OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Israeli premier Ehud Olmert demanded during his meeting with EU foreign policy coordinator Javier Solana that Israel be recognized as a Jewish state as a condition for negotiations with the PA leadership after the autumn conference concludes, in a step aimed at preventing the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes.

Olmert told Solana that this new condition was nonnegotiable and not up for discussion; however, the latter did not take a specific stance towards the condition, but he only said that he could not tolerate the failure of the autumn conference and that he does not want to think of such eventuality.

Some extremist members of the Israeli government are working on making their government approve that condition during a cabinet meeting and attempting as well to make the Knesset pass it as a draft law.

These developments came up shortly after the right-wing Knesset MPs had visited the sites near the Aqsa Mosque in which excavations are being executed by the Israeli archeology authority, alleging that the aim of their tour to these sites was to confirm the historic right of Jews to Jerusalem.