Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Friday he was ready to discuss Italy's proposal to send international troops to Gaza when he travels to Rome next week for a meeting with the Italian premier.

Italy has floated the idea several times since this summer, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has long called for an international presence in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel, however, has opposed the idea.

Olmert said in an interview ro Italy's RAI Tg1 television news that he is on friendly terms with Premier Romano Prodi and would listen to what he has to say.

	Advertisement

"If Italy is prepared that its army will be engaged on a daily basis against terrorist actions of Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and the other terrorist organizations operating in Gaza, this is very interesting news. I want to learn it," Olmert said, speaking in English.

Italy is one of the largest contributors to the expanded UN peacekeeping
force in Lebanon that was deployed to monitor the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema has said that an international force for Gaza should have UN authorization, and that Italy would be ready to contribute.

"Are you ready to fight? Are you ready to sacrifice your soldiers? Are you ready to endanger your people the way we expose our people because we have no choice?" Olmert asked, adding that "If this is your policy, then we will discuss it."

Olmert is scheduled to be in Rome on Wednesday, for meetings with Prodi and Pope Benedict XVI.

Olmert criticizes German foreign minister for traveling to Syria
Days before a visit to Germany, Olmert on Friday criticized the German foreign minister for traveling to Syria earlier this week.

Olmert, speaking to a German television station, said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier should have taken a tougher line during his trip to Damascus on Monday.

"I am friendly with Minister Steinmeier, but I think he made a mistake and I told him before he went to Syria that this is a mistake," Olmert told the German TV station N24, Sat.1.

"I think that in Germany there are voices that share my opinion about it."

Olmert cited Syria's close ties with Iran and its support for Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. He also said Syria is supporting Iraqi insurgents who have killed American soldiers and Iraqi civilians.

"Is this a good platform for a German foreign minister to visit?" Olmert asked. "Did I hear any voices coming from Mr. Steinmeier criticizing the conduct of the Syrian government?"

During his trip to Damascus, Steinmeier urged Syria to use its influence to moderate the demands of Hezbollah, which has been calling on the U.S.-backed government to resign.

He also asked Syria to pressure Hamas, which maintains its headquarters in Damascus, to facilitate peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Olmert's three-day trip, beginning Monday, includes stops in Germany, Italy and a meeting with the pope.

Analysts expect Olmert to discuss concerns that Europe might soften tight
international sanctions against the Hamas-led Palestinian government, Iran's nuclear program and developments in Lebanon, where Italian and German peacekeepers are monitoring the truce that ended the past Lebanon war.

In Washington on Friday, Steinmeier defended his trip as an attempt "to at least test whether difficult partners such as Syria can be brought onto a constructive path in the Middle East peace process."

With few alternatives, he added, "one must try even those routes that are
controversial."