Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington this evening to ask the US to help fund the cost of expelling the residents of Gaza and northern Samaria and destroying their communities, which is reaching the 10 billion shekel mark ($2,227,092,137). Israel is reportedly asking for an additional $2 billion from the US. Israel Radio announced that Rice initiated the meeting to discuss the next steps in the road map peace plan. The United States has pledged $50 million to the Palestinian Authority to help “the Gaza economy get going…rebuild the settlements for Gaza—for the people of Gaza,” said US President George W. Bush.