Former Israeli PM and ex-Palestinian minister both speak of need to ‘change course’
Ehud Olmert and Fatah member Dr Nasser al-Kidwa appear on stage at JW3 for sell-out Haaretz conference
A former Israel Prime Minister and an ex Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs who sits on Fatah’s central committee have both spoken of the urgent need to “change course” to prevent further deadly violence spiralling out of control in the region.
Appearing on stage for the final session at Sunday’s Haaretz conference at JW3 ex-PM Ehud Olmert and Dr Nasser al-Kidwa discussed their recent efforts to to kickstart negotiations for a two state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
“There is no alternative,” Olmert told the audience. “If someone in the world knows a solution other than a Palestinian state, let me know about it because I’d like to consider it.”
The recently made public proposal for new peace talks is based on the one Olmert presented to PA President Mahmoud Abbas in 2008 when he was PM.
Olmert accepted that any new talks would not bring an immediate end to terrorism, because those who despise the Jewish state will not become “lovers immediately.”
Taking his turn to speak at the event al-Kidwa said “we need to change course, and we have to begin by talking to each other.”
“There is no alternative,” Olmert told the audience. “If someone in the world knows a solution other than a Palestinian state, let me know about it because I’d like to consider it.”
He said this was the first time he had participated in a conference organised by an Israeli newspaper such as Haaretz.
The Palestinian was applauded for saying the least that could be done under current circumstances than to be “talking to each other.”
The former Palestinian minister added: “We have to start accepting each other and accepting each other’s existence” which would conclude with two states within 1967 borders.
He called for the public “on both sides have to come up and give their support to the ideas proposed by us, and secondly, some important, relevant governments have to be supportive.”
Addressing the often thorny issue of Jerusalem, Olmert said at one stage:”If we want peace, we need to change the status of the old city.”
He said this would need an international coalition that guaranteed access to holy sites to all, leaving Jerusalem under the sovereignty of neither Israel nor a nearly established Palestinian state.
The panel was moderated by Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn.
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