Following are excerpts from a groundbreaking interview with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, published on page 2 of the special Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) supplement of Israel's most widely read daily, Yedioth Ahronoth:

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"We have an opportunity that is limited in time—a time so short as to cause terrible distress—in which we may be able to take a historical step in our relations with the Palestinians and a historical step in our relations with the Syrians. In both cases, the decision we have to make is a decision that we have been refusing for 40 years to look at open-eyed.
 
“We face the need to decide, but are not willing to tell ourselves, yes, this is what we have to do.  We have to reach an agreement with the Palestinians, the meaning of which is that in practice we will withdraw from almost all the territories, if not all the territories.  We will leave a percentage of these territories in our hands, but will have to give the Palestinians a similar percentage, because without that there will be no peace."

Including in Jerusalem?

“Including in Jerusalem,” said Olmert, “with special arrangements that I can envision on the topic of the Temple Mount and the sacred and historical sites.  Whoever talks seriously about wanting security in Jerusalem and not wanting tractors and bulldozers to crush the legs of his best friends, as happened to a close friend of mine (Jerusalem attorney Shuki Kramer), who lost a leg because he was run over by a terrorist on a bulldozer, has to give up parts of Jerusalem.

“Whoever wants to hold on to all of the city’s territory will have to bring 270,000 Arabs inside the fences of sovereign Israel.  It won’t work.  A decision has to be made.  This decision is difficult, terrible, a decision that contradicts our natural instincts, our innermost desires, our collective memories, the prayers of the Jewish people for 2,000 years.

“I am the first who wanted to enforce Israeli sovereignty on the entire city.  I admit it.  I am not trying to justify retroactively what I did for 35 years.  For a large portion of these years, I was unwilling to look at reality in all its depth."

Do you think, we asked, that had you continued in your post you could have reached agreements?

"I think that we are very close to reaching agreements.”

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 “I am not talking in terms of a terrible war, I am talking in terms of priorities.  When there is no peace, the chances of war are always greater.  As a person who sits on this seat, you have to ask yourself where you direct your efforts, do you direct the effort at making peace, or at constantly becoming stronger, stronger, and stronger in order to win the war.

“And I say, we are strong enough as we are.  The strength we have today is great, and it is sufficient to face any threat.  Now we have to see how we use this infrastructure of force in order to build peace and not to win a war.

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“We know full well that my governmental term is short, but the governmental term of others is also short.  We don’t know, for example, what will happen in the Palestinian Authority after January 9, 2009.  It may be that by some manipulation, which I hope will be successful, Abu Mazen will remain in power.  But we believe that there is a very great danger that there will be a bloody clash, which will thwart any possibility of continuing negotiations and perhaps will force us to be involved in the confrontation, with bloodshed, with everything that could happen as a result.

“The timetable I am talking about is not my personal affair: I resigned, and I hope that Tzipi will succeed in forming a government as quickly as possible. The question is what will happen in the meantime in our immediate surroundings, with the partners that we can now talk to—and I am not talking only about the Palestinians.

“Arik Sharon spoke about painful prices, and refused to detail them.  I say, there is no choice but to elaborate.  In the end, we will have to withdraw from the lion’s share of the territories, and for the territories we leave in our hands, we will have to give compensation in the form of territories within the State of Israel at a ratio that is more or less 1:1.

“What I am saying to you now has not been said by any Israeli leader before me. The time has come to say these things. The time has come to put them on the table.

“I read the words spoken by our retired generals, and I say, how is it possible that they have not learned anything and have not forgotten anything. Someone once said to me, a very senior official in the Israeli administration, they are still living in the War of Independence or the Sinai campaign. With them, it is all about tanks and land and controlling territories and controlled territories and this hilltop and that hilltop. All these things are worthless.

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“The real threat that we face today in the north, the south and the east is missiles and rockets.  We will have to give a response to them, but we will not reach a response by bargaining over 200 meters.

“The goal is to try to reach for the first time the delineation of an exact border line between us and the Palestinians, where the whole world—the United States, the UN, Europe—will say, these are the borders of the State of Israel, we recognize them, we anchor them in formal resolutions of international institutions. These are Israel’s borders, and these are the recognized borders of the Palestinian state. \

“It is possible that the implementation of the agreements will take time.  It may take many more efforts to ensure that there will be no terrorism from there and no threats.  We all understand this.

“But first let’s reach agreements. Why the fear? Whom are we afraid of? 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? We can go inside another two kilometers and the range of the rockets will be another 10 kilometers. As is happening in Gaza, which we evacuated down to the last meters, and the threat still exists.

“I am not saying this to say that we erred in leaving Gaza. It is good that we left Gaza.  I reject the self-flagellation of all the politicians who say that we should have stayed there, just as I reject the view posed by those who say, we should make a renewed assault on Gaza and take control of it.  The prices we will pay for this matter are not worth any benefit that we will derive.

“Is the fact that an arrangement has not already been reached between us and the Palestinians a result of Israel’s insistence?  No. Let there be no doubts on this score.  Unfortunately, the Palestinians do not have the necessary courage, the power, the inner determination, the will and the enthusiasm.  If we do not reach an arrangement, I will by no means be willing for the blame to be cast on Israel.  It will be cast, first and foremost, on the other side."

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“Should I tell you that reaching peace is easy? I agree with you that it is difficult.  Should I say that there are complexities? Without a doubt. That there are sensitivities? Undoubtedly. Should I tell you that there are uncertainties?  There are uncertainties.  Should I say that there are things that could go wrong?  There is no doubt that things could go wrong.

“I want to learn from my own mistakes.  I did not see it then, I am not trying to justify myself.  Exactly 30 years ago, when Menahem Begin came back from Camp David, I spoke against and I voted against.  I admit it, I am not hiding it, I am not obfuscating on the matter.

“What was the greatness of Menahem Begin, which is not spoken about?  Menahem Begin sent Dayan to meet with Tuhami in Morocco, and before the negotiations started, before he even met with Sadat, before he knew whether Sadat would smile one way or the other, whether he would say one thing to him or the other, Dayan told Tuhami on Begin’s behalf, we are willing to withdraw from all of Sinai.  He started from the end.  He first of all told him, I am willing to withdraw from all of Sinai.  Now let’s negotiate.
 
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Do you believe that agreements can be reached during your term of office?

“I say, we don’t have to wait with the decision. Either I will complete it or Tzipi Livni will complete it, or whoever follows her will complete it.  If not, the damage that will be caused to the State of Israel will be greater than any petty debate over the question whether this should have been continued by one, two or three months, whatever I have left in the Prime Minister’s Office.  I believe this with all my heart."