Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is refusing to stop construction of new Jewish settlements on occupied land in East Jerusalem. On Thursday, Olmert met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but Olmert balked at promising to halt expansion of the settlements. Israel is planning to build 740 new homes next year on occupied land near Jerusalem. Olmert, however, has ordered the Housing Ministry not to unilaterally issue any additional building permits on occupied Palestinian land. Palestinian leaders say Israel’s plans to expand the settlements are sabotaging negotiation efforts. On Thursday, Israeli warplanes and helicopter gunships carried out a series of attacks on Gaza killing eight Palestinians. Israel said all of the dead were gunmen linked to Hamas or Islamic Jihad.