Tel Aviv - Israeli careta

Jerusalem  - Violence by Israeli settlers in Hebron against local Palestinians last week and over the weekend was a "pogrom" and had to be stopped, acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday.

"I have no other definition for what we saw but a pogrom. We are the sons of a nation which knows what a pogrom is, and I'm saying this after much thought. I have no other way to put it," he was quoted by the Ynet news site as telling his ministers at the start of Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem  - US secretary-of-state designate Hillary Clinton has promised Israeli Prime Minsiter Ehud Olmert that she would work for Middle East peace as the next top US diplomat, Olmert's office said Saturday.

Olmert congratulated her on her nomination and the two spoke "at length" about Middle East issues, according to the prime minister's media advisor.

Washington  - US President George W Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met in Washington on Monday pledging to move forward on the peace process as both prepare to leave office.

"I believe that vision is alive and needs to be worked on," Bush said of the peace negotiations that were relaunched in November 2007 during an international conference he hosted in Annapolis, Maryland.

Jerusalem - Israeli caretaker prime minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that Israel must cede parts of Jerusalem as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians.

Jerusalem- Israeli fraud squad detectives questioned caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Friday for the ninth time in recent weeks regarding corruption affairs in which the premier is suspected of being involved.

Israeli media reported that the two-hour session at Olmert's Jerusalem residence focused on allegations that he double-, and even triple-, billed sponsors for overseas visits, and used the extra money to pay for trips for his family.