Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Israel's three-week-old offensive in Lebanon will stop only once a robust international peacekeeping force is in place in southern Lebanon.

In an interview in his Jerusalem office, Olmert also said the release of two Israeli soldiers captured by Hizbullah must be unconditional - signaling Israel does not favor a prisoner swap.

The 60-year-old prime minister also predicted that the outcome of the Lebanon fighting would create "new momentum" for Israel's plan to separate from the Palestinians by withdrawing from much of the West Bank.

He had harsh words for Syrian leaders, calling them "reckless," "immature," and promoters of terror.

"Israel will stop fighting when the international force will be present in the south of Lebanon," Olmert said. "We can't stop before because if there will not be a presence of a very effective and robust military international force, Hizbullah will be there and we will have achieved nothing."

[Read on.]

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Contributed by Bill Faith on August 2, 2006 at 12:01 PM in Bill Faith, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink

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