Olmert: We must evacuate Jews
New PM expected to withdraw from West Bank, divide Jerusalem --WND
With almost all votes counted from yesterday's national elections, Kadima leader Ehud Olmert is set to become Israel's next prime minister as results showed his party won the most Knesset seats by a slim majority.
During his victory speech last night, Olmert made clear his administration will immediately seek to "evacuate Jews" from most of the West Bank. Kadima officials also have stated the party would seek to give parts of Jerusalem to the Palestinians to form a state.
"The people have spoken clearly, they want Kadima," Olmert said in a nationally televised victory ceremony. "A chapter in the history of the country has ended. We're tasked with shaping the future of the state, and before we bring peace with our neighbors we must make peace within, us patiently and with love."
Olmert spoke about the need to renounce the dream of the "Greater Land of Israel and evacuate, with much pain, Jews."
The "Greater Land of Israel" usually refers to a Jewish state that includes the Gaza Strip, West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem.
Ballot counts showed a minor election victory for Kadima, with the party winning 28 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, much less than it had anticipated. The leftist Labor Party took 20 seats. The ultra-Orthodox Shas party won 13 seats. Yisroel Beitanu, a new Russian immigrant party, garnered 12 seats.
Likud, led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, finished in fifth place with 11 seats. Calls for Netanyahu to resign already started pouring in from senior members of his own party.
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