Olmert Offers Concessions To Palestinians

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Olmert of Israel outlined his vision yesterday for transforming a tentative cease-fire with the Palestinian Arabs into a lasting peace, promising them a host of incentives if enduring calm was achieved.

Mr. Olmert said he was prepared to grant Palestinian Arabs a state, release desperately needed funds, and free prisoners if they chose the path of peace.

The Israeli premier, who has been criticized at home for lacking a broad strategic vision for his country, at last issued a template for resolving its oldest conflict.

The speech, delivered at the tomb of David Ben Gurion, Israel's political founding father, followed Sunday's surprise cease-fire deal between Israel and Palestinian Arab militants in Gaza.

Mr. Olmert, who sealed the deal yesterday with Mahmoud Abbas, the moderate Palestinian Arab leader, offered to ease restrictions on Palestinian Arabs before withdrawing from land that Israel occupies in order to create a Palestinian Arab state. "I extend my hand in peace to our Palestinian Arab neighbors, hoping that it will not be rejected," he said.

While little in the speech was new, it repackaged Mr. Olmert's manifesto promise of unilateral withdrawals of Jewish settlers from large parts of the Palestinian Arab territory of the West Bank.

That policy appeared to have sunk without trace after Israel's summer war against Hezbollah movement in Lebanon. Now, it has been resurrected, but with Mr. Olmert hinting at the crucial difference that it will be part of a peace deal negotiated with, rather than imposed on, Palestinian Arabs."We, the state of Israel, will agree to the evacuation of many territories and communities," said Mr. Olmert, adding that he was ready for a "real, open, genuine, and serious dialogue" with Mr. Abbas.

But problems remain to be overcome before the two men can begin peace talks. Most immediately, Mr. Abbas is struggling to enforce the cease-fire announced over the weekend, on which the current diplomatic flurry is entirely based.

The truce called for Palestinian Arab militants to stop firing homemade qassam rockets from Gaza into Israel in return for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the tiny but densely populated strip of land.

Israeli troops have pulled out of Gaza, but since the cease-fire came into effect on Sunday, almost 10 rockets have been fired into Israel, with two landing yesterday.