Israeli Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed on Tuesday to retain the major Jewish settlement of Ariel in the West Bank.

"I want to make it clear that the Ariel settlement will be an inseparable part of the state of Israel under any situation," Olmert told settlers and reporters while visiting Ariel, north of Jerusalem.

Official sources were quoted by local newspaper the Jerusalem Post as saying that Olmert wanted to exert efforts to bring West Bank settlers to join his "internal dialogue" on fixing a border between Israel and the Palestinians.

Olmert made the promise to keep Ariel after the acting prime minister vowed to quit small West Bank settlements and hammer out the border with the Palestinians either through negotiations or unilateral moves.

Olmert also announced last week that Israel would not invest heavily in the infrastructure in West Bank settlements beyond the Green Line, referring to the pre-1967 Israeli-Palestinian border.

Olmert's visit to Ariel came as Israel is in the run-up to the March 28 general elections. Polls have given favor to Olmert's centrist Kadima party.

The Jerusalem Post said that Olmert's visit to the hilltop settlement of around 17,000 people appeared aimed at appealing Jewish settlers ahead of the elections.

Olmert hoped to bring a "message of conciliation" to the settlers, and a commitment to the settlement blocs, according to the report.

The acting prime minister took over Kadima from its founder, ailing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon since Sharon suffered a major stoke on Jan. 4.

Long-time confidant of Sharon, Olmert has been a staunch supporter to Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank last summer.

Source: Xinhua