News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with heads of the Yesha Council on Tuesday afternoon for the first time since taking office.  According to sources quoted in Yediot Acharonot, Olmert hopes to discuss the possibility of destroying some Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria, while the Yesha Council would like to discuss the reasons for a recent building freeze in the area.

Olmert also plans to discuss the “core issues” between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, including the borders of a potential PA state and the status of Jerusalem.  The meeting will include talks regarding the upcoming Annapolis conference.  Olmert has said that he will discuss core issues at the conference, while coalition partners Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu have threatened to leave the government if he does.