In a lengthy interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, Olmert outlines his ‘vision’ of the Middle East

Tuesday September 30, 2008 06:51 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

Several hours after he announced his resignation, outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gave a lengthy interview to the Israeli Newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, in which he said that Israel must withdraw from most of the Occupied Palestinian Territories and compensate the Palestinians for the remainder of the Israeli-occupied land, in addition to trying to achieve a peace agreement  with Syria.

Ehud Olmert

Highlights of the statements made by Olmert in the interview:

-          Syria knows the price of peace; that’s why the nation is ending its relations with Iran.

-          Iran is a powerful country, the international community must counter its nuclear program.

-          Israel must withdraw from most of the Palestinian territories, and compensate the Palestinians for remaining lands we will keep.

-          Any Israeli leader who wants to keep Arab neighborhoods as part of Jerusalem, must  allow the entry of 270.000 Palestinians inside Israel.

-          I participated in meetings with decision-making Israeli officials, and at the end I said, “When I listen to you, I know why we couldn’t make peace in the past 40 years, and why we will not make peace in the coming 40 years.

-          Israel is the strongest country n the Middle East, it can win any war against any regional country, it can even win a war against all of them together.

-          What I am telling you was never said by any previous Israeli leader, it’s time to lay everything on the table.

Olmert made these statements just hours after he submitted his resignation, in a detailed interview on the major issues that head the Israeli agenda, including Palestinian-Israeli talks, Israeli talks with Syria and the Iranian “nuclear program”.

Although Olmert said that his political views have changed in recent years, and that he believes that it is essential to achieve peace with the Palestinians and with Syria, he said that his “heart aches for any inch of land given to the Palestinians”, but said that Israel must withdraw from most of the “territories” and compensate the Palestinians for lands Israel would keep under any peace deal.

Yet, he did not recognize the internationally-acknowledged rights of Palestinian refugees to Return to their homes, nor did he recognize the Palestinian people’s right to an independent state.

He said that Israel has a time-limited opportunity which could include a historic change in relations with the Palestinians and a historic step towards relations with Syria.

“In both ways, Israel must make a decision we avoided for 40 years”, he added.

“We must achieve a peace deal with the Palestinians, this means actual withdrawal from most of the territories, if not all, and for the percentage we keep we should give the Palestinians a similar percentage, without that there will be no peace”, Olmert told Yedioth Ahronoth.

“Anyone who seriously talks about security in Jerusalem, and does not want bulldozers attacking us, must give away some parts of Jerusalem and must allow the inclusion of 270.000 Arabs within the Walls of Jerusalem”, Olmert added, “This is a tough and difficult solution. It contradicts our interests and wishes”.

He also said that the former Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, spoke about the painful price of peace. “But Sharon did not give any details, while I say that we must give details, ultimately we will be demanded to withdraw from most of the territories, and we must compensate for the lands we opt to keep”.  

“I was among the first who wanted to impose full Israeli sovereignty on Jerusalem, I admit, I did that and acted on that for 35 years”, he added, “During some of those years, I was never willing to deeply consider the facts of the situation, but I believe we are so close now to achieving peace with Syria and the Palestinians”.

“We have to take decisive action -- I want to know if there is anyone in Israel who believes that we can make peace with Syria without withdrawing from the Golan Heights”.

He also stated that most decision makers in Israel reach this conclusion when they become powerless, and said that in his case, he had reached those conclusion while he was still in power, and had started talks with Syria in February 2007.  

“I am not suggesting that we make peace with Syria by unilaterally withdrawing from the Golan Heights, they must do their part by ending relations with Iran and Hezbollah, and must stop their support to Hamas, Al Qaida and the Jihad in Iraq”, according to Olmert.  

“We are the strongest country in the Middle East, we can win any war against any country, we can even win a war against all of the countries around us, but I have to ask a question; what will happen after we win, we will pay a heavy and painful price -- and then we will return to the same position, we will start talking about peace and the Golan, so why don’t we spare the heavy pain and losses and attempt to reach peace without another war”.

Regarding peace with the Palestinians, Olmert said “every inch of sand that we give up aches my heart, we are talking here about historic parts of Israel, the land of the Israelis, the memories of the Israelis”.  He didn’t mention the deeply rooted and continuous Palestinian, Canaanite, and Arabic history.  

“The aim of peace is to draw, for the first time, clear borders between us and the Palestinians, borders recognized by the whole world and set by official international resolutions”, Olmert added.

He also claimed that the Palestinians “do not have the needed will, determination and power to achieve peace”, and added that he will not accept the idea that peace will only be achieved by Israeli efforts.

Olmert added, “I want to learn from my own mistakes, I am not trying to exclude myself from the blame, 30 years ago when Menachem Begin came back from Camp David [talking about peace], I spoke against him and voted against him”.

Returning to the issue of Syria, Olmert said that Israel fears the idea of Syrian tanks standing on the Golan Heights, that “could roll into Israel, but today we are living in a new reality, we have the means and capabilities to counter any attack without occupying any meter of Syria, we have other means to win any battle, and the Syrians know that”.

As for Iran, Olmert said that Iran is a big and powerful country, and that the International Community must resolve this issue.  About Israel, and Israel’s response to Iran, he said, “We are a state that has lost certain standards.  An example of our misconceptions is our talk about Iran, our speeches that suggest that we know how to deal with Iran”.

“Let’s be more practical, let us do what we can do, and act within our capacities”, he added, “this means we should act within the international community, and not unilaterally”, Olmert concluded.

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