Quds city (JERUSALEM) September 29, SPA -- Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says Israel will have to leave much of east Jerusalem and give the Palestinians a state in an area equal to the size of the entire West Bank and Gaza. The comments were the clearest sign to date of Olmert's willingness to meet key Palestinian demands in peace talks, the Associated Press reported. In an interview published Monday in the daily Yediot Ahronot, Olmert also said peace with Syria required a pullout from the Golan Heights. He said that as a hard-line politician for decades he «was not prepared to look at reality in all of its depth.» Olmert has been forced to step down by corruption allegations, and will depart officially once his replacement forms a new government or elections are held. But he said he would continue talks, saying Israel «should not put off the decision.»
