Israel Disputes Connection to Iraq Turmoil

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Iraq Study Group Recommendations on Israel-Palestine
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The New York Times

December 7, 2006
By GREG MYRE

JERUSALEM, Dec. 7 — Israel’s prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said on Thursday that he disagreed with the Iraq Study Group’s linkage of the turmoil in Iraq to the need to resolve the conflicts between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

"The Middle East has a lot of problems that are not connected to us," Mr. Olmert said at a press conference in Tel Aviv. "I am not convinced that this report foists all of the U.S.’s troubles on Israel’s shoulders."

Mr. Olmert also took issue with a recommendation in the report by the bipartisan commission on Iraq that urged talks involving Israel, the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon.

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