News Brief05:56 AM

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has told aides and foreign officials he intends to help American President George W. Bush meet his deadline for a new Arab state within Israel's current borders by the fall of 2008. President Bush has set the deadline, which coincides with the Presidential elections, almost three months before he leaves office.

Prime Minister Olmert has reasoned that Israel is better off with an agreement with the PA while President Bush is in office rather than have to deal with a different administration that may not be committed to Israel's retaining large population centers in Judea and Samaria.