Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert explained that during his tenure, he offered the PA (Palestine Authority) portions of Yerushalayim. He made his statements during an interview with i24 News, which was broadcast in Arabic.

“The only terror is in areas under Israeli control and not those areas under PA (Palestine Authority) control. Abu Mazen (Abbas) was a partner, event when he erred, and in my case, he made major errors, but he was a partner and remains a partner and we must strengthen him” Olmert told interviewers.

The former prime minister added, “He knows that I respect him a great deal. I think he is a great leader. I say to him now as well, if you want to meet to do it together, I am ready for this too. I cannot represent the Government of Israel, but I can represent many people in the State of Israel who identify with this.

“In a talk between us, a most moving one, in my opinion a historic one, and in my opinion one that cannot be compared to any in the world, we were millimeters from reaching a peace agreement. I pleaded with him, ‘Mr. President, this is a proposal that perhaps no other Israeli leader will offer you for another 50 years. Sign! Sign on the map! ‘ He said, ‘Give me a few days but he never got back to me.’ But it’s not too late to fix.

“Many of us in the State of Israel are doubtful if the current Israeli government wants to reach an agreement that can be reached, but they also have doubts about the Palestinian willingness. If Abu Mazen announces now, ‘I am willing to reach negotiations to complete the negotiations that began with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, on the basis of Ehud Olmert’s plan,’ this will cause a tremendous shock in the State of Israel. Do it!.

“The fact that Israel left territories where it controlled the lives of other people has brought it tremendous prestige throughout the world.

“Israel is prepared to accept the two-state solution. After all, there was no stronger proof of our desire to implement such a solution than the negotiations I had with Abu Mazen, in which I proposed to him an Israeli withdrawal in 95% of the territory and a territorial exchange in order to bring the territorial arrangement to the base of the 1967 borders.

“I was willing that the Arab part of Jerusalem be the capital of the Palestinian state, that is, there is Jewish Jerusalem, which is the capital of Israel, and there are other parts that are now part of Jerusalem, which I suggested would be part of the Palestinian state.”

Olmert said that he proposed another proposal according to which the entire part of Jerusalem, which includes the holy sites of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, will not have the sovereignty of any country, but rather an international trust consisting of five nations.

“I think that Binyamin Netanyahu cannot run the country, not because of the investigations, but because he is not suited to running the state. I think he leads the State of Israel to an eternal conflict between us and the Arab world and the Palestinian world.

We will change this leadership, we will change the direction, we will work to make peace, we will maintain full equality of rights among all residents of the State of Israel. The State of Israel will be a democratic, Jewish state, not an occupier, a state that makes peace, maintains a way of life that brings blessing and joy to its residents and neighbors.”

Olmert also claimed that he served a prison sentence because of political opposition to his activity: “I was on trial. I was confronted by the most serious political forces who were very afraid of the peace proposals I proposed and did everything to bring about my fall so that I could not complete this move.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)