A CONVERSATION WITH EHUD OLMERT Interim Israeli Prime Minister

In the recent Israeli elections, Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert took a calculated risk and told voters that, if elected, he and his new Kadima party would lead Israel out of most of the West Bank.

The move paid off -- Kadima won more votes than any other party, and Olmert is now putting together a government. In his first foreign interview, Olmert sketched out his plans last week for Newsweek-Washington Post's Lally Weymouth.

Interview by LALLY WEYMOUTH

TEL AVIV

How much time will you give the new Palestinian government?

I'm not expressing any ultimatum. If we reach the conclusion that the Palestinians are not prepared to meet the requirements that lead to negotiations, we will then move forward without a negotiating process. We are ready to change. We are not prepared to wait forever.

You are forming your governing coalition .

I have about 42 days to form a new government. The Labor Party is going to be a senior partner in this coalition, but we will have a few more parties. I think it would be good to try and form a national consensus reflected by the composition of the government. [But] I declared before the elections what my plans are [for withdrawing from the territories] in a most explicit manner.

I heard that your advisers warned you not to do this .

I was aware of the possibility that it would cost me some votes, but I also knew that once I made this statement and managed to win, I would have a greater mandate to act. And I certainly intend now to go ahead and not waste time.

What do you mean by "convergence"?