JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert begins on Sunday his first visit to Britain and France, where he will likely seek a strong European stand against the Hamas-led Palestinian government and Iran's nuclear programme. In talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac, Olmert will also lobby for his West Bank redeployment plan, which has won U.S. praise but faces political hurdles at home and the misgivings of moderate Arabs. As top European Union powers, Britain and France have played supporting roles in navigating a beleaguered "road map" to Israeli-Palestinian peace. Along with Germany, they have also led Western bids to curb Iran's atomic ambitions through talks. Yet many Israelis see the Europeans as less reliable Middle East powerbrokers than their U.S. ally, a view bolstered by reports of anti-Semitism among Europe's growing Muslim minority. "It (European Union) is the weak link, but Olmert has the advantage of coming with a plan under which he is willing to give up territory," an Israeli official said, referring to a proposal to remove dozens of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank while annexing others in the absence of peace talks.
In talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac, Olmert will also lobby for his West Bank redeployment plan, which has won U.S. praise but faces political hurdles at home and the misgivings of moderate Arabs.
As top European Union powers, Britain and France have played supporting roles in navigating a beleaguered "road map" to Israeli-Palestinian peace. Along with Germany, they have also led Western bids to curb Iran's atomic ambitions through talks.
Yet many Israelis see the Europeans as less reliable Middle East powerbrokers than their U.S. ally, a view bolstered by reports of anti-Semitism among Europe's growing Muslim minority.
"It (European Union) is the weak link, but Olmert has the advantage of coming with a plan under which he is willing to give up territory," an Israeli official said, referring to a proposal to remove dozens of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank while annexing others in the absence of peace talks.
"It (European Union) is the weak link, but Olmert has the advantage of coming with a plan under which he is willing to give up territory,"
WTF does that mean? If the EU is a "weak link", why bother courting its support? But isn't that what Olmert's doing, with his "plan"? Is "reliable broker" US not enough? And if there's a shift in power perception because GWB looks more and more like a busted flush, why must Israel go on disparaging the EU? When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind
