this very clearly."
Olmert went on to say he felt he was in "a heart-breaking dispute with the settler community which I was part of."
It was Olmert's first meeting with Yesha representatives as prime minister and he said he would conduct "respectful talks" with them in the future.
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