Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday he would hold a trilateral meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on February 19.

"The meeting will take place on the 19th," Olmert said in a speech to American Jewish leaders, referring to the meeting proposed by Rice during her recent visit to the region aimed at trying to revive long stalled peace talks.

Olmert, speaking to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, did not say where the meeting would take place.

	Advertisement

The prime minister said he hoped Abbas, due to meet with Hamas leaders in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, would not forge a unity government with Hamas that stopped short of meeting Western demands to recognize Israel and renounce violence.

"I hope that Abu Mazen will resist all the temptations and all the pressures to cooperate with Hamas and to establish a government that does not recognise these basic principles," Olmert said, referring to guidelines set by the Quartet of the U.S., United Nations, Europe and Russia.

"If the Palestinian government, no matter who is part of it, will accept the basic principles of the Quartet ... then of course it would pave the way for further negotiations with Israel," he said, and pose a "chance for major progress."

Olmert also said Iran's nuclear plans were not as advanced as Tehran claimed, and it was still possible to put pressure on Iran to halt the program without resorting to violence.

"I think there is a way to stop the Iranians from moving forward on their nuclear program without violent actions," Olmert said.

"...They are not as close to the threshold as they pretend to be, and therefore there is still time to fight in a responsible, comprehensive and powerful manner," he said.

The prime minister said recent international steps, which include United Nations sanctions imposed on December 23 "are more effective than some
think they are" but added "They are not enough, its not sufficient, there must be more."

"But there is a genuine chance that [if] all of the international community will join forces and will apply the necessary restrictive measures on the economy of Iran, that it will have such an impact, that at the end of the day it will force them to reconsider their positions."