Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, front-runner in Israel’s March 28 election, pledged Tuesday to annex this Jewish settlement deep in the West Bank, a message aimed at appeasing settlers alarmed by his plans to withdraw from large parts of the West Bank over the next four years. Olmert reassured the 17,000 residents of Ariel, the third largest Israeli settlement, that they and smaller neighboring settlements will eventually become part of Israel. A government official said the combined population of the sector to be annexed would be around 45,000 Israelis. Full Story