National Union Knesset Member Effie Eitam declared Tuesday morning that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is "endangering the security of Israel" by going to the Annapolis, Maryland conference under the current conditions. He told Voice of Israel government radio that the Prime Minister is the same person who "stood at the head of the government" during the Second Lebanon War. The Winograd Committee investigating the conduct of the war is expected to issue a highly critical report in the next several weeks.
MK Eitam also said that there is nothing to talk about with Syria if it insists on Israel's surrendering the Golan Heights. The National Union legislator, who lives in the Golan Heights, reminded listeners that the area is a legal part of Israel and that at least half of its residents are Jewish. "Syrian President Bashar Assad does not need more territory," MK Eitam added.