Olmert's comments were made in Ashkelon, a southern Israeli city that has been the target of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.
According to Olmert, he called the White House upon hearing of the upcoming U.N. Security Council resolution. "I said, 'Get me President Bush on the phone'. They said he was in the middle of giving a speech in Philadelphia. I said I didn't care: 'I need to talk to him now'. He got off the podium and spoke to me," Olmert said, according to multiple media reports.
As a result of his conversation with President Bush, Olmert claimed, the president called Rice and forced her to abstain from voting on the measure, which she herself had helped author.
"He gave an order to the secretary of state and she did not vote in favour of it -- a resolution she cooked up, phrased, organised and maneuvered for. She was left pretty shamed and abstained on a resolution she arranged," Olmert said.
The Security Council resolution passed by a vote of 14 to 0, with the U.S. the only abstention.
The U.S. government was quick to counter Olmert's remarks. In addition to the State Department's rebuttal, a White House spokesman also denounced "inaccuracies" in the story.
Olmert's Claims Revive Specter of "Israel Lobby"
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