Newsweek's Lally Weymouth talked with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about important issues facing Israel in an exclusive interview published on Thursday, Israel's Independence Day.
Sweeping Concessions to PA
Asked about attempts to reach a final-status agreement with the Palestinian Authority, Olmert said that the final borders "will be closer to what they were in '67 than what they are today." Olmert explained that this is "because we will give up a large part of the territories ... in the context of full, comprehensive peace." It is not clear if the ellipsis [three dots] inserted by Newsweek represents additional details of Olmert's planned retreat, such as the number of Jewish communities he plans to raze under the terms of such an agreement.
The Jewish population in Judea and Samaria stood at 282,000 at the end of 2007, according to Interior Ministry. This is an increase of 5.2% over the year before - three times higher than the population jump in all of Israel. The population figures do not include citizens living in communities deemed illegal by the government.
Another approximately 250,000 Jews live in areas of Jerusalem liberated after the 1967 Six Day War.
Recent reports have stated that Olmert has agreed to withdraw from between 89% and 92% of Judea and Samaria (not including Jerusalem). The PA, however, continues to demand at least 98.5% of the contested area (including Jerusalem), as well as compensation on a 1-to-1 basis for the remainder. Giving up 90% of Judea and Samaria could involve the expulsion and displacement of well over 100,000 Jews.
Asked about earlier hopes for a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority by the end of 2008, Olmert said he now hopes just for a "more detailed and accurate outline of how a solution of the two states should look." Arutz-7's correspondent Haggai Huberman stated, however, that this could be even more significant than an attempt to reach a final-status agreement, "because a final agreement appears unreachable, whereas a declaration of principles could bind Israel for decades to come."
No Right of Return
Regarding the Arabs' claimed "right of return" for hundreds of thousands of Arabs who left Israel in 1948 and millions of their descendants, Olmert said that they "don't have a right of return." "I don't think that this is on the agenda as far as Israel is concerned," the Prime Minister said.
Date of Resignation
Possibly the most important feature of the interview - that Olmert is considering resigning - was rendered obsolete by the time it was published. This, because Olmert said on Thursday evening, just a few hours after the magazine was circulated, that he would resign only if he was actually indicted.
Question Marks Remain Regarding Gaza
Regarding Gaza, Olmert was asked if there will soon be no choice but to take military action against the Hamas regime there. Olmert answered: "I don't like this terminology that you have no choice. You always have a choice. While we were talking, two Kassam rockets landed in open areas near the regional municipality of Eshkol. Then there were a series of seven rockets shot from Gaza to [the Israeli town of] Sderot." The interviewer did not ask Olmert to explain himself.
Syria and Iran
Regarding Syria, Olmert said he is interested in negotiating with Syrian President Assad, and that "I never heard from my friend George W. Bush any warning or any request not to negotiate with the Syrians." Olmert said that though Israel is "very unhappy with the continued intensive involvement of Syria in the affairs of Lebanon" and with "the continued links between Iran, Syria, Hizbullah and Hamas," still, "relations between us and Syria have to be reexamined."
Regarding Iran, Olmert reiterated that Israel would "not tolerate a nuclear weapon in the hands of people who say openly, explicitly and publicly that they want to wipe Israel off the map," but said that the U.S. is "the leader of the international effort to stop the Iranians from becoming nuclear." He said that Israel does not agree with the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate that Iran had probably shelved its nuclear weapons program, and feels instead that Iran's "military program continues and has never been stopped. If this program continues, at some point they will be in possession of a nuclear weapon."