On Tuesday, August 1st, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made a statement to the AP that he would continue his planned policy to extricate Jewish communities from Judea and Samaria and also work towards establishing an independent Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria. Following an uproar, which included protests by Israeli soldiers on the Lebanese front, Olmert spoke with National Union Member of Knesset Efraim Eitan and was reported to have apologized for his statement of policy.

In a short phone interview today, I asked MK Eitam about the substance of Olmert’s reported apology. Eitam made it clear that Olmert apolgized for the TIMING of his policy statement, not for its substance.

The August 5th edition of ISRAEL RESOURCE REVIEW, www.ibtn.co.il, will elaborate on Olmert’s plans for surrender of lands and communities in Judea and Samaria, to be replaced by an independent Palestinian Arab State.

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