News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert drew the line at Jerusalem in his meeting with US President George W. Bush on Wednesday, telling him that Israel will not accept limitations on what construction it chooses to carry out anywhere in Jerusalem.

In a joint news conference following the meeting, Olmert told reporters “We made it clear that Jerusalem’s status was different than that of other settlements.  Not everyone likes what we have to say about this, but we made it clear that Jerusalem’s status was different than that of the settlements,” he said.

Bush sidestepped the issue, focusing instead on the unauthorized Jewish communities growing outside the pre-1967 borders in Judea and Samaria.  “The illegal outposts must be evacuated,” he answered one reporter. “Four years have passed since we discussed this. The agreement must include the evacuation of the illegal outposts.”