Olmert and Faya’d Share Scepticism Over Timetable

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pursued the same pessimistic theme that Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Faya’d has been taking when he told Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda in Tokyo that it was doubtful that U.S. President George W. Bush’s goal of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian agreement in 2008 could be met. But Olmert did so with an attempt at optimism, promising to make "exceptional efforts to conclude all differences" with the Palestinians and vowing that his country was "determined to make a giant step forward to end this dispute once and for all." [Analysis] Olmert is scheduled to meet U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Tokyo in what some Washington insiders say is, in reality, a dressing-down over Israel‘s policies concerning the Gaza Strip since non-urgent matters could have waited until Rice’s already-announced next trip to the Middle East. But the diplomatic description of the tête-à-tête is an opportunity for Olmert to brief Rice on growing tensions between Israel and Hamas.