RAMALLAH: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said yesterday that every day Israel and the Palestinians fail to reach a peace agreement is one more day that will weigh negatively upon future generations.
“Every day that goes by without our reaching a deal with the Palestinians is a day we may regret in the future, and I say this as a man who once had and fought for very different ideas,” said Olmert, speaking for what may be his last time in office at the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and a day before his scheduled meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the peace process.
Olmert, who is battling corruption investigations, announced in July that he would resign after the Kadima chose a new leader tomorrow. However, he will stay as a caretaker leader until a new Cabinet is formed, which may take weeks or months.
“If we don’t reach a deal fast, we’ll be missing an opportunity, and missing that opportunity may come at an unbearable price,” he said. “There’s no magic formula through which a deal can be agreed upon — and the price will be very heavy. This must be said with courage and frankness.”
In response to comments made by Knesset members regarding the dangers involved in ceding territory to the Palestinians, Olmert said: “To those talking about missile threats, I can say now that all of Israel is already in the range of terror organizations, and so a meter here or there doesn’t matter.”
Olmert’s comments came after Sunday’s Cabinet meeting in which he said that the “notion of a Greater Israel no longer exists, and anyone who still believes in it is deluding themselves.”
Israeli Channel 2 TV reported that Olmert has discussed transferring to the Palestinians 98.1 percent of the West Bank as part of a final state peace agreement. The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the news item and only said that many such media reports had been published recently.
Olmert has also agreed that 5,000 Palestinian refugees would return to Israel — a thousand refugees every year for five years, according to the report. Abbas reportedly rejected the proposal and was demanding the return of many more refugees.
Speaking at a closed session of the Israeli Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, he said Israel “will participate in expressing sorrow for what happened to them,” referring to the refugees. A meeting participant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, relayed his remarks.
With regard to the Abbas-Olmert meeting, Palestinian sources said the two leaders would discuss core issues of the conflict including Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the borders, the status of Jerusalem, security and water issues and the Palestinian refugees.
