Olmert says settler withdrawal worked out

JERUSALEM, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday the withdrawal of Israeli settlers from Gaza was not a setback for the nation's security.

Appearing at a state inquiry into the 2005 "disengagement," Olmert said the departure of the settlers was similar to Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2007.

"The State of Israel has no interest in being in any place in daily conflict with a population that is hostile to its presence there," he said.

Olmert told the commission that future settler withdrawals could come about because trying to manage a permanent situation similar to South Africa's apartheid system would eventually doom Israel, Ynet News reported.

The Jerusalem Post said Olmert considered disengagement necessary because it separated the settlers from the Palestinians.

Haaretz said Olmert downplayed any angry reaction from the settlers themselves, saying their primary concerns were where their children would attend school. He said that question plus a two-year government stipend appeared to cause some families to delay committing to new permanent residences.