ISRAEL: Israel cannot under any circumstances reconcile itself to a nuclear Iran, Ehud Olmert declared yesterday in his first substantive policy remarks since taking over as acting prime minister, after Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke two weeks ago.
"Under no circumstances, and at no point, can Israel allow anyone with these kinds of malicious designs against us to have control of weapons of destruction that can threaten our existence," Mr Olmert said at a joint news conference with President Moshe Katsav in Jerusalem.
Asked if this meant Israel might embark on military action against Iran, Mr Olmert replied: "The state of Israel cannot reconcile itself to a situation in which there is a threat against us, just as, in my view, the nations of Europe and the United States cannot reconcile themselves."
However, Mr Olmert intimated that he was not departing from the line adopted by Mr Sharon, that diplomatic efforts aimed at stopping Iran from attaining nuclear weapons must be exhausted before any other action is contemplated.
"Israel has acted, and will continue to act, in full consultation with . . . international elements," he said.
Iran insists that its nuclear programme is aimed at producing energy for civilian purposes, but leading western countries have made it clear in recent days that their patience with Tehran is wearing thin. An Israeli team departed for Moscow yesterday to discuss Israel's concerns over Iran's nuclear programme.
Addressing the issue of talks with the Palestinians, Mr Olmert said that after Israel's election on March 28th, in which he will be running for prime minister at the head of the Kadima (Forward) party set up by Mr Sharon, he hoped to resume talks for a final peace agreement with the Palestinians.
But the acting prime minister reiterated a demand Mr Sharon had often articulated, that the Palestinian Authority disarm militant groups such as Hamas before talks can begin.
Like Mr Sharon, Mr Olmert is a strong believer in unilateralism rather than a negotiated solution, and he was one of the prime minister's strongest backers in the run-up to Israel's controversial unilateral withdrawal from Gaza last August.
In fact, three months before Mr Sharon went public in early 2004 with his plans to evacuate all the Jewish settlements in Gaza, Mr Olmert declared in a newspaper interview: "In the absence of a negotiated agreement - and I do not believe in the realistic prospect of an agreement - we need to implement a unilateral alternative."
Despite his talk about a negotiated final status agreement yesterday, Mr Olmert has offered no convincing evidence to suggest he has changed his mind since that interview in November 2003.
Israeli police forcibly removed a handful of right-wing Jewish youths from the occupied West Bank city of Hebron yesterday to try to end days of unrest over plans to evict a settler enclave. Eight youths were detained.