The release of imprisoned Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti is not an option, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told reporters during his flight to Washington, DC to meet with US President George W. Bush. "I don't intend to go into details about the upcoming contact with the Palestinians," Olmert said just before landing in the US. Olmert also repeated his refusal to specify what Israel's "many options" on the growing Iranian crisis were. Olmert reiterated the statements he gave Saturday in an interview to Newsweek-Washington Post that Iran would agree to compromise on its nuclear program only if it had a real reason to fear reprisals for failing to comply. Olmert added that he was under no diplomatic pressure to meet with Bush, but thought it appropriate to do so on his way to the 2006 General Assembly in Los Angeles.
Before leaving for Washington on Saturday night, the prime minister reaffirmed his commitment to territorial withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. "You can read my lips: 'I'm ready for territorial compromises‚ and I haven't changed my mind," Olmert said in the Newsweek interview.