Two weeks ago, a prominent left-wing Israeli author & professor was injured by a bomb Israeli terrorists placed outside his home, Olmert warned the public about the "evil wind of Jewish extremism" that is now infecting Israel**.
Last Monday, September 29, 2008 an Interview with Olmert was published in an Israeli newspaper. I've abbreviated some of this last interview here and at the bottom I included responses from both Israelis & Palestinians:
Olmert on Peace With Palestine
Israel must withdraw from nearly all of the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem. Any land Israel keeps must be exchanged for an equal quantity of Israeli territory. Traditional Israeli defense strategists have learned nothing from past experience.
“With them, it is all about tanks and land...controlling territories and controlled territories...this hilltop and that hilltop. All these things are worthless. Who seriously thinks 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?”
Olmert On Jerusalem
“I am the first who wanted to enforce Israeli sovereignty on the entire city. I admit it and I'm not trying to justify retroactively what I did for 35 years. For a large portion of those years, I was unwilling to see reality.”
Israel’s public stance has always been that Jerusalem is not up for discussion. This is in direct violation of the UN resolution that created Israel, which said Jerusalem would belong to everyone.
In this interview, Olmert made it clear that the eastern, predominantly Arab, sector had to be returned to Palestine “with special solutions” for the holy sites.
Olmert on Iran
Olmert said Israel should act within the international system, “Part of our megalomania and our loss of proportions is the things that are said here [in Israel] about Iran. We are a country that has lost a sense of proportion about itself.”
Olmert on Golan Heights
Israel needs to be prepared to give up the Golan Heights in exchange for the Syrian government ending its support for Hizbollah.
Reaction from the Israeli Right
Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, said Olmert was “endangering the existence of the State of Israel irresponsibly.” He added that those who thought Israel’s problem was a lack of defined borders — as Olmert stated in the interview — “are ignoramuses who don’t understand anything and they invite war.”
Reaction from the Israeli Left
Highly esteemed Israeli political analystAluf Benn wrote in the Israeli paper Haaretz,"What an epiphany: In order to make peace with the Arabs, we must give them land. How come we never thought of that? ....where was Olmert when the Israeli left and the entire International community, was repeatedly exhausting this claim?"
Reaction from the Palestinian Negotiators
One negotiator, Yassir Abd Rabbo, told Palestinian Radio, "While it was nice to hear Olmert’s words, they do not match what he has offered. It would have been better if Olmert had actually taken this position while in office rather than as he leaves it. Olmert has never presented a detailed plan for a border between Israel and a Palestinian state.
My Own Reaction
Similar to the above two statements I say "whoopie-doopie", a bunch of meaningless drivel. Last week Israel seized over 550,000 square feet (162,000 meters) of Palestinian lands in the West Bank to expand illegal settlement activities. They block Palestinian movement with over 600 permanent checkpoints.
They fired randomly into a crowd waiting at a checkpoint after a young girl poured a 'liquid' on an Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) soldier. The IOF shoved a lady hard enough to kill her when searching her home for 'terrorists' that weren't there. They wounded an International Journalist with shrapnel after firing into an unarmed crowd and an IOF sniper murdered an eight year old child. (They also just recently shot a two week old infant, point blank in the head!)
The Egyptian brokered cease-fire between extremist groups and the IOF in Gaza continues, yet Israel still refuses to allow any entry or exit of people or supplies through the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Navy continues to fire on Palestinian fishing vessels in Gaza waters. Fuel shortages are forcing 50-60 Million tons of raw sewage to be dumped into the Mediterranean sea every DAY! Terminally ill civilians remain unable to receive medical treatment. Hospitals & ambulances don't have the fuel needed to run or the supplies needed to help the injured and sick.
I ask, HOW the starvation, torture & murder of 1.5 Million people...including babies, mothers, and grandmothers...is any better than the Holocaust? If you're an American, like myself, you should be furious....it's OUR tax money and OUR support paying for this outrage!
* Olmert has been forced out of office due to scandal but he remains Israeli Prime Minister, until his replacement is sworn in ~N.
** "Jewish extremism" really began roughly 80 years ago. ~N.
