New Israeli PM looks to US for backing to redraw borders

Olmert, whose four-party coalition was sworn in late Thursday, will leave for the United States on May 21, making his first overseas trip as prime minister.

Although no official schedule has been released, the cornerstone of Olmert's visit to Israel's closest ally will be talks with President George W. Bush, to whom he is expected to outline his plan to separate from the Palestinians.

Acquiring US and wider international support is fundamental to the chances of implementing the hugely ambitious project, which would see 70,000 Jews removed from the West Bank and large settlements effectively annexed to Israel.

Olmert has warned he is prepared to implement the project with or without agreement from the Palestinians, saying no progress in the stalled Middle East process is possible with radical Islamists Hamas in government.

"The point of the visit is to present the government's programme and to enlist the American support that Mr Olmert judges crucial for its implementation," said a senior official in the premier's office.

"American support is vital to win an international consensus comparable to that for the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip," which Olmert predecessor and political mentor Ariel Sharon masterminded last year, the official added.

Dov Weisglass, Sharon's senior adviser, who is to stay on the job for at least a few more weeks, has already left for Washington to prepare the ground.

Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas, who flatly opposes any unilateral Israeli moves, telephoned Olmert on Friday to congratulate him on his new government and urge him to resume Middle East peace talks.