Olmert - Abbas

      During his scheduled meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, Ehud Olmert is expected to say that Israel will not allow a "security vacuum" in the West Bank city of Nablus and that the IDF will continue operating in the area so long as the Palestinians fail to contain terror elements there.In light of US President Bush's expected visit to Jerusalem and Ramallah on Wednesday, the Israeli prime minister is prepared to accept Abbas' demand to halt the expansion of Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, but will apparently not commit to a complete settlement freeze in the West Bank. In a letter addressed recently to Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon and Minister of Housing and Construction Ze'ev Boim, Olmert said all construction plans for settlements in the West Bank must receive his authorization and the approval of Defense Minister Ehud Barak. "Any new construction, expansion, confiscation of land, the issuing of housing tenders, and all other acts related to the Israeli settlement in Judea and Samaria will not be advanced or carried out without authorization," the prime minister said in the letter.(12,27)