I never thought that Syria and Israel should engage in a violent confrontation because I don't think that there is any particular interest for any of us to do it. Ehud Olmert More Quotes by Ehud Olmert More Quotes From Ehud Olmert We are tired of fighting, we are tired of being courageous, we are tired of winning, we are tired of defeating our enemies, we want that we will be able to live in an entirely different environment of relations with our enemies. Ehud Olmert tired fighting winning Who thinks seriously that if we sit on another hilltop, on another hundred meters, that this is what will make the difference for the state of Israel's basic security? Ehud Olmert differences israel thinking There is a Western world. There is America. There is Great Britain and Germany and France and Russia and China and other nations. I doubt that there is one country amongst those I mentioned which has a desire to see Iran, with its fundamentalist, Islamic, extremist government, possessing nuclear weapons. Ehud Olmert islamic russia country We can never totally return to the indefensible pre-1967 borders, ... We simply cannot afford to make Israel 14.48 km (9 miles) wide again at its center. We can't allow the Palestinians to be a couple of [miles] from [Tel Aviv's] Ben-Gurion Airport in the age of shoulder-fire missiles with the capacity to shoot down jumbo jets. But that doesn't mean we must remain in every corner of the West Bank or in Gaza, where fewer than 10,000 Jews, living next to 1.3 million Palestinians, have been protected by twice as many soldiers. Ehud Olmert couple fire mean Israeli lives are worth more than Palestinian ones. Ehud Olmert israeli palestinian israel Disengagement is a response to certain demographic realities, .. Within a few years, due to the higher Arab birth rate, Jews will become a minority in the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. I don't want [Israel] to be South Africa because we don't believe in apartheid. We simply have to separate from the Palestinians so that we can control our own destinies. Ehud Olmert destiny believe reality If the day comes when the two-state solution collapses, and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights (also for the Palestinians in the territories), then, as soon as that happens, the State of Israel is finished. Ehud Olmert israel struggle rights The military operation in Lebanon was the most successful military operation in recent Israeli history. Many in Israel don't recognise that. Ehud Olmert israel military successful For thousands of years, we Jews have been nourished and sustained by a yearning for our historic land. I, like many others, was raised with a deep conviction that the day would never come when we would have to relinquish parts of the land of our forefathers. I believed and to this day still believe in our people's eternal and historic right to this entire land. Ehud Olmert land believe years When you fight for the impossible, sometimes you lose everything. Ehud Olmert fighting impossible sometimes How are fears born? They are born because of differences in tradition and history; they are born because of differences in emotional, political and national circumstances. Because of such differences, people fear they cannot live together. Ehud Olmert differences emotional people The formula for the parameters of a unilateral solution are: To maximize the number of Jews; to minimize the number of Palestinians; not to withdraw to the 1967 border and not to divide Jerusalem. Ehud Olmert jerusalem borders numbers For me to propose a division of Jerusalem was really terrible. I did it because I reached a conclusion that without which there will not be peace. Ehud Olmert jerusalem division terrible Leadership is tested not by one's capacity to survive politically but by the ability to make tough decisions in trying times. Ehud Olmert decision leadership trying I don't want to block every contact with the Palestinians, I think that would be a mistake, and I think that Abu Mazen has an independent status as democratically elected head of the Palestinian people, and it's important if I will talk with him. Ehud Olmert independent block mistake Israel always has to be in a position to defend itself against any adversary and against any threat of any kind. Ehud Olmert threat israel kind I dont know that there is one serious American representative that will advise Israel to sit with a terrorist government and negotiate with them. Ehud Olmert government serious israel Iran is an anti-Semitic, terrorist government. Ehud Olmert terrorist iran government I think the attempt to draw a comparison between Iran and Syria is false, misleading and dangerous. Ehud Olmert iran dangerous thinking Growing up in Israel, how can I not be an optimist? When you remember what Israel was 50 years ago and you see Israel now, one of the most successful countries in the world, stable, democratic, with an enormously stable economy despite everything that has happened in the global economy in the last few years, how can I not be an optimist? Ehud Olmert growing-up successful country
