Prime Minister Ehud Olmert unequivocally slammed the concept of “greater Israel” on Sunday. “Greater Israel is finished; there is no more such thing,” Olmert said. “Whoever talks that way is just fooling himself.”
Olmert spoke during a cabinet session on a plan proposed by Vice Premier Chaim Ramon that would reward Jews who abandon their homes east of the separation barrier. Proponents of “Greater Israel” believe that Jews should continue to settle land east of the barrier with the goal of maintaining a strong Jewish presence in the entire biblical Land of Israel.